Printers

1. Printers Chapter 20

2. Overview • In this chapter, you will learn to • Describe current printer technologies • Explain the laser printing process • Install a printer on a Windows PC • Recognize and fix basic printer problems

3. Essentials Getting the Right Sound Card CompTIA A+Essentials Printer Technologies

4. Impact Printers • Impact printers leave an image on the paper • Physically strike an inked ribbon against the surface of the paper • Relatively slow and noisy • Used for multipart forms • Point of sale receipts • Offices

5. Dot-Matrix Printers • Dot-matrix printers • Use an array of pins known as printwires to strike an inked printer ribbon and produce images • The case that holds the print wires is called the printhead • Use either 9-pin (draft quality) or 24-pin (letter or near-letter quality)

6. Inkjet Printers • Inkjet printers • Simple devices that consist of the following: • Printhead, support electronics, a transfer mechanism, and a paper-feed component • Work by ejecting ink through tiny tubes • Ink is heated by tiny resistors or electroconductive plates at the end of each tube • The resistors or plates boil the ink, which creates a tiny air bubble that ejects a droplet of ink onto the paper • Some inkjets use mechanical methods to eject ink • Most color printers are ink-jet and produce a high-quality image

7. Inside an Inkjet Printer

8. Inkjet Key Features • Print resolution • Density of the ink • Dots per inch (dpi) • Print speed • Pages per minute (ppm) • Can print to almost anything

9. Dye-Sublimation Printers • Dye-sublimation printers (or thermal dye transfer printers) use sublimation • Sublimation causes something to change from a solid form into a vapor and then back into a solid • Used for fine detail and rich color • One pass for each color • Produces high-quality output

10. Thermal Printers • Thermal printers • Same as first generation of fax machines • Two types: direct thermal and thermal wax • Use a heated printhead to burn dots into the surface of special heat-sensitive paper • Still used for receipts at some businesses

11. Laser Printers • Laser printers use a mechanism called electro-photographic imaging • Produce high-quality and high-speed output of both text and graphics • More expensive than inkjet or impact printers • Use lasers as a light source

12. Laser Printer Parts • Toner cartridge • Holds the toner • Many other parts that suffer the most wear and tear contained in toner cartridge • Photosensitive drum • Aluminum cylinder coated with particles of photosensitive compounds • Erase lamp • Exposes the entire surface of the photosensitive drum to light

13. Laser Printer Parts • Primary corona • Enables voltage to pass to the drum and charge the photosensitive particles on its surface • Laser • Acts as the writing mechanism of the printer • Toner • Fine powder made up of plastic particles bonded to iron particles

14. Laser Printer Parts • Transfer corona • Applies a positive charge to the paper • Fuser • Attaches the toner permanently to the paper using the pressure roller and heated roller • Fuser assembly • Fuses the toner to the paper

15. Laser Printer Components

16. Laser Printer Parts • Primary power supply • Provides power to the motors that move the paper, system electronics, and transfer corona • High-voltage power supply • Provides power to the primary corona • When inserting a new toner cartridge, always turn the laser printer off before opening it • Turning gears • Discrete units called gear packs or gearboxes

17. Laser Printer Parts • System board • Contains the main processor, ROM, and RAM • ROM can often be “flashed” • Not enough RAM results in memory overflow error • Ozone filter • Ozone (O3) can damage printer components • Filter needs to be replaced periodically • Sensors and Switches • Detects paper jams, empty paper trays, low toner levels, and so on

18. Solid Ink Printers • Use solid sticks of nontoxic “ink” • Produces vibrant color • Ink is melted and absorbed into the paper fibers • Only needs a single pass • More expensive than other printers • But ink sticks are significantly less expensive than inkjet cartridges

19. Printer Languages • American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) • Basic alphanumeric characters and a variety of control codes for transferring data and controlling printers • Limited in its capability • The PostScript page description language (PDL) developed by Adobe • Device-independent printer language capable of high-resolutions and scalable fonts • Printers print faster because most of the image processing is done by the printer and not the PC • Postscript files are very portable

20. Printer Languages • Hewlett Packard developed the Printer control language (PCL) • Expanded set of printer commands • Dependent on the printer hardware • Does not support advanced graphical functions • Does not define the page as a single raster image • Windows 2000/XP uses the Windows graphical device interface (GDI) • The operating system handles print functions • If the printer has a capable raster image processor and enough RAM, you don’t need to worry about the printer language

21. Printer Connectivity • Most printers connect to one of two ports on the PC • DB-25 parallel port • USB port • The parallel port was a lot faster than the existing serial ports at the time • Slow by today’s standards with a maximum data transfer rate of 150 KBps • IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1284 standard addressed standardizing parallel ports

22. IEEE 1284 Standard • The IEEE 1284 standard requires • Support for five modes of operation • Compatibility mode, nibble mode, byte mode, EPP, ECP • Standard methods of negotiation for determining which modes are supported • A standard physical interface • A standard electrical interface

23. Parallel Connections, Cabling, and Electricity • A standard printer cable • A male DB-25 connector on one end and a 36-pinCentronics connector on the other • Acceptable for transferring data at 150 KBps at distances of less than six feet • IEEE 1284-compliantcable • Can be up to 32 feet

24. USB and FireWire Printers • Most new printers now use USB connections • Most use USB type A on one end and USB type B on the other end • FireWire • Works as easily as USB USB B USB A

25. Network and Other Printers • Printers can be connected on a network • Needs NIC and connection (typically RJ-45) • Needs IP address (either manually assigned or automatically assigned from DHCP) • Can be connected to print server • Some also have wireless and Bluetooth capabilities • Other printers • Rare, but may see serial or SCSI printers

