CHAPTER 7

OBJECTIVES

In this chapter, you will learn:

1. About Characteristics of printers.
2. About various types of printers and how they
work.
3. How to install printers and share them over a
local area network.
4. How to maintain printers and troubleshoot printer
problems.
 Supporting Printers
Introduction
This chapter discusses laser printers, inkjet printers,
dot-matrix printers, thermal printers, and solid ink
printer; how they work; and how to support them. After
reviewing how to install a local printer or share a printer
with others on a network, the chapter discusses how
windows handles print jobs. Finally, you will learn how
to maintain a printer and troubleshoot printer problems.
 Printer Characteristics
A printer is an output device that produces text and
graphics on a physical medium, such as paper. The
printed information output from a printer often is
referred to as a printout or hard copy, because it
physically exists. Information displayed on a monitor
or stored in an electronic file, by contrast, is considered
soft copy, because it only exists electronically.
Resolution. Describes the sharpness and clarity of
printed text and images for a printer, resolution is
measured in dots per inch (dpi), which the density of ink
dots used to create printed output.
Print Quality. Generated from a printer often is described
as being letter quality, near letter quality, or draft quality.
Letter Quality refers to the highest quality printout, such
as that used in business correspondence or other
professional document. Near Letter Quality is a slightly
lower quality printout than letter quality, in which the
letters are less crisply defined on the paper. Draft Quality
is the lowest quality printout and often is used to saved
ink or allow a user to see what a print job might look like
before printing the final copy.
Speed. Depending on the type of printer, printer speed
often is measured in characters per second or pages per
minute. Characters per second(cps) is used to
measure the speed of printers that produce text output
using some mechanism that physically contacts the
paper. Pages per minute(ppm) is used to measure the
speed of printers that produce text output a page at a
time. Another name of speed, called graphics pages
per minute(gppm), describes the speed at which
printer can print non-text pages.
Memory. Most printers come with a small amount of
memory to store the text or image information before
printing the document.
Color. Some printers print only in black and white,
while others also can print in color. Color printers
allow users to create a wide range of high quality color
documents, including presentations, maps, and photos.
Color printers are more expensive to operate, however,
because they use two types of ink(colors inks and black
inks). Users who do not need to print color documents
will find that a black-and-white printers cost much less
to operate.
 Types of Printers
Many types of printers are available on the market,
each of which has different characteristics and offers
different of types of features. The two major of
categories of printers are impact printers and non-
impact printers. An Impact printers forms characters
and graphics on a printed page by using some
mechanism that physically contacts the paper. A non-
impact printers forms characters and graphics without
using a mechanism that physically contacts the paper.
Dot-Matrix Printers
A dot-matrix printer is an impact printer with a print
head that moves across the width of the paper to print a
matrix of dots on the page.
Ink-jet Printers
An ink-jet printers is a non-impact printer that forms
characters and graphics by spraying tiny drops of liquid
onto paper.
Bubble-jet printer
A bubble-jet printer uses tubes of ink that have tiny
resistors near the end of each tube.
Laser Printers
A laser printer is a high-speed, high-quality, non-
impact printer that operates in a manner similar to a
copy machine, creating images using a laser beam and
powdered ink.
HOW A LASER PRINTER WORKS Laser printers require the
interaction of mechanical, electrical, and optical technologies.
They work by placing powdered ink, called toner, on an
electrically charged rotating drum and then depositing the toner
on the paper it moves through the system at the same speed the
drum is turning. Figure 7-7 illustrates the steps in the laser
printing process which include:
Cleaning. During the cleaning step, the drum is cleared of any
residual toner and electrical charge.
Conditioning. The drum is conditioned to contain a high
electrical charge.
Writing. A laser beam discharges a lower charge only to places
where toner should go.
Developing. Toner is placed on the drum where the
charge has been reduced.
Transferring. A strong electrical charge draws the toner
off the drum onto the paper.
Fusing. Heat and pressure fuse the toner to the paper.
Features of a Laser Printer

