Printing files and documents can be as simple as clicking an application's Print button. The hard part is deciding which printer is right for you. This chapter defines printers, and explains the differences between the most common printers available. In addition, you learn how to connect a printer to your computer, and how to make sure it will work with Windows 95.

A printer is the computer component that lets you create copies of the information stored in your computer on paper. The printed material is often called hard copy, to differentiate it from the data stored on a disk, or held in the computer's memory.

There are three basic types of printers available for use with personal computers:

The type of printer you choose depends on your budget and the type of output you need. For example, if all you need to print are grocery lists, you may be happy with a dot-matrix printer. In general, dot-matrix printers are noisier, slower, and produce a poorer-quality image than do laser or inkjet printers, but they are also less expensive. If you need to print newsletters, brochures, or illustrated reports, you will probably want a high-quality laser printer.

In general, there are three main factors to consider when purchasing a printer:

Although the primary considerations involved in selecting a printer are usually cost, speed, and resolution, there are other issues that come into play as well. Available fonts, the ability to print in color, and the amount of maintenance involved may weight your decision:

Laser printers are similar to copy machines--they use laser beams to burn special toner onto the page to create a permanent impression. They create high-quality output at a relatively fast speed, without making too much noise. The downside is the price; most black-and-white laser printers cost $500 or more, and each toner cartridge (which lasts about 3,000 pages) can cost an additional $50.

When considering a laser printer, here are some things to keep in mind:

Inkjet printers spray a fine, quick-drying ink through small nozzles to produce characters and images on paper. Although the results are not quite as sharp as those of laser printers, inkjet printers provide very good quality output at a lower cost. Laser printers cost more than other printers, but they may be worth the price because they are fast, quiet, and produce high-quality text and graphics.

When considering an inkjet printer, here are some things to keep in mind:

Dot-matrix printers are the cheapest printers available. They create text and images on the page by hammering several small pins against an inked ribbon. The more pins used, the better the image--9-pin and 24-pin are common options. The 24-pin printers produce a better quality output, but are somewhat slower than the 9-pin printers.

Print quality for dot-matrix printers is often described in terms of mode: draft mode (low resolution), near-letter-quality mode (medium resolution), or letter-quality mode (high resolution). The speed depends on the mode, with draft mode being the fastest.

When considering a dot-matrix printer, here are some things to keep in mind:

Most printers have two cables: one is a power cord, and the other is the printer cable. Connecting a printer involves attaching the printer cable to the correct port on your computer's system unit, then plugging the power cord into an electrical outlet.

To attach a printer cable to the system unit, follow these steps:

1. Locate the printer cable. The easiest way is to find the one that isn't a power cord. It is probably heavy, gray, about six feet long, and it ends in a D-shaped connector with 25 pins.

NOTE: For laser and inkjet printers, the printer cable is probably permanently attached to the printer. For dot-matrix printers, you will have to manually attach one end of the cable to the printer. Locate the end that is not the D-shaped 25-pin connector and attach it to the port on the printer. Secure it using two clips that snap into place.

2. Locate the parallel port on the system unit. The parallel port also has 25 sockets, arranged in the same configuration as the 25 pins on the cable connector.

 

3. Plug the connector on the cable into the port on the system unit.

4. Secure the connector by tightening the screws on either side.

Although most commands that affect your printer come from your PC and your PC applications, most printers also have a set of controls. For example, you may be able to select the mode of operation as well as which paper tray to use for a particular print job. Status lights on the front of the printer let you know which controls are active.

If you look at the front of your printer, these are some of the controls you are likely to find:

NOTE: Although some printers automatically come online when you print a file, most have an on/off switch. If none of the status lights on your computer are lit, locate the on/off switch and turn the printer on.

Be sure to read the documentation that comes with your printer for complete instructions on using the printer controls.

Windows 95 uses the Add Printer Wizard to assist you in installing a printer. If your printer is not already installed, run the wizard to add the printer.

NOTE: These instructions are for installing a local printer, one that is attached directly to your computer. If you have a networked printer, ask your network administrator for information about installing it for use with your computer.

1. Double-click My Computer and then double-click the Printers folder icon. Double-click the Add Printer icon to start the Add Printer Wizard. Choose Next.

2. On the second screen of the wizard, select the Local Printer option button to install a printer directly attached to your computer. Then click Next again.

3. Select the printer's manufacturer in the Manufacturers list box. Select the specific printer in the Printers list box and then choose Next.

NOTE: If your printer is not on the list, either choose the Generic manufacturer and Generic/Text Only printer, or click the Have Disk button and follow instructions to install a vendor-supplied driver.

4. Choose the printer port, typically LPT1, and then click the Configure Port button. Check the Spool MS-DOS Print Jobs and the Check Port State Before Printing check boxes. Choose OK and then choose Next.

5. In the Printer Name text box, type a name for the printer or keep the name that is displayed. Select the Yes option button if you want Windows-based programs to use this printer as the default printer. (If a different printer is the default printer, choose No.) Choose Next.

6. Select Yes if you want to print a test page, and then choose Finish. The test page prints (if you selected Yes). The wizard copies the printer drivers to your system, prompting for the Windows 95 disks or CD if needed.

After you install a printer in Windows, you can make changes to the configuration to customize it for different printing requirements. You make these changes in the printer's Properties dialog box:

1. Click the Start menu, select Settings, Printers, and then select the printer icon for the printer you want to configure.

2. Right-click the printer icon and then select Properties to open the Properties dialog box

 

Windows 95 makes it easy to install a new printer by using the Add Printer Wizard. Just pick the right make and model from the list.

3. The Properties dialog box contains several tabs. Select each tab to view the settings. Click the Help button (the question mark in the upper-right corner) and then click a feature to read details about that property. Properties vary according to each printer's capabilities.

4. Change settings as desired, and then choose OK to save the new settings. Choose Cancel to get out of the dialog box without making any changes.

If you no longer need a printer that is installed in Windows 95, you can delete it from the Printers folder window:

1. Double-click My Computer and then double-click the Printers folder icon.

2. Select the printer you want to delete. Open the File menu and select Delete.

3. Windows asks if you are sure that you want to delete the printer. Choose Yes. The printer icon is deleted.

4. Windows then asks if it can remove files that were used only for this printer. Choose Yes. (If you plan to reattach this printer in the future, choose No.)

Printing a document is similar in most Windows applications. You can open the application's File menu and select Print to open the Print dialog box. In the dialog box, you can select options such as which pages you want to print and how many copies to print. To quickly print the current document without setting options, click the Print button on the toolbar.

A printer icon on the taskbar near the clock indicates that printing is in progress. A quick way to check the status of print jobs is to point to the printer icon on the taskbar.

After you issue the print command, the Print Manager takes control of the print job. You can use the commands in Print Manager to check the status of a print job, to cancel a print job, or to pause a print job.

Print Manager keeps track of documents waiting to be printed. There are several ways to open Print Manager:

If your printer is not working, here are a few things to check:

TIP: To check if a printer has been paused, open the Print Manager, then open the Printer menu. If there is a check mark next to the Pause Printing command, the printer has been paused. To restart it, select the Pause Printing command.