26. IT Technician CompTIA A+Technician The Laser Printing Process

27. Physical Side of the Process • California Cows Won’t Dance The Fandango • Clean • Charge • Write • Develop • Transfer • Fuse

28. Clean the Drum • Printing process begins by physically and electrically cleaning the photosensitive drum • Physically by scraping the surface of the drum with a rubber cleaning blade • Electrically with an erase lamp to completely discharge any particles

29. Charge the Drum • Next the drum is charged by applying a negative charge to the entire surface • Charged by primary corona wire • Between ~600 and ~1000 volts

30. Write and Develop the Image • A laser is used to write and develop an image on the surface of the drum • Every particle hit by the laser will release most of its negative charge into the drum

31. Transfer the Image • Using the transfer corona, the paper is charged positively • The negatively charged toner particles leap from the drum to the paper

32. Fuse the Image • Image fused to the paper • The heat roller made of a nonstick material and the pressure roller are used to fuse the image onto the paper • Toner particles melted into the page • Static charge eliminatorremoves charge from paper • Stops paper from stickingto drum

33. The Electronic Printing Process • Raster image • Laser printers generate a raster image of the page • A raster image is a pattern of dots • Raster image processor (RIP) chip translates the raster image into commands for the laser

34. The Electronic Printing Process • RIP needs RAM in order to store this data • Mem Overflow error indicates insufficient RAM- Add RAM, reduce the resolution, or print smaller graphics • HP LaserJet 21 error means the data is too complex - Reduce complexity by using fewer fonts and less formatting, reducing graphics resolution, and so on • Resolution enhancement technology (RET) • Enables the printer to insert smaller dots among the characters to smooth out jagged curves • Disabling RET helpsMEM OVERFLOW errors

35. The Electronic Printing Process • Resolution • A laser printer can print at different resolutions • Resolution is expressed in dots per inch (dpi) such as 600 x 600 or 1200 x 1200 dpi • The first number is the horizontal resolution—how fine a focus can be achieved by the laser • The second number is the vertical resolution—the smallest increment by which the drum can be turned

36. Installing a Printer in Windows

37. Printing in Windows 2000/XP • Windows 2000/XP • The physical printer is called a print device • The printer is a program that controls one or more print devices • One printer can support more than one print device • Print drivers • Print spooler

38. Setting Up Printers • PnP devices usually works after plugging them in • If necessary, can use applets to install • Open the Printers applet • Windows XP: Start  Printers and Faxes • Windows 2000: Start Settings Printers • Or find applet in Control Panel • Click the Add Printer icon to start the Add Printer Wizard

39. Setting Up Printers • Add Printer wizard • Select local or network printer • Select a printer port

40. Setting Up Printers • Add Printer Wizard • Add the driver • Windows Update easiest to use (if driver installed) • Or can download driver from manufacturer or use CD accompanying printer and use Have Disk • Checkmark indicates default printer

41. Optimizing Print Performance • Printout may not match screen colors • Monitors use RGB • Printers use CMYK • Both don’t always match exactly • Calibration • Manually calibrate monitor • Print a test image and adjust monitor to match printout • Automatically calibrate printer • Use an International Color Consortium (ICC) color profile • Instructs the printer to print colors a certain way

42. Troubleshooting Printers

43. General Troubleshooting Issues • Tools of the trade • Multimeter • Cleaning solutions such as denatured alcohol • Extension magnet for retrieving loose screws • CD or USB drive with test patterns • Phillips-head or flat-head screwdriver

44. General Troubleshooting Issues • Job never prints • Is the printer on? Connected? Does it have paper? • Check the spooler status • Can bypass spooler if desired • Strange sizes • Points to setup error • Check the Page Setup option in the application

45. General Troubleshooting Issues • Misaligned or garbage prints • A corrupted or incorrect driver—reinstall • You may have asked the printer to do something it can’t do, such as printing Postscript with a PCL driver • Consumables • Printer components should be properly disposed of to avoid environmental hazards • Some companies buy used toner cartridges

46. Sharing multiple printers A mechanical switch box may be used to share multiple printers Laser printers should only be used with electronic switch boxes Crashes on power up Printers require a lot of power on start up HP recommends that you turn on the laser printer first and then the PC Other Issues

47. Troubleshooting Dot Matrix Printers • Dot-matrix printers require regular maintenance • The printhead and the platen should be cleaned with denatured alcohol • Prevents problems such as white bars on text, dots and smudges on paper, and so on • Gears and pulleys should be lubricated according to the manufacturer’s specifications • Bad-looking text • Dirty or damaged printhead • Clean with denatured alcohol or replace • Bad-looking page • Clean the platen with denatured alcohol • Replace the ribbon

48. Troubleshooting Inkjet Printers • Use the maintenance software that came with the printer setup program • Align and clean the print heads • Ink will dry out in a short time if an inkjet printer is not used—the ink in the tiny nozzles of the printhead dries out • Multisheet grab • Fan the paper • Let the printer rest if you’ve been printing a lot • Humidity can be an issue • Clean the small tank where the printhead rests or parks with a paper towel

49. Troubleshooting Laser Printers • Print a diagnostic print page as a first-step in troubleshooting • Hold down the On Line button as the printer is started as a first step in troubleshooting • Blank paper • Out of toner • Print a diagnostic page, remove the toner cartridge, and look at the imaging drum—if an image is there, the transfer corona or high-voltage power supply is bad

50. Laser Printer Maintenance • Keep printer clean • Excess toner and paper dust commonly cause the printer to get dirty • Clean with a special low-static vacuum designed for electrical components or a can of compressed air • The rubber guide rollers will pick up dirt and paper dust over time, which causes paper jams