The document discusses different types of printers, how they work, and how to install and troubleshoot them. It describes laser printers using a 6-step process of cleaning, conditioning, writing, developing, transferring, and fusing toner onto paper. It also outlines how inkjet printers use nozzles to shoot ink droplets onto paper and dot-matrix printers use pins to print. The document provides guidance on installing printers locally or on a network, and addressing issues like paper jams, print quality problems, or connectivity issues.

1. Printers

2. How Printers Work
 Connect to a PC by parallel, serial,
USB, IEEE 1394, or SCSI port, or by
infrared, wireless, PC Card, or network
connection
 Can be combined with fax machines,
copiers and scanners in the same
machine
 Most often use AC power

3. Major Categories of
Printers
 Impact printers
– Dot-matrix – the noisiest
 Non-impact printers
– Laser (highest quality)
– Inkjet
– Solid ink
– Dye-sublimation
– Thermal

4. Laser Printers

5. How a Laser Printer
Works
 Places toner on electrically charged
rotating drum
 Deposits toner on paper as paper
moves through system at same speed
the drum is turning

6. Six Steps of Laser
Printing
1. Cleaning
2. Conditioning
3. Writing
4. Developing
5. Transferring
6. Fusing
 Take place inside
toner cartridge
 Use components that
undergo the most
wear

7. 7
Six Steps of Laser Printing
(continued)
1. Cleaning Cleans drum of residual toner & electrical
charge
2.
Conditioning
Conditions drum to contain high electrical
charge
3. Writing Laser beam discharges a lower charge to
only those places where tone is to go
4. Developing Toner is placed onto drum where the
charge has been reduced
5.
Transferring
Strong electrical charge draws toner off
drum onto paper; takes place outside the
cartridge
6. Fusing Heat and pressure fuse toner to paper

8. Six Steps of Laser
Printing (continued)

9. Step 1: Cleaning
Any leftover toner from previous printing is brushed from the drum, which is then
exposed to a high intensity light that erases any traces of previous images on the
drum.

10. Step 2: Conditioning
Also referred as electrostatic charging. A uniform static charge is applied to the
surface of the drum

11. Step 3: Writing
The image to be printed is written on the drum by the laser

12. Step 3: Writing
 Data from PC is received by formatter (1)
and passed to DC controller (2) which
controls laser unit (3)
 Scanning mirror (4) is turned clockwise by
scanning motor
 Laser beam is reflected off scanning mirror,
focused by focusing lens (5) and sent to the
mirror (6)
 Mirror deflects laser beam to a slit in
removable cartridge and on to the drum (7)

13. Step 3: Writing (continued)

14. Step 4: Developing

15. Step 4: Developing
(continued)
Toner material is extracted from the toner cartridge and attracted to the image
written on the drum

16. Step 5: Transferring
The toner image is transferred from the drum to the paper

17. Step 6: Fusing
The toner image is pressed into the paper and method to permanently affix it
to the paper

18. Laser Printing Operations
1. Cleaning – Any leftover toner from previous printing is brushed from the
drum, which is then exposed to a high intensity light that erases any traces
of previous images on the drum
2. Conditioning – (also referred as electrostatic charging) A uniform static
charge is applied to the surface of the drum
3. Writing – The image to be printed is written on the drum by the laser
4. Developing – Toner material is extracted from the toner cartridge and
attracted to the image written on the drum
5. Transferring – The toner image is transferred from the drum to the paper
6. Fusing – The toner image is pressed into the paper and method to
permanently affix it to the paper

19. Inkjet Printers

20. Inkjet Printers (continued)
 Use ink-dispersion printing
 Popular: small and print color inexpensively
 Most give photo-quality results
(eg, PhotoREt II color technology)
 Paper quality affects quality of printed
output
 Slower than lasers

21. How an Inkjet Printer
Works
 Print head moves across paper, creating
one line of text with each pass
 Shoots ionized ink at a sheet of paper in a
matrix of small dots
 Several technologies are used to form ink
droplets (eg, bubble-jet)
 Require ink cartridges
 Nozzles tend to clog or dry out
– Can be cleaned automatically

22. Inkjet Printer Ink
Cartridges

23. Dot-Matrix Printers
 Less expensive; lesser quality
 Print multicopy documents (impact printer)
 Print head moves across the paper, using
pins to shoot against a cloth ribbon and
print a matrix of dots
 If print head fails, buy a new printer

