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Glossary
Banding
Bands of discrete color or tone that appear when an inkjet cannot reproduce
a smooth graduation from one color to another. Instead there are noticeable
jumps between one value and the next.
Bitmap
File in which every pixel on screen is represented by a piece of data in
memory, usually graphics, although some audio formats are described as
bitmapped as well. As opposed to a vector image, in which only a description
of the image is stored.
Bleeding
A print distortion where adjacent colors run and merge into one another,
sometimes caused by excess ink or paper which is too absorbent.
Bubble Jet
Canon's trade name for its thermal drop on demand ink jet printer
technology. The ink is heated, which produces a bubble that expands and
ejects the ink out of the nozzle. As the bubble cools, the vacuum created
draws fresh ink back into the nozzle.
Cartridge
The actual encasement, which holds the ink. Some cartridges function as an "ink tank", while others actually contain a print-head assembly that disperses the ink on the paper.
Cartridge Core
Empty laser toner or inkjet cartridge.
Centronics Interface
This 36-pin connection was designed by Centronics Corp. and has become the
preferred way to attach most printers to a PC parallel data port.
CMY
Single cartridge color inkjets use the Cyan Magenta Yellow model. Black,
referred to as composite black, is made up from the three colors.
Dye-sublimation uses these three colors on the print ribbon.
CMYK
The Cyan Magenta Yellow Black model is for standards in color inkjet
printing. These are the four basic process colors used in conventional color
printing. Overlaying or dithering combinations of these four inks in
different proportions can create a vast range of colors.
Composite Black
The creation of black from cyan, magenta and yellow inks. Mixing inks is not
a perfect operation, and composite black is often muddy. This is why the
CMYK model is used in professional printing.
Contone
A technique used by color printing technologies, which is a compromise
between increased halftone cell size (giving more shades per halftone cell)
and increased resolution (giving less invisible halftone cells).
Core
Refers to the empty cartridge shell, regardless whether it is an inkjet or
laser cartridge.
Developer
A mixture of (non magnetic) toner and carrier.
Diffuse Dither
A method for printing continuous-tone images on laser printers in which the
grayscale information is represented by randomly located printer dots.
Diffuse dithers do not photocopy well because of the small, random, dot
location in the image.
Dithering
A half toning method where several dots of the primary colors are printed in
various patterns to give the impression of a larger color spectrum.
Dot Matrix Printers
One of the earliest mass-market attempts at reliable, high-speed printing,
dot matrix printers used a set of pins that could be fired rapidly at an
inked ribbon to form characters on an underlying sheet of paper. While
speedy, these printers suffered from relatively poor print quality. Even
higher-end models with as many as 48 pins could produce only
near-letter-quality text. Lower-end, 9-pin models were suitable only for
printing drafts. If you're looking to print on continuous sheets of paper or
are interested in making banners, dot matrix might be the way to go. They're
also typically the most affordable printers.
DPI
Dots Per Inch: a unit of measure used to describe the resolution of images
produced by printers or other output devices. The printed dots from a 600
dpi printer are far smaller than the dots created by a 300dpi printer. As a
result, the output is smoother and more detailed, while dithering patterns
will deliver more realistic colors.
Dye-Sublimation
A special print technology used for demanding graphic arts and photographic
applications that require continuous tone output.
Feathering
A term used when describing printed text quality. Feathering occurs when
deposited ink follows the contours of the paper. Depending on the viscosity
of the ink, the rougher the grain of the paper the more pronounced the
feathering would be.
Generic Toner Kit
This is a copy of the OEM toner kit, made by a third party manufacturer to
OEM Specifications. Does not require recycling.
Halftone
Different-sized black dots produced by turning particular dots on and off
during printing, either on a laser printer, an image setter, or a printing
press. The dots repeat in a regular pattern, creating the illusion of
continuous tone. Color inkjets use their process colors in a similar scheme.
Other colors are produced by laying down patterns of the process color dots,
varying the pattern and ratio of each color. Halftone dots are not the same
as printer dots.
Ink
A specially formulated liquid, usually with a dye base. Majorities of inks
are water-based liquids.
Ink Jet Printers
Unlike dot matrix printers, which rely on physical contact with an inked
ribbon and paper, ink jet printers simply spray ink in a series of dots to
form characters. The principal of heating ink to create a bubble and force
it through the jet. The bubble is cooled and then bursts onto a piece of
paper. This can occur anywhere from 4000 to 6000 times per second. While
early ink jets were prone to clogging, they were capable of delivering good
print speeds and relatively high-quality text and graphics. Today's best ink
jet printers have eliminated most of the clogging problems, rival laser
printers for text quality, and can also produce color images with
near-photographic quality--all for even less money than a low-end laser
printer.
Jet
Commonly referred to as a nozzle.
Jet Pak
A mail away system to professionally re-manufacture an inkjet cartridge.
Saves you... guess what! (See "Money" below).
