PRINTER TYPES

AND FEATURES
TYPES OF PRINTERS
 LASER PRINTERS
 A laser printer is a type of electrophotographic printer that can range from a small,
personal desktop model to a large, network printer capable of handling and printing
large volumes continuously.
 Figure 22-1 shows an example of a typical laser printer for a small office.
 Laser printers require the interaction of mechanical, electrical, and optical
technologies to work.
 Laser printers work by placing toner on an electrically charged rotating drum
(sometimes called the image drum) and then depositing the toner on paper as the
paper moves through the system at the same speed the drum is turning.
 Figure 22-2 shows the six steps of laser printing.
 Note that Figure 22-2 shows only a cross-section of the
drum, mechanisms, and paper.
 Remember that the drum is as wide as a sheet of paper.
 The mirror, blades, and rollers in the drawing are also as
wide as paper.
 Also know that toner responds to a charge and moves
from one surface to another if the second surface has a
more positive charge than the first.
LASER PRINTER PRINTING STEPS
 Cleaning
 Removes prior image information and toner from the drum.
 Conditioning
 Applies a uniform negative charge to the drum.
 Writing
 Light source such as lasers, LED, or LCS (Liquid Crystal Shutter) write to areas on the drum discharging the negative
potential where it hits.
 Developing
 The toner is ionized with a negative charge and is attracted to the areas previously written (discharged) on the drum.
 Transfer
 The toner of the drum is transferred to the paper by either a positively ionized field (created by a transfer corona wire)
or by a transfer roller in newer printers. The toner is not yet permanently set on the paper and requires the last stage.
 Fusing
 Heat and pressure are applied to the paper and toner. The toner melts and then is pressed to the paper like doing an
iron-on transfer to a T-shirt.
LASER PRINTER PROS & CONS

 With laser printers, there are pros & cons to owning and using one.
 The pros include:
 More efficient use of toner - a laser printer is efficient on toner use, compared
to Inkjet printer usage of ink. A laser printers cost per page can be considerably
less, which means a total lower cost of ownership over the life of the printer.
 Faster print speeds - a laser printer can print documents quite fast, especially
larger documents, when compared to an Inkjet printer.
 Less mess to clean up - toner does not stain like ink and cleaning a laser printer
is not the messy as an Inkjet printer.
 Excellent print quality - a laser printer can produce excellent print quality, both
black & white, as well as color. Printed documents, with or without color, look
very sharp, usually more than the same documents printed on an inkjet printer.
 The cons include:
 Higher toner cartridge cost - toner cartridges do cost more than Inkjet cartridges,
sometimes twice as much. However, they last much longer than Inkjet cartridges.
 Larger physical size - while laser printers have gotten smaller in size over the years,
they are still typically a bit bulkier than an Inkjet printer and don't fit into the tight
spaces as easily, if at all
 Can be noisy - laser printers are not known for their quiet operation. They are
known to be louder when in use and can sometimes be a disruption or annoyance
when trying to talk to someone in person or on the phone.
 High cost for color - laser printers are not common choices for consumers who want
to print photos or even color in general. They are pricier and while they can print
excellent quality color, most consumers opt for an Inkjet printer due to the lower
price
INKJET PRINTERS
 Inkjet printers
 use a type of ink-dispersion printing and don’t normally provide the high quality resolution
of laser printers, but are popular because they are small and can print color inexpensively.
 Most inkjet printers today give photo-quality results, especially when used with photo-
quality paper.
 Earlier inkjet printers used 300 x 300 dpi, but inkjet printers today can use up to 5760 x
1440 dpi.
 Increasing the dpi has drawbacks. It increases the amount of data sent to the printer for a
single page, and all those dots of ink can produce a wet page.
 An improved technology that gives photo-quality results mixes different colors of ink to
produce a new color that then makes a single dot. Hewlett-Packard calls this PhotoREt II
color technology.
 HP mixes as many as 16 drops of ink to produce a single dot of color on the page.
 Inkjet printers tend to smudge on inexpensive paper, and they are
slower than laser printers.
 If a printed page later gets damp, the ink can run and get quite
messy.
 The quality of the paper used with inkjet printers significantly
affects the quality of printed output.
 You should use only paper that is designed for an inkjet printer, and
you should use a high-grade paper to get the best results.
 Figure 22-3 shows one example of an inkjet printer.
 An inkjet printer uses a print head that moves across the paper, creating one line of the image with
each pass. The printer puts ink on the paper using a matrix of small dots.
 Different types of inkjet printers form their droplets of ink in different ways.
 Printer manufacturers use several technologies, but the most popular is the bubble-jet.
 Bubble-jet printers use tubes of ink that have tiny resistors near the end of each tube.
 These resistors heat up and cause the ink to boil.
 Then, a tiny air bubble of ionized ink (ink with an electrical charge) is ejected onto the paper.
 A typical bubble-jet print head has 64 or 128 tiny nozzles, all of which can fire a droplet
simultaneously. (High-end printers can have as many as 3,000 nozzles.)
 Plates carrying a magnetic charge direct the path of ink onto the paper to form shapes.
 Inkjet printers include one or more ink cartridges.
 When purchasing an inkjet printer, look for the kind that uses two or four separate cartridges. One
cartridge is used for black ink.
 In addition, some color printers use one cartridge for three-color printing
(colors are yellow, blue, and red, better known as yellow, cyan, and
magenta, sometimes written as CcMmY). Other more expensive printers
use three separate color cartridges.
 Some low-end inkjet printers use a single three-color cartridge and don’t
have a black ink cartridge.
 These printers must combine all colors of ink to produce a dull black.
 Having a separate cartridge for black ink means that it prints true black
and, more important, does not use the more expensive colored ink.
 To save money, you should be able to replace an empty cartridge without
having to replace all cartridges.
 Figure 22-4 shows two ink cartridges.
 The black cartridge is on the left and the three color cartridge is on the
right.
 The print head assemblage moves across the page as it prints.
 When not in use, the assemblage sits in the far-right position shown in
the figure, which is called the home position.
 This position helps protect the ink in the cartridges from drying out.
INKJET PROS & CONS

