A+, Network+, Security+ Exams in a Nutshell

Printers and Scanners

This section of the study guide covers essential information required for support jobs related to printers and scanners. Printers are used in every computing environment, and support technicians are expected to attend to service calls for printer installation and troubleshooting on a regular basis.

Fundamentals of Printers and Scanners

As a support technician, you are expected to have a good understanding of the processes involved in printing and scanning. You must also be aware of basic troubleshooting and preventive maintenance procedures. This section covers a brief study of these topics.

The printing process

The following is an overview of the process that takes place on Windows desktops when a user sends a document for printing:

1. When the document is submitted for printing using an application program, the application calls the Graphics Device Interface (GDI). The GDI further calls the driver installed for the selected printer.

2. The print job has specific data type. Print jobs submitted by Windows XP and Windows 2000 have the enhanced metafile (EMF) data type. Many other applications use the RAW data type, which is usually in ready-to-print format.

3. The GDI and the printer driver work together to convert the document format into a language that the printer understands. This data is passed on to the print spooler, a special folder on the hard disk that holds print jobs in a queue until the printer is ready to accept the print job. The local print provider, which ...