Laser Printer
While considerably more complex and expensive than most other common printer
types, laser printers are capable of producing extremely high-quality text
and graphics (including color) at fantastic speeds. A type of printer that
utilizes a laser beam to produce an image on a drum. The light of the laser
alters the electrical charge on the drum wherever it hits. The drum is then
rolled through a reservoir of toner, which is picked up by the charged
portions of the drum. Finally, the toner is transferred to the paper through
a combination of heat and pressure. This is also the way copy machines
work.
Laser Toner
A printing technology which uses very fine electro-magnetically charged
particles (usually called toner). The particles are dispersed onto the paper
and heated to a temperature that causes these particles to become embedded
into the paper. This process is called fusing.
LED Printer
An electro photographic printer that uses a matrix of LEDs as its light
source. The LED mechanism is much simpler than its laser printer
counterpart. A stationary array of LEDs is used instead of numerous moving
parts, and the LEDs are selectively beamed onto the drum. In electronics
terms, a diode is a semiconductor device through which current can go in
only one direction. As a side effect, light-emitting diodes produce either
visible or infrared light. LED printers utilize the latest printing
technique, producing laser-quality printouts while utilizing less energy.
LEDs require very little power and are often used as indicator lights,
including (most likely) the drive access lights on your computer. LEDs are
also found in some "laser-quality" printers.
LPT1
The first parallel or printer port on a PC.
MICR Toner
(Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) Special magnetic Toner used in printing
bank checks on plain paper.
Micro fine Toner
Special Fine grain (small particle size) toner used in printers with high
resolution.
Money
Something you work very hard for and we in turn make every effort to save it
for you. "Money Saved" is a measure of your shopping savvy.
MrsInkjet
A company, which wants to save you money on printing costs. Also the company responsible for this glossary.
Nozzle
Tiny tubes, which allow for a heated ink bubble to travel through as it
cools. Also, the one vital area of the print head which needs to be cleaned
occasionally or replaced.
OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer.
Parallel Port
An I/O channel for a parallel device, like a printer, which sends and
receives data eight bits at a time over 8 separate wires. Maximum throughput
is around 500Kbit/s. Increasingly, other devices such as removable storage
drives; scanners etc. share the printer parallel port using a 'pass through'
mechanism.
PCL
Printer Control Language: a protocol designed by Hewlett-Packard to allow
PCs to communicate with its laser printers. PCL has become a de facto
standard for laser and ink jet printers and is supported by virtually all
printer manufacturers. 'HP compatible' or 'LaserJet compatible' means that a
printer supports the PCL command set.
PDL
Page Description Language: a language for describing the layout and contents
of a printed page used with laser printers. The best-known PDLs are Adobe
PostScript and Hewlett-Packard PCL (Printer Control Language). Both
PostScript and modern versions of PCL are object-oriented, describing a page
in terms of geometrical objects such as lines, arcs, and circles.
Pigment Inks
While conventional inks are essentially oil-based dyes, pigment inks consist
of tiny chunks of solid pigment suspended in a liquid solution. According to
their proponents, pigment inks offer richer, deeper colors and have fewer
tendencies to run, bleed or feather.
PostScript
A page description language developed by Adobe. Generally used by laser
printers, PostScript is becoming increasingly common in high-end inkjets.
too.
PPF
(Plain Paper Fax) Usually based on a laser printer, thermal transfer or
inkjet printer.
Print-alignment
The proper setting of the ink nozzles and the print head. May at times be
out of whack if cartridge was not properly inserted into the "cartridge
carriage". Will definitely be out of whack if Printer is suddenly dropped.
Printer Dot
The individual pixel in a halftone image. The size of a printer dot is
variable, ranging from zero (all white) to the size of the halftone screen
(all black).
Print Head
The important part of a printer, which contains electrical circuitry and the
nozzles to heat and disperse the ink during printing. You should avoid
touching or cleaning the print- head unless you have an approved solution.
Process Colors
The four primary ink colors (CMYK) used in color printing.
Raster Image
An image defined as a set of dots/pixels in a column-and-row format.
Rasterisation is the process of determining values for the dots/pixels in a
rendered image. See also Bitmap.
Rendering
The process of translating high-level print commands into a raster image.
Resolution
The number of dots per unit of area. A raster image with a finer grid
contains more dots and has a higher resolution, capable of reproducing more
detail in an image.
RGB
Red-Green-Blue: By varying the intensity of each of these colors in a single
pixel, the human eye can be fooled into seeing a wide range of colors.
Thermal Transfer
A printer technology that uses heat to transfer colored dye onto paper.
Thermal Transfer Ribbon
A wide ribbon, looks like carbon paper but operates under the principal of
applied heat. Usually this product is found in Plain Paper Fax Machines.
Thermo Auto chrome
A print technology which has emerged in digital camera companion printers
and which is claimed to produce photographic-quality output on a par with
the more well-known dye-sublimation technique.
Toner
A special type of ink used by copy machines and laser printers. Toner
consists of a dry, powdery substance that is electrically charged so that it
adheres to a drum, plate, or piece of paper charged with the opposite
polarity.
True Black
Black produced by separate black ink rather than the 'composite black'
produced from a mixture of cyan, magenta and yellow. See also Composite
Black.
Virgin Cartridge
A toner cartridge that was used once and not yet recycled.
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