 With Inkjet printers, there are pros & cons to owning and using one.
 The Pros include:
 Smaller Size - most Inkjet printers are relatively small and can fit in tight spaces.
All-in-One Inkjet printers are a bit larger but are still typically smaller than a laser
printer and much smaller than a standard office copy machine.
 Low Cost - Inkjet printers, overall, have lower sticker prices than laser printers.
When the time comes, they are also cheaper to replace since it is often easier and
cheaper to just buy a new printer if it breaks down.
 Cheaper Ink cartridges - ink cartridges for Inkjet printers have become cheaper in
price in the last few years. Often ink is half the price of a laser toner cartridge.
 Easier to replace cartridges - replacing ink cartridges in an Inkjet printer is quick
and easy to do.
 Excellent photo quality - Inkjet printers geared towards photo printing can
produce amazing results, printing pictures with vivid colors, high contrasts, and
virtually no pixelation. There is almost no need to go to a professional photo printer
to have your photos printed.
 The Cons include:
 Less efficient ink use - Inkjet printers have a higher cost per page when
it comes to printing, due to their rather inefficient usage of ink. When
compared to Inkjet printers laser printers are much more efficient with
their toner.
 Slower printing of large documents - printing a document with
multiple pages takes a bit longer on an Inkjet printer than a laser printer.
 Messy to clean - cleaning an Inkjet printer is no easy task, nor is it a
clean one. Inkjet cartridges can sometimes leak, and the ink can stain
almost anything it comes in contact with, including clothes and hands.
IMPACT PRINTERS
 An impact printer creates a printed page by using some mechanism that
touches or hits the paper.
 The best-known impact printer is a dot matrix printer and Daisy-Wheel
Printers.
 It has a print head that moves across the width of the paper, using pins to
print a matrix of dots on the page.
 The pins shoot against a cloth ribbon, which hits the paper, depositing the
ink.
 The ribbon provides both the ink for printing and the lubrication for the
pinheads.
 The quality of the print is poor compared to other printer types.
 However, three reasons you see impact printers still in use
are:
 (1) they use continuous tractor feeds and fanfold paper
rather than individual sheets ofpaper, making then useful
for logging events or data;
 (2) they can use carbon paper to print multiple copies at
the same time; and
 (3) they are extremely durable, give little trouble, and
seem to last forever.
 Occasionally, you should replace the ribbon of a dot matrix printer.
 If the print head fails, check on the cost of replacing the head versus the
cost of buying a new printer.
 Sometimes, the cost of the head is so high it’s best to just buy a new
printer.
 Overheating can damage a print head (see Figure 22-5), so keep it as
cool as possible to make it last longer.
 Keep the printer in a cool, well-ventilated area, and don’t use it to print
more than 50 to 75 pages without allowing the head to cool down.
DAISY-WHEEL PRINTER
 A Daisy-Wheel Printer works on the same principle as ball-head
typewriter.
 The daisy wheel printer consists of a disk made of plastic or metal on
which characters stand out along the outer edge.
 The printer rotates the disk to print a character until the desired letter is
facing the paper, after which a hammer called solenoid strikes forcing
the character to hit an ink ribbon making a mark of the character on the
paper.
 Their speed is rated by cps (number of characters per second).
 http://www.simulationexams.com/tutorials/aplus/essentials/printers-and-
scanners.htm
 A Section of Daisy Wheel

