Chapter 7 - Supporting Printers
tractor feed
A continuous feed within an impact printer that feeds fanfold paper through the printer rather than individual sheets, making them useful for logging ongoing events or data.
hardware print server
A device that can connect to a USB, Bluetooth, or serial-port printer to connect the printer to the network as a network printer.
printer maintenance kit
A kit purchased from a printer manufacturer that contains the parts, tools and instructions needed to perform routine printer maintenance.
transfer belt
A laser printer component that completes the transferring step in the printer.
extension magnet brush
A long-handled brush made of nylon fibers that are charged with static electricity to pick up stray toner inside a laser printer.
direct thermal printer
A type of thermal printer that burns dots onto special coated paper as was done by older fax machines.
XPS Document Writer
A Windows feature that creates a file with an .xps file extension. The file is similar to a .pdf file and can be viewed, edited, printed, faxed, emailed or posted on websites.
ink cartridge
A cartridge in an inkjet printer that holds the different colors of ink for the printer.
fuser assembly
A component in laser printing that uses heat and pressure to fuse the toner to paper.
pickup roller
A part in a printer that pushes forward a sheet of paper from the paper tray.
local printer
A printer connected to a computer by way of a port on the computer. Compare with network printer.
separation pad
A printer part that keeps more than one sheet of paper from moving forward.
network printer
A printer that any user on the netowrk can access, through its own network card and connection to the network, through a connection to a stand-alone printer server, or through a connection to a computer as a local printer, which is shared on the network.
duplex printer
A printer that is able to print on both sides of the paper.
transfer roller
A soft, black roller in a laser printer that puts a positive charge on the paper. The charge pulls the toner from the drum onto the paper.
AirPrint
A technology by Apple that allows Apple computers and mobile devices to print to an AirPrint-capable printer without first installing the printer.
printer self-test page
A test page that prints by using controls at the printer. The page allows you to eliminate a printer as a problem and usually prints test, graphics, and information about the printer such as the printer resolution and how much memory is installed.
inkjet printer
A type of ink dispersion printer that uses cartridges of ink. The ink is heated to a boiling point and then ejected onto the paper through tiny nozzles.
thermal printer
A type of line printer that uses wax-based ink, which is heated by heat pins that melt the ink onto paper.
impact printer
A type of printer that creates a printed page by using a mechanism that touches or hits the paper.
laser printer
A type of printer that uses a laser beam to control how toner is placed on the page and then uses heat to fuse the toner to the page.
thermal transfer printer
A type of thermal printer that uses a ribbon that contains wax-based ink. The heating element melts the ribbon onto special thermal paper so that it stays glued to the paper as the feeder assembly moves the paper through the printer.
toner vacuum
A vacuum cleaner designed to pick up toner used in laser printers and does not allow it to touch any conductive surface.
Devices and Printers window
A window used in Windows 7/8 to manage and uninstall printers and other devices.
imaging drum
An electrically charge rotating drum found in laser printers.
print server
Hardware or software that manages the print jobs sent to one or more printers on a network.
charging
In laser printing, the imaging drum is conditioned to contain a high electrical charge.
impact paper
Paper used by impact printers and comes as a box of fanfold paper or in rolls (used with receipt printers).
remote printing
Printing from a computer or mobile device to a printer that is not connected directly to the computer or device.
virtual printing
Printing to a file rather than directly to a printer.
cloud printing
Printing to a printer anywhere on the Internet from a personal computer or mobile device connected to the Internet.
bitmap
Rows and columns of bits that collectively represent an image.
thermal paper
Special coated paper used by thermal printers.
printui
The Windows Printer User Interface command used by administrators to manage printers on the local and remote computers.
default printer
The designated printer to which Windows prints unless another printer is selected.
print head
The part in an inkjet or impact printer that moves across the paper, creating one line of theimage witheach pass.
calibration
The process of checking and correcting the graduation of an instrument or device such as an inkjet printer.
duplexing assembly
Used in a duplex printer, a duplexing assembly contains several rollers, turns the paper around, and draws it back through the print process to print on the back of the paper.