Know about your Printer

1. What are the various types of technologies used in printers?
The most commonly used printers these days are laser, inkjet, LCD, and dot matrix printers. Other types of printers in use are line, thermal, LED, and Daisy wheel printers.

2. What is the other method by which printers are classified?
They can also be grouped into different categories on the basis of speed, impact or non-impact, quality of type, graphics, and fonts.

3. What is ppm and cps?
These terms denote printing speeds-ppm stands for pages per minute and cps stands for characters per second. For example, if a printer claims to have a speed of up to 15 ppm, it means that the printer can print a maximum of 15 pages per minute.

4. What does the term 'resolution of a printer' mean?
The term 'resolution of a printer' is used to denote the quality at which a printer can print. It is represented as dpi (dots per inch). For example, if you say that a printer is printing an image at 600 dpi resolution, it means that the image will have around 600 dots per inch. The higher the print resolution, the better the print quality.

5. What is letter quality, near letter quality and draft quality?
Letter quality (LQ) means printing quality similar to that produced by a typewriter. Inkjet and laser printers produce this kind of quality. However, this term is not so commonly used now since most laser printers produce much better quality than that of a typewriter. Dot matrix and inkjet printers produce a quality of printing which is called near letter quality. Draft quality refers to print quality which is much lesser than even near letter quality.

6. What is print spooling?
Spooling is the term used for putting data in a memory location called the buffer, where a device can access it when it is ready. Spool is an acronym for Simultaneous Peripheral Operations OnLine.
Printers are usually slower in operation than a PC. Spooling stores the data to be printed at a memory location till the printer is ready to print. Print spooling also allows you to have a number of print jobs in a queue without having to wait for each job to be completed one by one.

7. What is a photo printer?
Photo quality printers are offshoots of the digital camera boom. They are capable of generating prints that have the quality of photographs. These inkjet printers allow you to connect devices such as digital cameras and PC cards using dedicated media slots. They also have features such as LCD displays and image editing software.

8. What are portable printers?
Portable printers can be carried around while you are on the move. They are very small and light, but have disadvantages such as slow speeds (3 to 5 ppm) and not-so-good print quality.

9. What are multifunctions?
Multifunctions are all-in-one devices that let you print, scan, and fax from a single device. The advantages here are lower costs as compared to buying three separate devices, easy operation, and saving of space. Most of them have colour printing and fast print speeds.

10. What are the things to watch out for when using laser printers?
Laser printers emit ozone, which is harmful to humans. To reduce the emission levels, make sure that the printer is kept in large, well-ventilated rooms free of dust. Many printers come with ozone filters, which have to be replaced periodically. Make sure that this is done at the specified intervals.