24. Dot-Matrix Printers
(continued)

25. Thermal Printers and
Solid Ink Printers
 Relatively new printer technologies
 Non-impact printers that use heat to
produce printed output
Epson - TM-T88IV Thermal Printer

26. Thermal Printers
 Use wax-based ink heated by pins that
melt ink onto paper
 Popular in retail for printing bar codes
and price tags
 Variation: dye-sublimation printer

27. Solid Ink Printers
Tektronix's Phaser 300X
 Store ink in solid blocks that melts into
print head which spans width of paper
 Print head jets liquid ink onto paper as
it passes by on the drum
 Simple design, excellent print quality,
easy to set up and maintain
 Takes print head ~15 minutes to heat
up

28. Installing and Sharing a
Printer
 Local printers
 Network printers
 Default printer

29. Installing a Local Printer
 Physically attach printer to computer
 Install printer drivers
– Have Windows do it
– Use printer manufacturer’s installation
program (recommended)
 Test the printer

30. Sharing a Printer with
Others in a Workgroup
 To share a local printer using Windows
– File and Printer Sharing must be installed
 To use a shared printer on a remote
PC
– Client for Microsoft Networks must be
installed

31. Using a Shared Printer
 Approaches to installing shared
network printer drivers on remote PC
– Use drivers on CD
– Use printer drivers on host PC

32. Using a Shared Printer
(continued)

33. Using a Shared Printer
(continued)

34. Using a Shared Printer
(continued)

35. Ways to Make a Printer
Available on a Network
 Attach regular printer to a PC using a port
on the PC
– PC can share printer with network
 Connect network printer with embedded
logic to manage network communication
directly to network with its own NIC
 Use a print server to control several printers

36. Troubleshooting
Guidelines for Printers
 How Windows handles print jobs
 Printer maintenance
 General printer troubleshooting
 How to troubleshoot problems specific
to laser, inkjet, and dot-matrix printers

37. How Windows Handles
Print Jobs
 Windows NT/2000/XP or Windows 9x using a
PostScript printer
– Converts print job data to PostScript language
– Windows 2000/XP can also use Printer Control
Language (PCL)
 Windows 9x using a non-PostScript printer
– Converts print job data to Enhanced Metafile
Format (EMF)

38. How Windows Handles
Print Jobs (continued)
 Text data lacking embedded control
characters is sent as raw data (DOS)
 Spooling

39. Printer Maintenance
Procedures
 Vary depending on manufacturer and printer
 Make sure consumables for printer are on
hand
 Research printer documentation or
manufacturer’s Web site for specific
maintenance tips
 During routine maintenance, clean inside
and outside of the printer

40. Using Printer Manufacturer’s
Web Site as a Resource
 Online documentation
 Knowledge base of common problems and
what to do about them
 Updated device drivers
 Flash BIOS updates
 Catalog of options and upgrades for
purchase

41. Using Printer Manufacturer’s
Web Site as a Resource
(continued)
 Replacement parts
 Printer maintenance kits
 Additional software

42. General Printer
Troubleshooting
 Isolate the problem
– Application attempting to use the printer
– OS and printer drivers
– Connectivity between PC and printer
– Printer itself
 Verify that a printer self-test page can print

43. Isolating a Printer Problem

44. Problems with Laser
Printers
 Poor print quality or a Toner Low
message is displayed
 Printer stays in warm-up mode
 Paper jam occurs or Paper Out
message appears
 White streaks appear in the print

45. Problems with Laser
Printers (continued)
 Print appears speckled
 Printed images are distorted
 Printing is slow
 Portion of the page does not print

46. Problems with Inkjet
Printers
 Poor print quality
 Intermittent or absent printing
 Lines or dots missing from printed
page
 Ink streaks appear on the printed
page

47. Problems with Inkjet
Printers (continued)

48. Problems with Dot-Matrix
Printers
 Print quality is poor
 Print head moves back and forth but
nothing prints

49. Troubleshooting Printer
Problems
 Problems printing from Windows
 Troubleshooting printing from
applications
 Troubleshooting networked printers

50. Summary
 Main types of printers and how they work
– Laser
– Inkjet
– Dot-matrix
 How to install a printer
 How to share a printer with others on a
network
 How to troubleshoot printer problems