Beginner users often wonder how to use a printer. This is not the most difficult task out there. Even a child can handle it. Next, we will look at all the features of working with the mentioned devices. What information is recommended for users to read? And what do the operating instructions for the device you are studying look like?
Briefly about the work
Let's start with brief description. How to use the printer? To cope with the task, the user must:
- Select device model. It must be compatible with the OS and hardware of the PC.
- Buy a printing device.
- Connect the printer to your computer.
- Install drivers.
That's all. After these steps, you can print documents without any problems. There is nothing unclear or difficult about this. Although the steps listed sometimes raise questions.
Device types
How to use the printer? The first problem that users face is choosing a printing device.
Today you can find:
- laser printers;
- inkjet models.
In addition, all mentioned devices are divided into:
- black and white;
- colored.
Users decide for themselves which printers are right for them. Now color printers are popular, but black and white devices still do not remain in the shadows. There are such devices in almost every home. They are used to print black and white documents.
Connection
The next step is connecting the printer to the computer. Usually this step does not cause any problems. Nevertheless, let's look at it in more detail.
So, step-by-step instruction when connecting the printer to a computer it looks like this:
- Install the device in a place convenient for the user.
- Connect the power cord to the device.
- Plug the USB cable into the appropriate port on the printer.
- Insert the other end of the cable into the USB socket on the computer.
- Insert the plug into the socket.
- Turn on the computer and wait for the OS to load.
- Press the printer power button.
We have become familiar with the main actions. What's next? Now you can proceed to a rather simple, but very important point- to install software for using the device.
Installing drivers
How to use the printer? To cope with this task, the user must install device drivers. Otherwise, the device will not be recognized by the operating system.
Most often, instructions of the following type are used to initialize the corresponding software:
- Turn on the printer previously connected to the computer.
- Insert the installation disk included in the box with the device into the drive.
- Follow the instructions of the installation wizard to begin and complete the driver installation procedure.
In some cases, the disc with the appropriate software is lost or not included at all. What to do in such circumstances?
Drivers without disk
How to use the printer? Just because the driver disk is missing doesn't mean everything is lost.
Instructions for initializing suitable software will look approximately like this:
- Open browser.
- Go to official page printer manufacturer.
- Select the "Drivers" or "Software" section.
- Specify the device model and OS you are using.
- Wait until the installation wizard finishes downloading.
- Run the downloaded exe file.
- Follow the instructions of the initialization wizard.
It is done. In just a few minutes, the drivers will be installed on your computer. After this, the printer will be detected by the operating system. Now you can print documents and files.
Important: after installing the drivers, the system will prompt you to print the first test sheet. It is advisable not to refuse this operation.
Print Settings
The printer operating instructions are almost completely studied. More precisely, we learned how to connect this device and prepare it for printing.
Before printing documents directly, you must set the print settings. How to do it?
The step-by-step process looks like this:
- Open "Start" - "Control Panel" - "Printers".
- Right-click on the image of the desired device.
- Select the "Use as default" option there.
- Open the document you want to print.
- Click on the "File" - "Print..." button.
- In the window that appears, set the printing parameters - which page to print from which, how many copies. Sometimes you have to additionally indicate the printer used in the “Print device” section.
- Click on the "Ok" button.
Now all that remains is to wait. The printer should blink and then begin printing the document. But what if this does not happen?
The printer does not print
The reasons for this behavior are varied. Let's look at the most common of them.
For example, the device has run out of paint. For inkjet printer, especially colored ones, this situation is not uncommon. The user is usually shown a message about ink shortage. To set up printing, just refill the device. You can do this yourself, or you can contact special organizations.
The second option is an incorrect connection. After correcting the situation, the printer's performance is restored.
A device connection cable that is too long also sometimes leads to malfunctions of the device. It is enough to place the printer closer to the PC and replace the wire with a shorter one.
Sometimes the printing device does not work due to low paper quantity. The system will inform you about this when you try to print. All you need to do is add a few sheets to the printer stack.
Paper jams in the printer are the latest problem that causes the device to malfunction. It is advisable to turn off the device, then carefully remove the sheet and straighten the stack of paper. You can now try printing again.
conclusions
We figured out how to use the printer. It's actually quite easy. Especially if you follow the listed instructions.
Even a novice user will be able to print a document on a printer. It doesn't matter which one. Nowadays there are 3-in-1 devices - this is a printer, a scanner, and a copy machine at the same time. Using the device is similar to the previously proposed instructions.
We constantly print out all kinds of documents at work or at home - from photographs to texts. We simply send the document to be printed, and then pick it up from the printer. Have you ever wondered how all kinds of printers put images and texts on paper? Inkjet, laser, matrix devices - they all work differently, each has its own pros and cons. Let's figure it out different technologies print.
How a printer works: an overview of printing technologies
Core technologies Exotics for originals
The pile is small
Is it so difficult to understand printing methods? Are there many of them? In fact, there are only two main ones, that is, those that are used everywhere and continuously: office and home. Are you afraid of gradation? Then let’s designate it more formally: office printing turns out to be laser printing in 99 percent of cases, home printing is inkjet printing. Of course, there are exceptions; we’ll talk about them in more detail when describing each printing method.
Why do we need to know all this? The fact is that we are used to choosing printers according to our habits - “I’ve had an inkjet machine from company N all my life, so I’ll buy the same one, only fresher.” Agree, this approach to choosing equipment is not always logical - a printer is not a refrigerator, it is much more complicated, and its capabilities different models are different.
