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Glossary

ASCII

American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A standardized way of assigning codes to characters and control codes. The system is widely used by manufacturers of computers, printers, and software.

buffer

See memory.

character set

A collection of letters, numbers, and symbols used in a particular language.

ColorSync

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

cpi (characters per inch)

A measure of the size of fixed-width text characters.

CR (carriage return)

A control code to return the printing position to the start of the next line after printing one line.

default

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

download

To transfer information from the computer to the printer.

downloaded font

A font that is loaded into the printer's memory from an outside source, such as a computer. Also called soft font.

dpi (dots per inch)

The number of dots per inch is a measure of printer resolution. The higher the number of dots, the higher the resolution.

driver

See printer driver.

drum

The part of the printer mechanism where the image is formed and transferred to paper.

emulation

See printer emulation.

FF (Form Feed)

A control code to break the page.

fixed-width font

A font whose characters are allotted the same amount of horizontal space, no matter the width of the character. Thus the uppercase M receives the same amount of space as the letter l.

font

A set of characters and symbols that share a common typographic design and style.

font family

The collection of all sizes and styles of a font.

halftone

A grayscale image that is composed of small dots. The dots can be close together to create black or more widely spaced to create gray or white areas in the image. Newspaper photographs are common examples of halftones.

initialization

The act of returning the printer to its defaults (fixed set of conditions).

interface

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

landscape

Printing that is oriented sideways on the page. This orientation gives you a page that is wider than it is high and is useful for printing spreadsheets.

LF (Line Feed)

A control code to start a new line.

memory

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

orientation

Refers to the direction in which characters are printed on a page. This direction is either portrait, where the length of the page is longer than its width, or landscape, where the width is longer than its length.

outline font

A font whose outline is described mathematically, allowing it to be rendered (printed or drawn) smoothly at any size.

PCL

The command language built into the Hewlett-Packard^® LaserJet^® series printers.

photoconductor unit

A component of the printer that contains a photosensitive print drum, developer unit, and intermediate transfer unit. The photoconductor fixes the toner on the paper using heat and pressure.

pitch

A measure of the number of characters per inch (cpi) for fixed-width fonts.

point size

The height of a particular font as measured from the top of the tallest character to the bottom of the lowest. A point is a typographic unit of measure equivalent to 1/72 of an inch.

portrait

Printing that is oriented upright on the page (as opposed to landscape, in which printing is oriented sideways on the page). This is the standard orientation for printing letters or documents.

ppm (pages per minute)

The number of pages can be printed in one minute.

printer driver

Software that sends instructions to the printer 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.

printer emulation

A set of operating commands that determines how data sent from the computer is interpreted and acted upon. Printer emulations replicate existing printers, such as the HP LaserJet 4.

proportional font

A font whose characters have varying amounts of horizontal space depending on the width of the character. Thus the uppercase M takes up more horizontal space than the lowercase l.

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 refresh the printer's memory and erase the current print jobs.

resident font

A font that is stored permanently in the printer's memory.

resolution

A measure of the fineness and clarity of images produced by the printer or monitor. Printer resolution is measured in dots per inch. Monitor resolution is measured in pixels.

RITech

Resolution Improvement Technology. A feature that smooths the jagged edges of printed lines or shapes.

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.

sans serif font

A font lacking serifs.

scalable font

See outline font.

serif

The small decorative strokes that come off the main lines of a character.

status sheet

A report that lists the printer settings and other printer information.

symbol set

A collection of symbols and special characters. Symbols are assigned to specific codes in a character table.

toner

The colored powder contained in the toner cartridges that is used to print images on the paper.

TrueType

An outline font format that was developed jointly by Apple^® Computer and Microsoft Corporation. TrueType fonts are outline fonts that can be easily resized for screen display or for printing.

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