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Glossary of Printer Terms

A0
Sheet size of 841 x 1189 mm
A1
Sheet size of 594 x 841 mm
A2
Sheet size of 420 x 594 mm
A3
Sheet size of 297 x 420 mm
A4
Sheet size of 210 x 297 mm
A5
Sheet size of 148 x 210 mm
A6
Sheet size of 105 x 148 mm
A7
Sheet size of 74 x 105 mm
A8
Sheet size of 52 x 74 mm
Acrobat Reader
PDF document viewer provided by Adobe
Air Print
Allows for wireless printing from certain Apple devices including I-Pods and I-Pads.
All in One
A printer which is capable of copying and scanning. Some even include fax aswell.
Anti Aliasing
This feature removes jagged edges in curves and diagonal lines in order to make them appear smoother.
Apple Mac
A personal computer from Apple Inc. Certain printers are not compatible with Apple macs.
Auto Reduction
Allows users to re-size documents automatically when scanning.
Automatic Document Feeder ADF
Attaches to the printer in order to feed documents one page at a time. Compatible with fax, copiers and scanners.
Automatic Duplex Unit
Allows users to print on both sides of the paper without the need to manually reverse the sheets themselves.
Automatic Two Sided Printing
Allows users to print on both sides of the paper without the need to manually reverse the sheets themselves.
Banding
Unwanted streaks or lines across a printed page, often caused y problems in the transfer process
Bitmap
A type of computer image generated with a pixel grid or printed dots.
Bleed
This a feature which allows printers to print beyond the edges of the page. This feature is useful when printing posters and other forms of artwork.
Border
An area surrounding the edge of the page usually added for decorative purposes.
Borderless Printing
Allows users to print without margins on all four sides of the paper.
C0
Envelope size of 917 x 1297mm
C1
Envelope size of 648 x 917mm
C2
Envelope size of 458 x 648mm
C3
Envelope size of 324 x 458mm
C4
Envelope size of 229 x 324mm
C5
Envelope size of 162 x 229mm
C6
Envelope size of 114 x 162mm
C7
Envelope size of 81 x 114mm
C8
Envelope size of 57 x 81mm
CAD
Computer Aided Design. Software used predominently in the engineering and manufacturing industries.
CMYK
An abbreviation which is applied to inks and toners. Stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. Printers mix these colours together in order to create every colour available.
Coated Paper
Form of paper given with a synthetic clay coating to remove surface pits and provide a diffent finish
Collation
Allows users to print multiple copies of a document simultaneously without having to re-order the documents separately.
Colour Balance
This term refers to how intense colours appear in relation to each other. Colour Balance can be used effectively to improve the quality of printing, in particular photographic images.
Colour Calibration
Hardware and software adjustments used to maintain consistency between devices and outputs.
Consumables
This term refers to items which are literally consumed by the printer during the printing process, this can include ink and toner cartridges. Consumables have to be replaced periodically by the user when they are depleted.
Copy
A feature associated with the majority of MFP's. The copy feature allows users to create identical copies of a document.
Cyan
One of four core colours used in ink and toner cartridges. When blended together any colour can be generated.
Dot Matrix
A type of printing technology which uses minute pins to transfer ink onto the page from ribbons. Dot Matrix printers are partricularly suited to printing invoices and receipts. They are also capable of creating carbon copies.
DPI Dots Per Inch
This measurement signifies the resolution of the print. Each dot literally means a tiny blob of ink. The higher the DPI, the better the print quality.
Duplex
Printing on both sides of the page.
Driver
Software used to communicate between computer and printer or other external device. Often contains detailed settings to allow functions such as double-sided printing.
Duplex Printing
A handy feature which allows users to automatically print on both sides of a sheet of paper.
Dye Sublimation
Dye is vapourised using heat and pressure, before being deposited on the media to give a high quality output.
EPS
Encapsulated Postscript, a file format used to transfer Postscript image information from one computer software program to another.
Ethernet
A commonly used networking cable which is used to create local area networks. This type of cable is used to create simple networks capable of network printing.
Fax Speed
The transmission speed of the fax machines' modem. Recorded in kbps.
Finishing
Folding, stapling, punching or trimming.
Fire Wire
A commonly used high speed cable.
Firmware
Software which is inbuilt into devices. The firmware controls the operations of the device.
First Page
The timer it takes between the user clicking print and the document being produced.
FTP
File Transfer Protocol, the program used to transfer files through the Internet from one computer to another
Fuser Unit
A component found in laser printers which literally fuses the melted toner onto the paper.
Gamma
Measurement of contrast in mid-tones of an image.
GCR
Grey Component Replacement. Technique used to replace the neutral grey tones in an image with an equivalent amount of black.
Ghosting
Faint representation of a previously printed page appears on the subsequently printed pages.
Grey Balance
This is when half tone shades of cyan, magenta and yellow are mixed together in order to create shades of grey.
Greyscale
Useually referred to a technique of printing an image only using shades of grey.
GSM Grams per square metre
This term refers to the weight of the printer paper. In general, the higher the GSM, the better the paper quality.
Halftone Screen
Pattern simulating continuous tones by method of using varying sizes of dots.
HDD
Hard Disk Drive for physical data storage
Ink Cartridge
A component of an inkjet printer which contains the ink. Ink cartridges can easily be replaced.
Inkjet Printer
A type of printer in which droplets of ink are dropped onto the paper. Inkjets are the most common type of printing technology used today.
ISDN
Integrated Sevices Digital Network. international standard for fast digital data communication over telephones lines.
JPEG
A commonly used format for image files.
K
The final letter of the CMYK abbreviation and refers to the colour black. K stands for key.
LAN Local Area Network
A computer network that commonly uses Ethernet cables or Wi-Fi technology to connect multiple computers together.
Laser Printer
A laser printer uses laser beams attract powdered ink onto the page. This type of printer technology is best suited to user who print large amounts e.g. offices.
LCD Liquid Crystal Display
