Lesson 12 - Chapter 1: Setting Up a Printer or Multifunction Device

Question 1

When deciding on the printer location, what are 4 things to keep in mind?

Answer 1

1. Safety (on a stable surface, cords out of the way)
2. Security (Sensitive documents, don’t put in high-traffic areas)
3. Environment (Don’t set it up in a humid, dusty, hot area)
4. Connectivity (Reliable AC power, network connectivity within reach or good WiFi signal)

Question 2

Make sure you remove ALL the ___ from a printer when unboxing it

Answer 2

tape (find it all!)

Question 3

A MFD with a scanner may need to be ___ before being used. How would you do this?

Answer 3

it may need to be unlocked via switch or slider that locks the light bar that moves across the page as it scans

Question 4

Do printers come with the ink/ribbon/toner/etc pre-installed?

Answer 4

No

Question 5

Why should you save the packing materials a printer came in? (3)

Answer 5

In case you need to return it, use the warranty service, or move it

Question 6

Most printers, scanners, and multifunction devices connect to a computer via a…?

Answer 6

USB port

Question 7

Why should you read the instructions before trying to connect a printer?

Answer 7

Some printers/MFDs work better if you install their software and drivers first (before connecting them). Otherwise, Windows will try to set it up automatically with whatever driver it has for it.

Question 8

What are 3 ways that a typical network printer can be set up these days?

Answer 8

1. Printer connects to your WAP or router with its own built-in WiFi Adapter (same as a PC)
2. RJ-45 Ethernet cable connects directly via switch or router
3. Bluetooth (individual PCs)

Question 9

What do you do if your printer doesn’t come with built-in network connections?

Answer 9

You can buy a standalone network device called a print server to connect it to the network

Question 10

What’s a downside to using a print server?

Answer 10

Might not be able to use all the MFD features if connected via print server

Question 11

How does a print server work?

Answer 11

Can be Ethernet or WiFi, enable one or several printers to attach via USB cable

Question 12

Where can you find an integrated print server?

Answer 12

it might be included on your router (which would allow you to plug your printer into a USB port on the router)

Question 13

What does Windows recognize a printer as?

Answer 13

as an applet (small app) that controls 1 or more physical printers

(doesn’t see it as the physical device)

Question 14

What is the physical printer itself called according to Windows?

Answer 14

print device

Question 15

The printer applet interfaces with what 2 things on Windows?

Answer 15

1. printer’s device drivers
2. print spooler service that manages the print queue (jobs waiting to be printed)

Question 16

Setting up a printer is so easy since they’re mostly….?

Answer 16

plug and play (and loading the driver if needed)

Question 17

Does Windows automatically download a printer driver once you connect it?

Answer 17

Yes, Windows comes with an assortment of printer drivers and downloads one if needed

Question 18

When you send a print job to a printer, where does the OS send the request to (apart from the print spooler)?

Answer 18

a printer driver

Question 19

What is a printer driver?

Answer 19

Software that serves as a translator between the OS and the printer hardware

(works like a device driver)

Question 20

Each printer driver supports one or more of these

Answer 20

printer languages

Question 21

What is a printer language?

Answer 21

defines the commands/syntax needed to successfully explain to the printer what the app wants to happen

Question 22

What are the 2 main printer languages?

Answer 22

1. PostScript
2. Printer Control Language (PCL)

Question 23

What are 4 advantages of using PostScript?

Answer 23

1. High quality output
2. High quality graphics
3. Great for Macs
4. Portability (defines the page as a single raster dot image)

(more graphics leaning)

Question 24

What’s the disadvantage of using PostScript?

Answer 24

Slower to print than PCL

Question 25

What are the advantages of using Printer Control Language (PCL)?

Answer 25

Good for fast, text-heavy printing and one of the most widely supported languages

Question 26

What are the things PCL struggles with?

Answer 26

1. Portability
2. Complex-high quality graphics
3. Mac support

Question 27

This is the most widely supported printer language

Answer 27

Printer Control Language (PCL)

Question 28

Use this printer language in a Mac environment

Answer 28

PostScript

Question 29

What type of drivers are available for any printer that supports PCL?

Answer 29

Generic PCL drivers

Question 30

What’s the difference between how PostScript and PCL define characters on a page?

Answer 30

PCL uses a series of commands to define the characters on the page (and each printer model must support those commands)

= why PCL is less portable than PostScript files

Question 31

Do PCs in a LAN automatically discover a newly connected network printer?

Answer 31

No, you have to prompt the PC to look for it

Question 32

What are the steps to add a printer to a PC? (6 steps)

Answer 32

1. Settings
2. Devices
3. Printers & Scanners
4. Add Device
5. Windows will find the printer, Add Device
6. Wait for Windows to install its driver

Question 33

What do you use to manually install a printer?

Answer 33

Window comes with an Add Printer Wizard

Question 34

When would you need to manually install a printer?

Answer 34

When setting up a network printer that Windows doesn’t automatically see

Question 35

How do you get to the Add Printer Wizard (Find a Printer by other options window)?

Answer 35

You follow the same steps as trying to get Windows to see it automatically in Settings > Printers & Scanners but click Add manually or “The printer I want isn’t listed”