Daisy Wheel
THERMAL PRINTERS AND SOLID
INK PRINTERS
 Two similar technologies are thermal printers and solid ink printers. Both use heat
to produce printed output.
 Thermal printers use wax-based ink that is heated by heat pins that melt the ink
onto paper.
 The print head containing these heat pins is as wide as the paper.
 The internal logic of the printer determines which pins get heated to produce the
printed image.
 Thermal printers are popular in retail applications for printing receipts, bar codes,
and price tags.
 A thermal printer can burn dots onto special paper, as done by older fax machines
(called direct thermal printing), or the printer can use a ribbon that contains the
wax-based ink (called thermal wax transfer printing).
 One variation of thermal printing uses thermal dye sublimation
technology to print identification cards and access cards (see Figure 22-
6).
 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 vaporized onto the paper rather than jetted at it, the
results are more photo-lab quality than with inkjet printing.
 Solid ink printers use ink stored in solid blocks, which Xerox calls color sticks.
 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.
 The head jets the liquid ink onto the paper as it passes by on a drum.
 The design is simple, print quality is excellent, and solid ink printers are easy to set up
and maintain.
 The greatest disadvantage to solid ink printing is the time it takes for the print head to
heat up to begin a print job, which is about 15 minutes.
 For this reason, some solid ink printers are programmed to anticipate that a print job
might be coming based on previous use of the printer, and automatically heat up.
VIEWING TYPES OF PRINTER CONNECTIONS
AND CONFIGURATIONS
 In this section, you find out how printers are connected to computer
systems in order to communicate.
 There are a number of different ways to connect a printer to a computer
— the following are the most popular methods:
✦ Parallel connections
✦ Network connections
✦ Universal Serial Bus (USB)
✦ Serial
✦ Infrared
PARALLEL CONNECTIONS
 The most popular method for connecting a printer to a computer was, for
many years, the parallel port.
 The end of the parallel cable that connects to the computer is a male DB-25
connector, while the end that connects to the printer is a male 36-pin
Centronics connector.
 Figure 5-6 displays a parallel cable with the DB-25 and Centronics
connector.
 data transfer speed is at 150 kbit/s.
 The newer EPPs (Enhanced Parallel Ports) have an 8-bit data bus, and the
same control pins as the normal parallel printer port.
 Newer ports reach speeds of up to 2 MB/s.
 The maximum length of a parallel cable is 10 feet long — any longer
and the cable runs the risk of crosstalk or data skew:
✦ Crosstalk is electrical interference from other equipment,
fluorescent lights, and other cables.
✦ Data skew is the concept of the signals that travel down the
different wires in the parallel cable not traveling at the same speed and thus
arriving at the destination at different times. This results in the data
being unreadable at the opposite end.
 Parallel connections deliver data 8 bits at a time at a speed of approximately 150 Kbps.
 Parallel printers and their cables should conform to the IEEE 1284 standard for parallel
cables.
 This standard addresses parallel communication to and from the device attached to the
cable.
SERIAL CABLE CONNECTIONS
 Serial cables, which aren’t very popular for printers, use either a 9-pin or
25- pin connector.
 Serial connections send data one bit at a time and are not susceptible to data
skew.
 The maximum length of a serial cable is 25 feet long.
 A serial transfer uses a single "lane" in the computer for information
transfers.
 This sounds like a recipe for slowdowns, but it all depends on how fast the
speed limit is on the "data highway."
 The following ports and devices in the computer use serial transfers: Serial
(also called RS-232 or COM) ports and devices.
NETWORK CABLE CONNECTIONS
 Network-based printers have built-in network cards that allow the
printer to connect directly to the network.
 The printer runs the TCP/IP protocol and is assigned an IP address so
that it can participate on the network.
 There are a couple of advantages to a network-based printer:

✦ The network printer is available all the time. Network-based

printers are connected directly to the network, so they don’t rely on a
computer being on in order to communicate with the network.
✦ Dedicated print servers are not required. A network printer can be
accessed from anywhere in the network, and you don’t need to have a
server in order to print to it. You may print to the network-based printerfrom
the client computer directly.
UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS (USB)
 Most printers today that are purchased for home or small-office use are
USB printers, meaning that they connect to the computer via a USB port.
 Figure 5-7 shows a USB connection.
 USB has a number of benefits, including the fact that it is a Plug and Play
technology — meaning that you can plug the device in without shutting
down the system.
 USB 1.1 has a transfer rate of 12 Mbps, while USB 2.0 has a transfer rate
of 480 Mbps.
 USB connections are the fastest connections for a computer and printer,
providing data transfer rates of up to 4.8 gigabits per second.
FIREWIRE AND SCSI
 You may also find printers that connect to a system via FireWire and
SCSI connections.
 FireWire has two versions — one that runs at 400 Mbps and one that
runs at 800 Mbps.
 FireWire 800, also known as FireWire 1394b, is a fairly recent update to
the FireWire technology.
 SCSI is another common type of printer device that you may come
across with Macintosh systems.
 Most PC-based systems don’t use SCSI printers, although it is possible.
BLUETOOTH
 As long as the devices are within range, they can interact.
 Bluetooth devices can transmit data at a rate of up to 3 Mbps to other
Bluetooth devices in range [source: Bluetooth].
 Some printers and computers come with Bluetooth transceivers already
installed.
 Others require an adapter in order to use Bluetooth signals.
WIFI
 Wi-Fi printers don't connect directly to a computer in the way that USB or
other wired printers do.
 Instead, these printers connect to a local wireless network and become a
network asset that is available to any computer or other wireless
device connected to the network.
 Wi-Fi printers do have the option of being connected to a single computer
via a USB cable, though doing so typically restricts the availability of the
printer as a network asset.
 Advantages
 multiple computers can use the same printer without having to set up printer sharing on
any specific computer.
 It also allows you to print from anywhere within the range of the wireless network,
allowing you to move around with a laptop or mobile device instead of only being able to
print from a stationary desktop computer.
PRINT SERVERS