Most laser printers can print

letter-quality text and graphics
in very high resolution,
ranging from 600 to 2400 dpi.
Laser printers also are
faster than ink-jet printers.
Page Description Languages. As discussed above, a
laser printer needs to have all the information about a
page in its memory before it can start printing. This data
is sent to the printer using a page description
language(PDL) that describes the layout and contents of
a page sent to the printer. Most laser printer support at
least one of two most widely used PDLs. Hewlett-
Packard PCL and Adobe PostScript, PCL(Printer
Control Language) supports the fonts and layouts used
in standard business documents and is considered a de
facto standard in the printing industry. PostScript
supports complex graphics, fonts, and numerous colors
and thus is used in the fields of desktop publishing and
graphic arts(and is the PDL used by the Macintosh OS)
Thermal Printers and Solid Ink
Printers
Similar printer technologies are used by thermal
printers and solid ink printers. A thermal printer uses
wax-based ink that is heated by pins that melt the ink
onto paper.
 A dye-sublimation printer uses solid dyes
embedded on different transparent films. As the print
head passes over each color film, it heats up, causing
the dye to vaporize onto the glossy surface of the paper,
Because the dye is vaporizes onto the paper rather than
jetted at it, the results are more photo-lab quality than
with ink-jet printing.
A solid ink printer uses ink stored in solid blocks.
The sticks or blocks are easy to handle and several can
be inserted in the printer to be used as needed, avoiding
the problem of running out of ink in the middle of a
large print job. The solid ink is melted into the print
head, which spans the width of the paper.
Photo Printers
A photo printer is a color printer that can print
photographs at a quality equal to photos developed at a
photo lab. Photo printers include features aimed at
creating high-quality prints in a range of sizes,
including photos without white borders. If you
anticipate that you will print more photos than text-
based documents, a photo printer might be a good
option. Photo printers use ink-jet or dye-sublimation
technologies specifically designed to print
photographs.
 Multifunction Peripherals
A multifunction peripherals (MFP), also called a
multifunction device (MFD) or an all-in-one device, is
a single device that serves several functions, including
printing.
Multifunction peripherals often are used in small
home offices, because they require less space and
eliminate the cost of buying three or four separate
devices.
How Windows Handles Print Jobs
As described above, most printers support one or
more page description language, including PCL and
PostScript, Depending on the PDL used by a printer,
software may require different drivers to communicate
with the printer.
Local and Network Printers
A Local printer is connected directly to a computer
by way of a wireless connection or by a cable that
connects to a parallel, serial, USB, SCSI, or Fire wire
port.
A network printer is a device that can be
connected to a network and is accessible to a computer
by way of a network.
Windows designates one printer to be the default
printer for each computer, which is the one Windows
prints to unless another is selected.
 Installing a Local Printer
Using a Wireless
Connection
The steps to install a wireless printer are similar to the
steps for installing a printer that uses a cable. Most
wireless printers use Bluetooth technology.
 Sharing and installing a
Network Printer
When a network printer is shared, it means that
more than one computer or other device on a network
can send print jobs to the printer. To share a network
printer using Windows, a Windows component called
File and Printer Sharing must be installed on the
computer to which the printer is attached-and a
Windows computer called Client for Microsoft
Network must be installed on the remote computer
using the printer. These two components are installed
by default when you install Windows Server 2003,
Windows XP, or Windows 2000.
Connecting to a Shared Printer
Recall that for a remote PC to connect and use a shared
network printer, the driver for that the printer must be
installed on the remote PC.
Printer Maintenance
Routine printer maintenance procedures vary widely
based on the specific printer type and the manufacturer of
the printer. A basic maintenance step, however, is to
ensure that the consumables, or items used by the printer
such as paper, ink ribbons, color sticks, toner cartridges,
and ink cartridges, are on hand.
Also, for each printer you support, research the
documentation or the manufacturer web site for specific
maintenance procedures and how to often you should
perform them.
When you are ready to replace these components you can
purchase a kit called a printer maintenance kit.
Online documentation. The Web sites of most printer
manufactures include documentation on installing,
configuring, troubleshooting, using, upgrading, and
maintaining the printer.
A knowledge base of common problems and what to do
about them. Some Web sites also offer a newsgroup
service or discussions group where you can
communicate with others responsible for supporting a
particular printer.
Updated device drivers. Printer problems sometimes
can be resolved by downloading and installing the
latest drivers.
Catalog of options and upgrades. As you browse the
printer manufactures Web site, look for memory
upgrades, optional trays, feeders, sorters, staplers,
printer stands, and other equipment to upgrade your
printer.
Flash BIOS updates. Some high-end printers have
firmware that can be flashed to solve and add features.

Printer maintenance kits. The best practice is to buy

everything you need for routine maintenance either
from the printer manufacturer or from an approved
vendor.

