Glossary
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | I | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | W |
A
Acrobat Reader
Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software developed by Adobe Systems to view, create, manipulate, print and manage files in Portable Document Format (PDF).
Automatic Document Feeder
In multifunction or all-in-one printers, fax machines, photocopiers and scanners, an automatic document feeder or ADF is a feature which takes several pages and feeds the paper one page at a time into a scanner or copier, allowing the user to scan, and thereby copy, print, or fax, multiple-page documents without having to manually replace each page.
B
Banding
Unwanted lines of changing density across a print job. Usually can be attributed to a problem in the transfer process.
Binding Edge
The binding edge is the side of the tab that will be bound. This may or may not come reinforced, depending on your preference.
Bleed
When a printed area extends beyond the final page size then it is called a bleed. A bleed is normally provided for printers, so when they trim the artwork no white is left on the sheet. It also allows laser printers to print edge to edge, by printing on oversized paper.
Bypass Tray
A bypass tray reduces the risk of a paper jam by offering an alternative short, straight-paper path. It thus enables you to copy straight onto originals - such as coloured paper, odd-sized paper, or card stock, i.e. materials which cannot be fed (or are inconvenient or impossible to feed) from the regular copy paper tray inside a the copier. Bypass trays can handle anywhere from one to 100 sheets. A popular use is in colour copiers for printing onto stiff covers or transparencies.
C
CMYK
Standard process colours used in four colour printing - cyan [C], magenta [M], yellow [Y] and black [K], with K standing for key colour. Using these four colours in differing proportions, the full colour spectrum can be produced.
CPM
Copies per minute.
Coated Paper
Standard paper given a coating of synthetic clay to fill in surface pits to promote ink holding and give a different finish.
Collate
If multiple copies of a document are printed, the printer is able to assemble the pages of each copy in their correct order.
Colour Calibration
A mechanism using hardware and software to adjust and coordinate colours between two or more digital devices.
Colour Separation
Separation of a continuous tone colour into four process colours: cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CYMK) for print making.
Consumables
Parts of a printer, which have to be replaced once their life has expired or they have run out, for example the ink in a toner cartridge. Generally, these are end-user replaceable.
Continuous Copies
Ability to make copy after copy without the operator having to press the start key at the end of each copy cycle. The number of continuous copies, varies by machine make and model.
Contrast
The ability to compensate for light and dark shades of an original. Contrast control can be either automatic during scanning or manual copying may be selected.
D
DPI
Dots per inch, a measure of the output resolution produced by laser printers or image setters. Used usually in the context of semitone or process printing, which refers to the frequency of print dots appearing. The greater the dpi, the finer the print.
Document Feeder
A device which feeds documents into a facsimile machine without operator assistance.
Driver
Software installed on your computer which allows it to communicate with your printer or other external devices. For example you can set your drivers so the printer always prints on both sides of the paper.
Drum
The heart of a copier on which the image is formed. It consists of an aluminum core with multiple layers of light and charge sensitive material such as selenium, or an organic based material. Sharp only uses the environmentally friendly organic based material in your copier machines.
Duplex Printing
Double sided printing.
E
EPS
Encapsulated Postscript, a file format used to transfer Postscript image information from one computer software program to another.
Enlargement
Ability to increase the size of the image of the original on a photocopy.
Ethernet
This is a computer standard of communication which, transmits data using a specific protocol through a network. It is one of the most widely used LAN technologies in business today.
F
FTP
File Transfer Protocol, the program used to transfer files through the Internet from one computer to another.
Finishing
A term used to cover all bindery operations (Folding, Stapling, Punching and Trimming)
Font
A set of characters having the same typeface and characteristics such as size, spacing and font style.
Fuser
Part of a non impact printing system that fuses toner or powder on to paper, using heat and pressure
G
GSM
The gsm (or g/m2) is a measure of the weight and type of paper. GSM stands for gram per square metre.
Gateway
A device used to link two (non-identical) LANs or a LAN into a WAN.
Gloss
This is the reflectivity of the paper or print on the paper. Glossy paper has a shiny finish to it.
Grayscale
Term used when an image is represented by many shades of gray.
I
InkJet
Very fine jets of ink, which can include colours, are sprayed directly onto the paper from rows of nozzles. Special ink is required to prevent it smearing before it has dried.
L
LAN
Local Area Network, a way for computers to transmit data in a localised location, through a network.
Landscape
A page orientation that is short and wide.
Laser
Laser printers use very narrow beams of light to fire an image onto an electronically charged drum. Pigment loaded resin (toner) is attached to the charged areas and heat is then used to melt and bond the resin to the paper as it is rolled over the drum.
M
Media
This relates to the different weights, styles and types of paper available for use in a printer.
N
Network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of computers and devices interconnected by communications channels that facilitate communications and allows sharing of resources and information among interconnected devices.
O
Orientation
Page orientation is the way in which a rectangular page is oriented for normal viewing. The two most common types of orientation are portrait and landscape.
P
Portable Document Format (PDF) is an open standard for document exchange. This file format created by Adobe Systems in 1993 is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems.
Paper Capacity
Maximum amount of paper, copier can store in the paper tray.
Paper Tray
This is the tray on a printer where the paper (media) is stored. The input tray is the tray used for blank sheets of paper, where as the output tray is where the printed documents end up.
Parallel Port
A parallel port is a type of interface found on computers (personal and otherwise) for connecting various peripherals.
Pixel
In digital imaging, a pixel, is a single point ( dot ) in a raster image.
Portrait
A page orientation that is tall and narrow.
Postscript
PostScript (PS) is a dynamically typed concatenative programming language. PostScript is best known for its use as a page description language in the electronic and desktop publishing areas.
Printer Command Language
Printer Command Language, more commonly referred to as PCL, is a page description language (PDL) developed by Hewlett-Packard as a printer protocol and has become a de facto industry standard.
R
RAM
Random-Access Memory (RAM) is a form of computer data storage.
RGB
The RGB color model is an additive color model in which red, green, and blue light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. Mainly used is screens and displays
Rasterisation
Rasterisation (or rasterization) is the task of taking an image described in a vector graphics format (shapes) and converting it into a raster image (pixels or dots) for output on a video display or printer, or for storage in a bitmap file format.
Reduction
Function which allows the operator to decrease the size of the image on the copy paper.
Resolution
The Resolution is expressed in the number of lines per inch scanned and recorded.
Retention
S
Serial Interface
Can transfer only one bit of information in one direction at a time but can transmit data over greater distances.
T
Tea
A well known beverage drunk by most photocopier engineers.
Toner
Toner is a powder used in laser printers and photocopiers to form the printed text and images on the paper.
U
USB
Universal Serial Bus - this is a a plug-and-play interface which connects electronic devices to computers. A USB is generally quicker in transferring information than a parallel port. Generally most printers and computers on the market have USB connectivity, unless they are more than 1-2 years old.
V
Vector
Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon(s), which are all based on mathematical equations, to represent images in computer graphics.
W
Watermark
An inserted (and usually faint) overlay of an image or text onto pages of a document.