 If a printer does not come with a wireless card embedded or does not
have a space inside for one, a print server can be connected to the
printer. 
 Print servers are like wireless routers for printers, enabling the printer to
communicate with other wireless devices on a network.
 Different print servers have different ways of connecting with printers,
including serial and USB ports.
UPGRADING PRINTER HARDWARE
 Printers aren’t nearly as upgradeable as computers. There are only a few
items that may need upgrading on a printer:
✦ Printer memory
✦ Disk space on larger printers
✦ Firmware updates
UPGRADING MEMORY
 A printer uses memory to store the information that needs to be printed,
so the more memory a printer has, the larger the print documents it can
store.
 If you ever receive an insufficient memory message when printing a
large document, your printer probably doesn’t have enough memory.
 You’ll need to buy and install some more memory for the printer if you
have this problem.
ADDING A DISK DRIVE
 On larger printers, you can add hard disk space, typically through a
PCMCIA slot on the printer.
 The additional hard drive can store information used by the printer; for
example, you may want to install some fonts on the printer, or you could
have a print queue stored on the actual print device and use the hard
drive to store the queued documents.
UPGRADING THE FIRMWARE
 You may also need to update the firmware on the printer.
 The firmware dictates the capabilities of the printer and is similar to the
BIOS of a computer.
 Actually, it is so similar that you upgrade the firmware in a similar way
as upgrading a BIOS.
 You need to download the firmware update from the manufacturer’s
Web site.
 This update is usually in the form of a self-extracting executable.
 After you have downloaded the update, you double-click it to run the
update.
INSTALLING A PRINTER
 When you connect a USB print device to a Windows computer, Plug
and Play kicks in and detects the hardware.
 If Windows has a driver for the print device, it will load that driver
automatically; if it doesn’t, it will prompt you for the driver disk.
 For the following example, assume that you have a parallel print device
that is connected to LPT1.
 You need to install a printer in Windows that connects to that device so
that you can print.
 To install the printer in Windows XP, follow these steps:
1. Choose Start➪Printers and Faxes.
The Printers and Faxes window appears, and you will notice an Add a Printer icon.
2. Click the Add a Printer link to install a printer driver.
The Add Printer Wizard magically appears.
3. Select whether you are installing a local printer or a network printer, as shown in Figure
5-8.
• A local printer is managed by the system. A local printer is not necessarily physically
connected to the system, but it is a resource of the local system — meaning that others
will connect to the computer to get to the resource.
• A network printer does not exist on your system but lives somewhere else on the
network. You still need to install the printer on your computer so you have the driver, but it
is not your resource, so it is a network printer.
4. Also on the screen shown in Figure 5-8, specify whether you want
Windows to try to detect the type of printer that is connected to your system.
You will select the printer you are installing, so turn off that option and
then click Next. You are then asked what port the printer is connected to.
5. Make sure that LPT1 is selected and then click Next.
6. Select the type of printer you wish to install (as shown in Figure 5-9) and
click Next.
Choose the manufacturer on the left side and then the model of the
printer on the right side. If your printer does not appear in the list, you can
click the Have Disk button to provide the driver CD that came with the
printer.
7. Click Next to accept the default name of the printer.
8. Indicate whether you would like to share the printer and then click
Next. Sharing the printer allows other users on the network to connect
and print to it from their computers. For now, don’t share the printer.
9. If you want to print a test page to verify that the printer you are installing
works, choose to print a test page.
10. Click Next to go to the summary screen in the Add Printer wizard. A
summary page appears, displaying information about your
newlyinstalled printer.
11. Click Finish to complete the printer installation.
CONFIGURING A PRINTER
 After the printer has been installed, you may want to configure it.
 To configure the printer, choose Start➪Printers and Faxes, right-click
the printer, and choose Properties.
 The printer’s Properties dialog box opens.
 The following is a list of popular printer settings that may need to be
changed depending on how you want to use the printer:
✦ Priority:
If a group of users needs to have a higher priority on a print device
over others on the network, you could install two printers to refer to
the same print device. After you have both printers installed, set the
priority of one of the printers higher than the other — anyone’s print jobs
sent to that printer will have a higher priority on the print device. You
can set the priority of a printer on the Advanced tab of the printer’s
Properties dialog box (shown in Figure 5-10).
✦ Schedule:
If you have a group of users that should be printing only at certain
hours, you could set the schedule of the printer so that it can print only
during those times. The user can send print jobs to the printer and the
printer will queue the job, or store it, until the scheduled time. At
the scheduled time, it will then print the job. The schedule option can
also be seen in Figure 5-10.
✦ Spool settings:
In Windows, when a user chooses to print a document, the print job
creates a temporary file on the disk for the document being printed.
After the file is stored on disk, the user gets control of the application
and the system sends the temporary file to the print device to be
printed. While the temporary file is sent to the print device, the user
gets to use his or her program again. This is sometimes referred to as
background printing — where the user thinks the print job has been sent,
but in actual fact the print job is being sent while the user
continues using the computer.
 The purpose of this process, called spooling, is so that users
can continue using the computer instead of waiting for the 20 pages to
actually get sent to the print device. Because temporary files are
stored on the disk when spooling is enabled (which is the default with all
Windows printers), if you don’t have the hard disk space on your computer
to store the temporary files, you won’t be able to print. If you get a
spooling error, you may turn off spooling by choosing Print Directly to
the Printer on the Advanced tab. Again, you can see this option if you
look back at Figure 5-10.
✦ Driver:
If the driver goes corrupt for your printer, you may want to change the driver. To change the driver for a
printer, go to the Advanced tab of the printer’s Properties dialog box and click the New Driver button. You will
then be asked for the make and model of the printer.

✦ Print Test Page:

If you run into trouble with a printer, you may want to print a test page by going to the Properties dialog box
of a printer and choosing the General tab. On the General tab, click Print Test Page. Printing a test page will help
you determine if you are having a problem with the printer or a problem with an application. For example, if you
cannot print from Microsoft Word but you can print a test page then there is a setting min Microsoft Word that is
causing the printing problems.