Replacement parts. When a printer part breaks, buy

only parts made by or approved by the printer
manufacturer. Manufacturers generally also sell
consumable supplies such as toner and ink cartridges.
General Printer Troubleshooting
Printing problems can be caused by the printer, the PC
hardware or operating system, the application using the
printer cable, or the network. Figure 7-18 outlines some basic
questions to ask and steps to follow, in order to isolate the
problem.
Problems with the printer itself. To eliminate the
printer as the problem, first check that the printer is on
and then print a self-test page. The directions on how to
print a self-test page should be listed in the printers
user guide (for example you might need to hold down a
button or buttons on the printer work correctly.
Problems with the printer cable. If the printer self-
test worked, try printing a test page from the printer
Properties window. If the test page does not print, the
problem might be with the printer cable.
Problems with the wireless connection. If you are
having difficulty printing from a local printer using a
wireless connection, such as Bluetooth, first try to
prints a test page by pressing the TEST button on the
print adapter. If the test page prints, the printer and
printer adapter are communicating. Next, try to reduce
the distance between the printer and the Bluetooth
adapter. In most cases, the range is at least 33 feet (10
meters) from the printer adapter, but steel buildings and
other types of communication can interfere with signal.
Problems with Laser Printers. This section covers
some problems that can occur with laser printers,
including poor print quality, toner problems, paper
jams, too little memory, and trouble communicating
with the computer. For more specific guidelines on
troubleshooting issues with your printer
documentation or the manufacturers Web site for
information on your printer model.
Issues with print quality. Poor print quality, including
faded, smeared, wavy, speckled, or streaked printouts, often
indicates that the toner is low. All major mechanical printer
components that normally create problems conveniently are
contained within the replaceable toner cartridge. When
replacing a toner cartridge, follow these general guidelines:
If you suspect the printer is overheated, unplug it and

allow it to cool.
Remove the toner cartridge and gently rock it from side to

side to redistribute the toner (to avoid flying toner, do not

shake the cartridge too hard).
If this does not solve the problem, try replacing the toner

cartridge.
Also be aware that extreme humidity may cause the toner

to clump in the cartridge and give a toner low message.

A PAPER OCCURS OR PAPER OUT MESSAGE
APPEARS. If paper is jammed inside the printer, do not jerk the
paper from the printer mechanism. First, read the directions in
the printer documentation on how to remove the paper and,
when you do pull out the paper, pull evenly on the paper. When
a paper jam occurs, other steps to take include the following:
Check for jammed paper from both the paper tray and the

output bin.
If there is no jammed paper, then remove the tray and check

the metal plate at the bottom of the tray. If it cannot move up

and down freely replace the tray.
When you insert the tray in the printer, check to see if the

printer lifts the metal plate as the tray is inserted. If it does not,
the lift mechanism might need repair.
PRINTER STAYS IN WARM-UP MODE. The
warning up message on the front panel of the printer
should turn off as the printer establishes communication
with the computer. If it does not happen, try the
following:
Turn off the printer and disconnect the cable to the

computer. Turn on the printer. If it now displays a

Ready message, the problem is communication
between the printer and computer.
Verify that the cable is connected to the correct printer

port. For example to a parallel port or USB port.

Verify that data to the installed printer is being sent to

correct port.
Replace the cable.
PRINTING IS SLOW. Laser printers are rated by two
speed properties: the time it takes to print the first page
(measured in seconds) and the print speed (measured in
pages per minute). Try the following if the printer is
slow:
Space is needed on the hard drive of the computer

that queues and manages print jobs. Clean unneeded

files from the drive or, if necessary, install a larger
drive.
Add more memory to the printer, following the

directions in the printer manual.

Lower the printer resolution and the print quality.
A PORTION OF THE PAGE DOES NOT PRINT.
For some laser printers, an error occurs if the printer
does not have enough memory to hold the entire page.
For other printers, only a part of the page prints. Some
may signal this problem by flashing a light or
displaying an error messages, such as 20 Mem
overflow, on their displays panels or on the printout.
The solution is to install more memory: Print a self test
page to verify how much memory is installed and then
check the printer guide to determine how much
memory the printer can support and what kind of
memory to buy. Follow the directions in the printer
manual to install additional memory.
Problems with Ink-jet Printers. This section covers
some problems can occur with ink-jet printers,
including poor print quality and intermittent printing.
As with the laser printer, you should refer to the printer
documentation or the manufacturers Web site for
information when troubleshooting your ink-jet printer.
If the print quality of an ink-jet printer is poor, check
the quality of the paper being used. The paper quality
determines the final print quality, especially with ink-
jet printers.
Other steps to take include the following:
Check if the ink supply is slow or if any of the

cartridges have a partially clogged nozzle.

Open the Printers and Faxes window and right-click

the printer.
Check that the print head is at the correct distance

(not too close to or too far from the paper).

Some printers have a little sponge near the carriage

rest that can become clogged with ink. Remove and

clean the sponge.
If you are printing transparencies, try changing the

fill pattern in your application.

