5.8. Getting an A+

In this chapter, you find out about three types of printers — dot matrix, inkjet, and laser printers. You discover how each printer prints and find out about the six phases of the laser printing process. The following are some key points to remember about printers when preparing for the exam:

  • Laser printers use light, electromagnetism, and heat to create a printout.

  • Inkjet printers use a heating element to vaporize ink and spray it through a pinhole to make characters on a page.

  • Dot matrix printers use solenoids to strike a ribbon, creating characters from patterns of printed dots.

  • You may use a parallel connection, USB, or network connection to send the print job from the computer to the printer. USB is popular for home and small office use, and larger companies typically use a printer with a built-in network card.

  • The six phases to the laser printing process are charging (conditioning), writing, developing, transferring, fusing, and cleaning.

  • You may install a printer in Windows via the Add Printer Wizard. After the printer is installed, you can configure a number of settings, such as spooling, scheduling, and priority.

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