✦ Sharing:
If you’re in a networked environment, you can share the printerso that other users on the network can print to
it from their computers. To share the printer, go to the properties of the printer and click the Sharing tab. Select the
Share This Printer option and give the printer a share name, as shown in Figure 5-11.
TROUBLESHOOTING PRINTER
PROBLEMS
 Check the simple stuff first
 The first thing you want to do when you cannot print is to verify the simple stuff.
 Is the printer connected, powered on, and online?
 Visually check the printer itself and make sure that you can see the online lamp that
indicates that the printer is ready for use.
 Paper jams
 Another type of problem that occurs a lot is paper jams.
 If you experience a number of paper jams over and over again, then you may want to
verify that you are using the correct type of paper for the printer.
 The best thing to do here is to check the documentation of the printer and verify that
you are using the correct size paper.
 If you are using paper that is too thick for your printer, it may jam up a lot.
 Garbled or corrupted output
 If you experience corrupted output of
any type, it is possible that the driver
has gone corrupt or that you have the
wrong driver installed.
 One of the best ways to find out if
you have a bad driver or if the
application you are printing from is
causing the problem is to print a test
page.
 If you print a test page and the
printout is still garbled, the driver has
likely gone corrupt, and you need to
install a new driver by going to the
properties of the printer and choosing
the Advanced tab.
 On the Advanced tab, click the New
Driver button to install a new driver.
To print a test page in Windows XP, follow these steps:
1. Choose Start➪Printers and Faxes.
2. Right-click the troublesome printer and choose Properties.
3. On the General tab, click the Print Test Page button.
4. Click OK if the page printed properly or click the Troubleshoot
button if the page did not print correctly. A troubleshooting Web page will
appear, giving you a number of tips on how to troubleshoot the problem.
SPOTS OR SMUDGING ON THE
PRINTOUT
 In general, spots or constant smudging on printouts are good indications
that you’re using the wrong type of paper for your printer.
 Again, check the documentation for the printer to find out what type of
paper you should be using.
SPOOLING SERVICE PROBLEMS
 In Windows, the print spooler service is responsible for managing the printing
environment.
 If you notice that a print job is hung in the print queue and will not print or you
cannot delete it, then you may have a corrupt queue.
 When this happens, you need to stop and restart the print spooler service in
Windows.
 Stopping the print spooler service deletes all print jobs and essentially “reboots”
your printing environment for you.
 Figure 5-13 shows the print spooler service being restarted, which you can do
from the Services console.
 The Services console is found in Start | Control Panel | Performance and
Maintenance | Administrative Tools.
 If you have a number of problems printing in Windows and you have determined that
the problem is not hardware-related, you may need to move the print spooler folder.
 By default, the print job is spooled to the hard drive at the %systemroot
%\system32\spool\printer directory — the %systemroot% variable is typically the
Windows folder on drive C.
 If you are running out of space on drive C, you may want to change the partition for
the spool directory. To change the default spool folder in Windows, follow these steps:
1. Choose Start➪Printers and Faxes.
2. Choose File➪Server Properties.
3. Click the Advanced tab, shown in Figure 5-14.
4. Enter the path of the new Spool folder. If storage or drive speed is your
motivation, this should be on a different partition or drive.
DOT MATRIX PROBLEMS
✦ Faint printing: If you experience faint printing with your dot matrix printer, the print
ribbon is simply worn out. You need to replace the ribbon.

✦ No printing: If your dot matrix printer simply doesn’t print, a print head cable might be
disconnected, or the print head might have torn through the ribbon. In these cases you will
need to connect the print head cable or replace the ribbon.

✦ Paper jamming: Again, a lot of paper jams is a great indication that you have the wrong
type of paper or the wrong size paper. Check the documentation for your printer.

✦ Line across the page: If your dot matrix printer prints a line all the way across the page,
you might have a pin in the print head that is stuck out. You may be able to loosen the stuck
pin or you may need a new print head.
INKJET PROBLEMS
✦ Paper jam:
A paper jam indicates that you may have the wrong type or size of paper. If you have the correct
size paper, the feeder wheels might be dirty — they are responsible for moving the paper
through the printer.

✦ Poor print quality:

Having a poor-quality printout could indicate that the ink needs to be replaced or that you have
the wrong type of paper. Change the ink or check the documentation to ensure you are using the
correct type of paper.

✦ Fading print:
If the print from your inkjet printer is fading, that could be an indication that you need to
change the ink.
 LASER PRINTER PROBLEMS
✦ Faint print: If you find that the print is getting faint in your laser printouts, then you most likely need to replace the toner.

✦ Paper jam: If you find you get a lot of paper jams, you need to verify that you are using paper of the correct size and
thickness. If you’re sure you have the right paper, you could also have a problem with misaligned rollers.

✦ White stripes: If you find you have white stripes throughout the printout, then your transfer corona wire is most likely the
problem — there may be a problem getting the charge to the paper, resulting in toner missing on the page in areas.

✦ Blank page: If you have a blank page for output, you know there is nothing wrong with the feeder mechanisms because
the paper is moving through the printer. A blank page indicates a problem getting the toner to the paper, so there is something
wrong with the corona wires or you have no toner.

✦ Vertical line: A vertical line on the printout typically indicates that there is a scratch in the print drum — you should
replace the toner cartridge because it contains the print drum. If you replace the toner cartridge and the problem still exists,
then there could be a problem with the laser.

