Some Common Printing Information

Automatic Document Feeder – This attachment allows one page at a time to be fed through a copier, scanner, or fax.

Black Print Speed – This is the maximum speed, which a printer allows to output black text. The printer speed is measured by the amount of pages it can complete per minute. Also know as, PPM.

Carriage – A carriage is the fixture, which holds the printhead in place.

CMYK – This is the common acronym, which stands for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. These common colorants are used in digital imaging process.

Dots Per Inch (DPI) – DPI is the measurement used in print resolution. The Dots per Inch indicates how many individual dots a device can place on a page per square inch.

Dot Matrix – This is an early version printer. It used little pins used to transfer ink onto the page from the ribbon on the early version of printers.

Print Zone – This is the portion which the paper that the printer is able to print on.

Laser Printer – This type of printer uses static electricity and heat to link particles together of the toner to create different characters on the page.

Print Driver – Software that makes it possible for an operating system to properly format commands sent to the printer.

Printhead – The printhead in an inkjet device controls the electronics and nozzle, which allows for the discharge of ink drops.