Chapter Objectives In this chapter, you will learn: About characteristics of printers About various types of printers and how they work How to install printers and share them over a local area network How to maintain printers and troubleshoot printer problems Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Printer Characteristics Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Types of Printers An impact printer forms characters and graphics on a printed page by using some mechanism that physically contacts the paper A non-impact printer forms characters and graphics without using a mechanism that physically contacts the paper Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Dot-Matrix Printers A dot-matrix printer is an impact printer that moves across the width of the paper to print a matrix of dots on the page The print head has 9 to 24 pins Less expensive than other types of printers Near letter quality printouts Speed is measured in characters per second (cps) Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Dot-Matrix Printers Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Ink-jet Printers An ink-jet printer is a non-impact printer that forms characters and graphics by spraying tiny drops of liquid ink onto the paper Most ink-jet printers range from 300 to 2400 dpi Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Ink-jet Printers Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

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 Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

How a Laser Printer Works Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Thermal Printers, Solid Ink Printers, and Photo 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 A solid ink printer uses ink stored in solid blocks A photo printer is a color printer that can print photographs at a quality equal to photos developed at a photo lab Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Thermal Printers, Solid Ink Printers, and Photo Printers Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Multifunction Peripherals A multifunction peripheral (MFP) is a single device that servers several functions, including printing Scanner Fax machine Copier Best practice is to purchase one machine for one purpose Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

How Windows Handles Print Jobs Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

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 FireWire 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 The default printer is the one Windows prints to unless another printer is selected Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Installing a Local Printer Using a Cable Physically attach the printer cable to the computer Install the printer driver, either by having Windows install the driver or by using the printer manufacturer’s installation software If your printer came with printer management software, install it Print a test page to confirm that the driver is installed properly Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Installing a Local Printer Using a Wireless Connection Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Installing a Local Printer Using a Bluetooth Wireless Connection Turn the printer off Install the printer drivers using the manufacturer’s installation software If you are using a wireless Bluetooth printing kit, Plug the Bluetooth adapter into the USB port or insert it into the PC Card slot on the computer Connect the printer adapter to the printer’s parallel port and, if needed, connect the power supply and plug it in. Turn the printer on Print a test page Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Sharing a Network Printer Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Connecting to a Shared Printer Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Printer Maintenance Ensure that the consumables (paper, ink, ribbons, color sticks, toner cartridges, and ink cartridges) are on hand Research the printer documentation for specific maintenance procedures and how often you should perform them Printer maintenance kit Clean the printer with a damp cloth on the outside and a dry cloth on the inside Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Printer Maintenance Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

General Printer Troubleshooting Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

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 If the self-test page doesn’t print or the information on the page is incorrect, you should troubleshoot the printer itself Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Problems with the Printer Itself Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

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: Check the cable connections Try the above step using a different printer cable Try printing from a different PC with the cable in question Enter CMOS setup and verify the printer port isn’t disabled Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Problems with the Wireless Connection Try printing a test page from the print adapter Check for signal interference Shorten the distance between the PC and the printer Check that the printer adapter is connected to the printer securely Check the power cable and connections Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Problems with Laser Printers: Issues with Print Quality 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 Try replacing the toner cartridge Extreme humidity may cause the toner to clump in the cartridge and give a low toner message Consider a dehumidifier for the room where your printer is located Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Problems with Laser Printers: Issues with Print Quality Low-grade paper can result in poor print quality You may need to clean the printer Consider whether or not the printer requires routine maintenance Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

A Paper Jam Occurs or Paper Out Message Appears 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 Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Printer Stays in Warm-Up Mode 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 the correct port Replace the cable Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Printing 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 Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

A Portion of the Page Does Not Print Printer may not have enough memory to hold the entire page The solution is to install more memory in the printer 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 Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Problems with Ink-jet Printers Check if the ink supply is low or if any of the cartridges have a partially clogged nozzle In the printer’s Properties window, change the print quality to a higher dpi Check that the print head is at the correct distance 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 Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Troubleshooting Printing from Windows The print spool might be stalled Try to print a test page using the Printers window Verify that the printer is online, or ready to accept print jobs Verify that the printer cable or cable connections are tight and reboot the PC Try removing and reinstalling the printer and printer drivers Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Troubleshooting Printing from Application Software Verify that the correct printer is selected in the Print Setup dialog box Try printing a file from a different application Delete any files in the print spool Reboot the PC, and immediately try to print a Notepad document Reopen the application giving the print error and attempt to print again Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Troubleshooting Printing from Application Software Try creating data in a new file and printing it If you can print from other applications, consider reinstalling or upgrading the problem application Close any applications that are not being used Add more memory to the printer Remove and reinstall the printer drivers Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Troubleshooting Networked Printers Be sure you are printing to the correct printer Check to see if you can print to another network printer Try printing a test page from the computer that has the printer attached to it locally From the remote computer, delete the printer and reconnect it using My Network Places Verify that you can access the computer to which the printer is attached Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Chapter Summary In this chapter, you learned: About characteristics of printers About various types of printers and how they work How to install printers and share them over a local area network How to maintain printers and troubleshoot printer problems Chapter 7: Supporting Printers

Chapter 7 Complete