✦ Smeared pages: If toner smears off after the page has printed, something is wrong with the fuser rollers. You may need to
replace the fuser rollers. Be cautious when working with the fusing components because they are very hot.
SCANNERS
 scanners were very popular because they were one of the only ways to
get your photos into a digital format.
 Many different types of scanners have been manufactured over the
years.
 A scanner is a device that captures images from photographic prints,
posters, magazine pages and similar source for computer editing and
display.
FLATBED
 The flatbed scanner is the most popular scanner today.
 With a flatbed scanner, you lift the cover of the scanner and place the
photo on the flat sheet of glass (called a platen).
 A scan head then moves beneath the picture, scanning the image by
using a piece of technology called a charge-coupled device (CCD).
 Figure 6-1 shows a flatbed scanner.
PART OF A TYPICAL FLATBED
SCANNER
 Charge-coupled device (CCD)
 Mirrors
 Scan head
 Glass plate
 Lamp
 Lens
 Cover
 Filter
 Stepper motor
 Stabilizer bar
 Belt
 Power supply
 Interface ports
 Control circuitry
 The core component of scanner is the CCD array.
 CCD is the most common technology for image capture in scanners.
 CCD is a collection of tiny light-sensitive diodes, which convert photons
(light) into electrons (electrical charge).
 These diodes are called photosites.
 HANDHELD
 A handheld scanner is great in environments where it is impossible to place
the object to be scanned on a flatbed scanner.
 To use a handheld scanner, you move the scanner over the object that you
want to scan.
 SHEETFEED
 A sheetfeed scanner acts very much like a fax machine in the sense that the
scan head is stationary.
 You insert the paper object to be scanned, and the feeder passes the paper
over the scan head.
 This scanner type looks very similar to a portable printer and is also the
scanner type typically found in multifunctional printers.
 DRUM
 A drum scanner uses a technology called a Photomultiplier Tube (PMT),
which involves wrapping the photo around a glass tube.
 The drum releases light that is converted to electrical data to become the
image file.
COMMON PRINTING PROBLEMS
 Print job status says: "Printer busy...or printer error."
 Certain print codes in the file that is printing can confuse the printer, causing the job
to get stuck in the print queue.
 Delete the top print job or purge the print queue if printer still won't restart. If the print
job still remains in the queue, recycle the printer up to two times to clear the job.
 Wait five minutes before printing a test page.
 Print job status says: "Insufficient memory."
 Indicates that the print job probably has image files in it that are too large for the
printer memory to handle. They may have to be changed to a different image format
to accommodate the limits of the printer, or perhaps printed to another printer with
more memory. (Files in tiff format are very large and can be converted to jpg format).
 Delete the print job or purge the print queue. If necessary, recycle the printer up to two
times to clear the job.
 Wait five minutes before printing a test page.
 Print job status says: "PowerSave On."
 Indicates that the printer needs to have its Go button pressed to wake it up. It should
print soon after.
 The current print job (at top of job list) will not disappear after
deleting it. Print job status continues to be: "Deleting...printing"
 If necessary, recycle the printer up to two times.
 Wait five minutes before printing a test page.
 A pending print job will not disappear after deleting it. Print job
status continues to be: "Deleting...spooling"
 If necessary, recycle the printer up to two times.
 Wait five minutes before printing a test page.
 Print queue screen (blue title bar) indicates queue is "paused."
 Unpause the printer (see instructions above in the section CHECKING PRINT QUEUE.
 Print test page to printer.
 Print queue screen (blue title bar) indicates queue is "stalled or stopped."
 This may mean that the printer itself has been set "offline."
 Direct the caller to check the printer display menu to see if it says "offline."
 Pressing the Go button can put it "online" again so it says "Ready."
 Printer should now begin printing again.
 Print queue screen (blue title bar) indicates queue is "unavailable" or "cannot connect."
 This means that the print queue is not working.
 Check other public print queues to see whether they are displaying the same message. If more than one
print queue is unavailable, then the Printers print server is probably down.
 Error in software: "Error initializing output device."
 When printing within a program like WordPerfect, Word, Excel, etc., users may
occasionaly see this error message appear on the screen when attempting to print a
file. It is often caused by a temporary network "glitch" in the processing of the print
job. There are two options below that will often clear this printing problem.
 Save your file and exit the program, log off the network, then login, get into the program
and try printing again.
 If this doesn't work, shut down and power off the computer, wait 20 seconds and power it on
again. Login to the network, get into the program again and try printing.
 If the error still doesn't clear, wait at least 15-20 minutes and then try printing again.
 Printer display menu says "Ready" but doesn't print; there is no print job
showing up in the print queue screen, even though a print job was sent to it.
 Recycle the printer up to two times. Wait 5 minutes and then try to print a test page. If it doesn't print, do
the following:
 Test printer software: Try printing to a nearby printer. If you can print successfully to it, it may indicate a