A commonly used type of electronic display. Certain printers are equipped with interactive LCD screens which can control the printers’ operations.
LED Printer
LED printer technology uses a series of light-emitting diodes in order to project information onto the printhead. LED printers have no moving parts making them an extremely reliable form of printer technology.
LPI
Lines Per Inch. Measure of frequency of dots on a halftone screen
Magenta
One of four colours used in ink and toner cartridges. When blended together any colour can be generated.
Managed Print
Printerland.co.uk can provide you and your company with an easily managed printing plan to enable you keep track of your printing costs without the need to worry about running costs and maintenance.
Memory
Every printer will be equipped memory capacity built in. This memory is used when printing larger, more complex images. Memory also helps to reduce the length of the print queue. Extra memory units can be purchased.
MFP
An abbreviation of Multi-Function Printer.
MICR
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. Magnetic toner used for printing such items as reference numbers on cheques.
Mono
In regards to printing this term relates to the colour black.
Mono Printer
A printer which only prints in black.
Multifunction Printer
A printer which incorporates several technologies. These can include fax, scan and copying capabilities.
Network
A system which allows multiple computers to access a main computer.
N-Up
Printing multiple sheets up on a single page.
Network Printing
Means multiple users can using the same printer when connected to the network.
NOBI A3
Japanese paper size of 328 x 453 mm
Optical Character Recognition - OCR
This term refers to the conversion of hand written characters into machine-encoded text. This feature is present in many scanners and printers.
Optical Resolution
Physical resolution before software enhancements are added.
Page Pack
Xerox’s version of managed print (see managed print).
Paper Tray
Optional extra which holds extra paper, can be attached to the printer.
PCL Printer Command Language
A common printer formatting language which controls elements of the printing such as margins etc.
PDF Portable Document Format
A commonly used format for viewing documents.
PDL
Page Description Language. Provides conversion of data from computer to the printer to specify the arrangement of a printed page. The most common PDLs are PCL and PostScript.
Photo Paper
A type of paper which is ideally suited for printing photos.
PictBridge
Allows direct communication to printer from digital camera.
PostScript
This is another printer format language which is used by various printing devices, e.g. Apple Macs.
Print head
A component of printers which applies the image to the paper. The print head will vary depending on the type of printer technology.
Print head cleaner
A piece of equipment used to clean excess ink off the printheads. These will vary depending on the type of printer technology.
Print Noise Level
The noise emitted when the printer is printing a document. Measured in Db.
Printer Media
This term relates to any type of material which the document is printed onto e.g. photo paper.
Proof
A sample or test print sent before final production to check for accuracies of layout, type and colour.
Public Sector
If you are purchasing printer hardware or consumables for government, healthcare, education or other public sector organisation, printerland.co.uk can issue you with a convenient account facility to provide you with the products and services you need quickly, efficiently and at highly competitive prices.
Ream
Usually describes a 500 sheet block of paper.
Resolution
The amount ink or toner dots in a given area. The higher the resolution, the better the print quality.
Return Program Toner Cartridges
Toner cartridges which are returned to the manufacturer and recycled
RIP
Raster Image Processor. Part of an output device that converts vector shapes into pixels or dots before printing.
RJ45
Ethernet or Network cable for connection between devices
Saddle Stitch
Method of binding documents by stapling along a centre fold.
Scanner
A device which optically scans 2D images and 3D objects and converts them into a 2D digital format for manipulation. Scanners can be purchased as a stand-alone item or as part of a multi-function printer.
Solid Ink
A type of ink which sold in solid form and is only available from Xerox. The ink is heated and then melted onto the page.
Solid Ink Printer
A type of printer technology only available from Xerox. Solid ink printers operate using Xerox’s patented solid ink cartridges.
SRA3
Paper size of 320 x 450mm
TIFF
File format for exchanging bitmapped images between applications.
Toner
A powder used to print text and images onto paper. Toner is soley used in laser printers and photocopiers. The powder is melted by the fuser unit and subsequently binds onto the paper. Toners are available in the standard CMYK colours.
USB - Universal Serial Bus
A commonly used connection which is used to connect a range of computer peripherals to PCs. The majority of our printers support USB connectivity.
Wi Fi
Any printers bearing the Wi-Fi logo are enabled to access a wireless network and are capable of wireless printing.
Wireless Network
A local area network in which multiple computers and peripherals can be connected together without the use of wires.
Wireless Printing
This term relates to printers which are wireless enabled. This allows for documents from a PC to be sent wirelessly to a printer.
Wireless Technology
Devices enabled with wireless technology are capable of transferring information over short distances without the use of wires.
WYSIWYG
What You See Is What You Get. Commonly referred to within software to describe correlation between onscreen visuals and printed output.
Yellow
One of four colours used in ink and toner cartridges. When blended together any colour can be generated.
Yield
This relates to the amount of pages that an ink or toner cartridge will be able to print. E.g. a 9k mono toner cartridge will be able to print 9,000 pages at 5% coverage.

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This calculation is based on current pricing which is subject to change over time and excludes the cost of additional long life components such as drums, fusers or other maintenance items.

*Page yields are declared by the manufacturer in accordance with ISO/IEC standards or occasionally estimated based on 5% coverage. Yield will vary greatly depending on image, area coverage, print mode and environmental conditions.

*Page yields are declared by the manufacturer in accordance with ISO/IEC standards or occasionally estimated based on 5% per page coverage. Yields will vary greatly depending on image, area coverage, print mode and environmental conditions.