 Sometimes dust or dirt gets down into the print head
assemblage, causing streaks or lines on the printed
pages. Follow the manufacturers instructions to clean
the print cartridge assemblage. Use clean distilled
water and cotton swabs to clean the cartridge and the
face and edges of the print cartridge, being careful not
to touch the nozzle plate. To prevent the ink-jet nozzles
from drying out, do not leave the print cartridges out of
their cradle for longer than 30 minutes.
Newer printers often allow you to use software or
button on the panel of the printer to clean the nozzles
automatically or calibrate or align the ink cartridges on
ink=jet printers.
 To access the printer software, open the Printer and
Faxes windows, right click the printer icon, and then
click Properties on the shortcut menu. In the properties
window, click the printing preferences button on the
General tab. When the printer software starts, follow
the instructions for your printer management software
to clear the print cartridges or calibrate or align the ink
cartridges.
When you have finished, print a test page. If the
page prints sharply with no missing dots or lines, then
you are finished. If the page does not print correctly,
perform the auto-clean again.
You might need to perform the auto-clean procedure
six or seven times to clean the nozzles completely. If
the problems persists, do not attempt to clean the
nozzles manually; contact the manufacture or vendor
for service.
TROUBLESHOOTING PRINTING FROM
WINDOWS. If a self-test page works, but you still
cannot print to a local printer from windows, try the
following troubleshooting steps:
The print spool might be stalled.
Try to print a test page using the Printers windows.
Verify that the printer is online, or ready to accept

print jobs.
If you still cannot print, verify that the printer cable

or cable connections are tight and reboot the PC.

Try removing and reinstalling the printer and printer

drives.
TROUBLESHOOTING PRINTING FROM
APPLICATION SOFTWARE. If you can print a
Windows test page, but you cannot print from an
application, try the following troubleshooting steps:
Verify that the printer is selected in the Print Setup

dialog box.
Try printing a file from a different application.
Delete any files in the print fools.
Reboot the PC. Immediately enter Notepad or

WordPad, type some text, and print.

Reopen the application giving the print error and

attempt to print again.

Cont..
Try creating data in a new file and printing it. Keep
the data simple.
If you can print from other applications, consider

reinstalling or upgrading the problem application.

Close any application that are not being used.
Add more memory to the printer.
Remove and reinstall the printer drivers.
Troubleshooting Networked Printers
If you have problems printing to a networked printer,
try the following troubleshooting steps:
First, be sure you are printing to the correct printer.

Check to see if the printer is online.

check to see if you can print to another network

printer. If so, there may be a problem with the printer.

Try printing a test page from the computer that has

the printer attached to it locally. In the Printer and

Faxes window, right-click the printer you want to test
and click Properties on the shortcut menu. Click the
Print Test Page button to send a test page to the
printer.
Cont..
If you cannot print from the local printer, troubleshoot the
issue with the local printer before attempting to print over
the network.
Return to the remote computer. Using printers

windows, delete the printer, and then use My Network

Places to reconnect the printer.
verify that you can access the computer to which the

printer is attached. Open the My Network Places

window and attempt to open shared folders on the
printers computer. Perhaps you have not entered a
correct user ID and password to access this computer; if
so, you will be unable to use the computers resources.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
PRINTER CHARACTERISTICS. Printed output often
is referred to as a printout or hard copy; information
displayed on a monitor is considered soft copy. Printers
are described based on several features resolution, print
quality, speed, memory, and the ability to print color.
Printer resolution is measured in dots per inch (dpi).
The density of ink dots used to create printed output.
Print quality is described as letter quality, near letter
quality, or draft quality. Printer speed can be measured
in characters per second or pages per minute. Most
printers come with a small amount of memory to store
text or image information before printing the
document. Some printers can print in color.
TYPES OF PRINTERS An impact printer forms
characters and graphics on a printed page using some
mechanism that physically contacts the paper. A non-
impact printer forms characters and graphics without a
mechanism that contacts the paper. The three most
popular types of printers are laser, ink-jet and dot matrix.
Dot matrix printers are impact printers that can print
multicopy documents. Ink-jet printers print by shooting
ionized ink at a sheet of paper. Laser printers produce
high-quality output using six steps: cleaning, conditioning,
writing, developing, transferring and fusing. Data is sent to
the printer using a page description language (PDL) such
as PCL or PostScript, which describes the layout and
contents of a page sent to the printer
INSTALLING AND SHARING A PRINTER Windows
manages the order in which print jobs are processed.
When data is received by the printer, it places the job in
a buffer and are released to the printer, as part of a
process called spooling. A local printer is connected
directly to a computer by way of a cable that connects to
a port or a wireless connection. A network printer is
accessible to a computer by way of a network. Installing
a local printer involves connecting the printer and then
installing the device driver and any application software
or setting up a wireless connection. Once a local printer
is connected to a computer, it can be shared, so that more
than one computer or other on a network can send print
jobs to the printer.
MAINTAINING AND TROUBLESHOOTING
PRINTERS. Routine printer maintenance procedures
involve having spare consumable on hand and using
a printer maintenance kit, which includes the specific
printer components you need to replace, steps-by-
steps instructions for performing maintenance, and
any special tools or equipment you need to complete
the maintenance. When troubleshooting printers, first
isolate the problem by narrowing the source to the
printer, cable, OS or device drivers, or the
application.