corrupt printer driver for the problem printer that must be deleted and re-created as follows:
 Click Start, then Settings, then Printers and highlight the printer.
 Delete this printer definition.
 Re-create a new definition for the printer by following instructions in the sectionPrinting from a Windows
Computer to a Public Printer.
 Print a test page to the printer using the new printer definition.
 If you can't print to a nearby printer, test the network connection by trying to ping the printer. (You may
need to find the correct printer domain name or IP address before you can do so. See instructions
above).
 If ping doesn't work, the printer is not communicating with the network.
 Printer display menu intermittently says "receiving data" or "processing
job," but the print job has stopped printing.
 This message will often appear when the printer is printing out a large PDF file wil
charts and images in it. It takes the printer time to "digest" the contents, so be patient!
It will periodically pause, then print, then pause again as it sends the pages of the PDF
file to the printer.
 If the printer stalls for a very long time, pressing the Go button will sometimes help to
start the printer printing again.
 Printer display menu shows message with error numbers (example: error 41.3) or message
that the printer needs maintenance.
 Any of these messages require an LBIS printer technician's site visit.
 Printer display menu says there is a paper jam.
 Note: Sometimes the printer display menu will say "paper jam" but it is actually indicating that the paper tray is empty.
 Opening the front and back "doors" of the printer or removing the paper tray or toner cartridge will usually allow access
to the jammed paper so that it can be released.
 Paper should be removed slowly and gently so that it doesn't tear.
 Paper that is too difficult to remove should be left "as is" and reported to the HelpLine, who will dispatch the LBIS
printer technician.
 Turn off the printer until it can be serviced and place an Out of Order sign on it.
 Printer display menu says "paper tray empty" or "low toner."
 If it is a public printer, one of the Helpline staff can be dispatched to replenish the paper or toner if non is available at the
lab site.
 If it is a departmental printer, the administrative assistant who manages the printer must be contacted.
PRINTER ERROR CODES - 
WHAT YOU MUST KNOW
 You have noticed that your printer has been displaying the words 'Error
11' or 'Error 12' for a few hours now.
 What does that mean?
 How do you get the error messages to go away?
 Don't panic. These are just printer error codes to let you know that your
printer needs some attention, even if the problem isn't major.
 Here are some common error codes that you may see fairly often, as
well as what to do about them. 
ERROR 11
 Error 11. This just means that the printer is out of paper. No problem-
just grab some of the paper that is designed for your printer model and
refill the paper draw. Make sure that the paper is aligned correctly
according to the diagram or example in the paper draw and close the
tray securely. Your printer should be running fine after that.
ERROR 12
 Error 12. This error is an indication that there is no cartridge in the
printer, or that the printer is open. Check to make sure all paper trays
and parts of the printer are closed before you start printing. Also check
to make sure that your cartridge is secure and does not need replacing
before trying to complete a big printing job.
ERROR 13
 Error 13. The Error 13 message on your printer screen is probably one
of the most common printer error codes. It means that there is a paper
jam. Most service printer repair manuals will give you instructions on
how to get rid of the paper jams, so be sure to follow the directions on
the printer screen or paper tray for the best way to remove crumbled
paper from the rollers and get your printer up and running again.
ERROR 16
 Error 16. This is an indication that the toner on the printer is low. Error
16 is another one of the common printer error codes and the error can be
fixed by simply ordering more toner and placing it in the printer. There
are instructions for this in the introductory manual for the printer as
well.
ERROR 21
 Error 21. You may think that you need a printer repair specialist after
seeing this error, but Error 21, or print overrun, lets you know that the
job you are requesting is too complex. You can change these printer
error codes by replacing the font on some of the documents you are
trying to print, or by adjusting some of the margins on your page so that
the document will fit inside of the measurements of the printing page.
ERROR 55
 Error 55. This is perhaps one of the more complicated printer error
codes when it comes to printer repair, but Error 55 will let you know
that the internal communication between the printer and computer did
not fully process for some reason. The DC controller on the printer is
not receiving the proper information and you should check the DC
controller connections in order to fix this. Your printer may not be
receiving enough power from the power supply, so changing the power
supply may help with this problem.
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE
SCANNERS
 Scanners, like printers, can suffer from the dust, dirt, and debris issues.
 Scanners tend to have a sealed body, which keeps the internal optics
clean, but they usually need to be opened every year or two to clean the
internal components.
 During regular maintenance, only the deck (the glass platen) of the
scanner needs to be cleaned; use a glass-grade cleaner unless your
scanner has a special coating.
 In addition to this issue, scanners usually have a locking mechanism that
should be used when moving the scanner, which will keep the scanner
properly calibrated.