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Glossary

The following definitions apply specifically to printers.

application

A software program that helps you carry out a particular task, such as word processing or financial planning.

ASCII

American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A standardized coding system for assigning numerical codes to letters and symbols.

banding

The horizontal lines that sometimes appear when printing graphics. This occurs when the print head is misaligned. See also MicroWeave.

bit

A binary digit (0 or 1), which is the smallest unit of information used by a printer or computer.

brightness

The lightness or darkness of an image.

buffer

The portion of the printer's memory used to store data before printing it.

byte

A unit of information consisting of eight bits.

characters per inch (cpi)

A measure of the size of text characters, sometimes referred to as pitch.

CMYK

Cyan (blue-green), magenta, yellow, and black. These colored inks are used to create the subtractive system array of printed colors.

color matching

A method of processing color data so that colors displayed on a computer screen closely match colors in printouts. A variety of color-matching software is available. See also ColorSync.

ColorSync

Macintosh software that is designed to help you get WYSIWIG (what you see is what you get) color output. This software prints colors as you see them on your screen.

cpi

See characters per inch.

default

A value or setting that takes effect when the equipment is turned on, reset, or initialized.

dithering

A halftoning method in which dots are arranged in an orderly pattern. Dithering works best for printing images with solid colors, such as charts and graphs. See also halftoning.

DMA

Direct Memory Access. A data transfer feature that bypasses a computer's CPU and allows direct communication between a computer and peripheral devices (like printers), and between one peripheral device and another.

dpi

Dots per inch. The dpi measures the resolution. See also resolution.

drive

A memory device, such as CD-ROM, hard disk, or floppy disk. In Windows, a letter is assigned to each drive for easy management.

driver

A software program that sends instructions to a computer peripheral to tell it what to do. For example, your printer driver accepts print data from your word processor application and sends instructions to the printer on how to print this data.

economy printing

Printing in which images are printed with fewer dots to save ink.

error diffusion

Error diffusion blends individual colored dots with the colors of the surrounding dots to create the appearance of natural colors. By blending colored dots, the printer can achieve excellent colors and subtle color gradation. This method is best suited for printing documents that contain detailed graphics or photographic images.

ESC/P

Abbreviation for EPSON Standard Code for Printers, the system of commands your computer uses to control your printer. It is standard for all EPSON printers and is supported by most application software for personal computers.

Finest detail

This printer driver setting automatically makes your printout sharper and clearer, especially for text. Be aware that this may increase the time required for printing.

font

A style of type designated by a family name.

grayscale

A scale of shades of gray from black to white. Grayscale is used to represent colors when printing with black ink only.

halftones

Patterns of black or colored dots used to reproduce an image.

halftoning

A method of using dot patterns to represent an image. Halftoning makes it possible to produce varying shades of gray using only black dots, or a nearly infinite array of colors using only a few colors of dots. See also halftones.

high speed printing

Printing in which images are printed in both directions. This provides faster printing.

initialization

Returns the printer to its defaults (fixed set of conditions). This happens every time you turn on the printer or reset the printer.

ink cartridge

Contains the ink your printer uses when printing.

ink jet

A method of printing in which each letter or symbol is formed by precisely spraying ink onto paper.

interface

The connection between the computer and the printer. A parallel interface transmits data one character or code at a time. A serial interface transmits data one bit at a time.

interface cable

The cable that connects the computer and the printer.

local printer

The printer connected to the computer's port directly by interface cable.

media

Materials upon which data is printed, such as envelopes, plain paper, special paper, and transparency film.

memory

The part of the printer's electronic system that is used to store information (data). Some information is fixed and is used to control how the printer operates. Information that is sent to the printer from the computer is stored in memory temporarily. See also RAM and ROM.

MicroWeave

Printing in which images are printed in finer increments to reduce the possibility of banding and to produce laser-like images. See also banding.

monochrome

This means printing with only one color of ink, which is generally black ink.

nozzle

Fine tubes in the print head through which ink is sprayed on the page. Print quality may decline if the print head nozzles are clogged.

operation check

A method for checking the operation of the printer. When you perform a printer operation check, the printer prints the ROM version, code page, ink counter code, and a nozzle check pattern.

parallel interface

See interface.

port

An interface channel through which data is transmitted between devices.

printable area

The area of a page on which the printer can print. It is smaller than the physical size of the page due to margins.

printer driver

A software program that sends commands for using the features of a particular printer. Often shortened to "driver".

print queue

If your printer is connected to a network, print jobs that are sent to the printer while it is busy are stored in a waiting line, or print queue, until they can be printed.

RAM

Random Access Memory. The portion of the printer's memory used as a buffer and for storing user-defined characters. All data stored in RAM is lost when the printer is turned off.

reset

To return a printer to its defaults by turning the printer off and then back on.

resolution

The number of dots per inch used to represent an image.

ROM

Read Only Memory. A portion of memory that can only be read and cannot be used for data storage. ROM retains its contents when you turn off the printer.

RGB

Red, green, and blue. These colors, in phosphors irradiated by a cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor's electron gun, are used to create the additive array of screen colors.

serial interface

See interface.

spool

The first step in printing, in which the printer driver converts the print data into codes that your printer understands. This data is then sent directly to the printer or to the print server.

spool manager

The software program that converts print data into codes that your printer understands. See also spool.

status monitor

The software program that allows you to check the printer's status.

subtractive colors

Colors produced by pigments that absorb some colors of light and reflect others. See also CMYK.

USB interface

Universal Serial Bus interface. Enables the user to connect up to 127 peripheral devices (such as keyboards, mice, and printers) to the computer through a single, general-purpose port. The use of USB hubs allows you to add additional ports. See also interface.

WYSIWIG

What-you-see-is-what-you-get. This term is used to describe printout that looks exactly like it appears on screen.

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