Basic printing technologies
| Name | Main advantages | Main disadvantages | Scope of application |
| Laser | High printing speed, good quality, low cost of prints | Harmful to health, the printers themselves are quite expensive | Office printing |
| LED | Harmless technology, very low cost of prints and printers themselves, high speed color printing | Print quality is slightly worse than laser printers, lower black and white printing speed | Office and home printing |
| Jet | Very high quality color prints (photos), low printer cost | Low printing speed, high price of consumables | Home printing, design activities |
| Matrix | Very low cost of prints, low maintenance requirements | High price of printers, high level noise during printing | Specialized Application |
| Solid ink | Very low cost per print, impeccable print quality | Very high price of printers | Office printing in design studios |
| Sublimation | Excellent photo printing quality, ease of use | Inability to print text documents | Home and office photo printing |
In order not to get lost in the forest of terms and concepts related to printing technologies, let's look at each of them in order. Let's start, naturally, with the most popular - laser.
A ray of light
The oldest of all technologies, it is the one that is at the heart of all copying machines - laser printing. Thanks to its existence, all office workers can print in a few seconds Text Document(sometimes even in color) of excellent quality.
Laser printers print very quickly and clearly, which is why they are popular in offices
Look at the printer that is in your office - most likely, it is a clear example of this section of our equipment. A fairly large gray box that spits out finished printouts at a fairly high speed, almost without thinking. What's inside? Why does it print so quickly and efficiently?
Inside such a device there is a drum, which is aimed at electric charge, corresponding to the output fingerprint. This charge attracts toner - a special powder (black or color depending on the type of printer). Then this powder is transferred to a sheet of paper (or to some intermediate medium, and only then to paper). To prevent the image from crumbling, the sheet passes through an oven - a special heater that bakes the toner onto the paper. Because of it, an unpleasant odor appears during long printing. However, it is not only the stove that “spoils the atmosphere” - laser printers emit harmful ozone gas during their operation.
Scheme of laser printer operation
Well, we remembered the main negative features (bad smell and ozone generation) of laser printers. Let's add to them the high cost of the devices themselves - that's all the disadvantages of this solution. To the unconditional advantages laser printing we can attribute very high quality and speed of printing.
LED printers are an ideal choice for home text printing
LED printers are an analogue of laser printers. They work in virtually the same way, only instead of a laser, a series of LEDs are used to form a picture on the drum. The method has only one drawback - the print quality is slightly inferior to laser. The printing speed here depends on the number of colors: black and white printers work a little slower than their laser counterparts, but color LED printing is faster. In all other respects, LED printers have gone far ahead - they cost little, their consumables are also cheaper (although laser toners also cost little), and most importantly, they are considered less harmful to health than laser ones.
In the stream
The exact opposite of laser printing is inkjet printing. As a rule, this is the slow application of a high-quality color image to paper, and not at all the lightning-fast printing of black text. Let's look at this printer from the inside.
The inside of the inkjet printer is very free
Obviously, the design of such a device is much simpler than that of a laser one. There is no drum, no lasers, no stove. Only a single cartridge (or several) dangles inside the almost empty case. So, there are only two main elements in an inkjet printer - the cartridge and the print head. By the way, some manufacturers' cartridges are equipped with a built-in print head. Why is this necessary?
Humanity has invented several inkjet technologies. Depending on your needs, one or another printing technology will be more suitable. There is thermal jet and piezoelectric technology.
Scheme of operation of a piezoelectric inkjet printer
Thermal inkjet technology involves the use of cheap print heads. This was done in order to be able to change them at the first need. Printer manufacturers are divided in their opinions on how often the print head should be changed - some think only in case of global blockage, and others think every time the cartridge is changed.
The technology itself is based on the fact that in order to apply a picture or text on paper, ink is sharply heated, and it expands and flies out, imprinting the cherished dots on the paper. A cheap print head is needed here precisely to ensure peace of mind for the user - what if the ink dries tightly in the nozzles of the head before it has time to come out of it?
Thermal inkjet printer operation diagram
The founders of piezoelectric technology claim that their print heads literally last forever and do not require replacement. You will know if this is true when the printer refuses to print just one or two dots. However, the nozzles can be cleaned - either with the help of a driver and a large amount of fresh branded ink, or with the help of a service center.
Why such sacrifices? Firstly, the cartridge, which is just an inkwell in the literal sense of the word, costs quite little. And this certainly pleases all users. Secondly, the technology really allows you to print precise microscopic dots on paper: at its inception, this printing method was truly the best (in fairness, it is worth saying that now both technologies do an excellent job).
Typically, an inkjet printer has two cartridges - black and color. |
So, we figured out the print heads. What is ink? Certainly not the colored water that you use to fill fountain pens. By modern standards, the ink of any printer must satisfy at least two conditions - to be moisture- and light-resistant, in addition, it is desirable that microscopic drops can be formed from it.
Currently, the size of a drop in some printers does not exceed one picoliter (in terms of thickness, this value can be equated to one tenth of the thickness of a human hair, that is, about 1/100 mm). It is worth noting that not all companies place their main emphasis on the size of the drop. Thus, some manufacturers (for example, HP) are trying to improve quality by better mixing colors, rather than reducing the size of inaccurate droplets. Generally speaking, the minimum ink droplet sizes range from 1-1.5 (for Canon and Epson) to 4-5 (for Lexmark and HP) picoliters.
In general, inks are divided into two groups - pigment and water-soluble. It is believed that water-soluble ink better conveys the colors of pictures and photographs, although at present both options deserve very warm words. Pigment inks are water-resistant, although water-soluble (if not soaked in water) can sometimes be very strong.
Not enough for anyone?
Undoubtedly, the two printing technologies described are just the beginning. There are many printing methods used either out of old memory or professional necessity. So…
Matrix
The cheapest method of putting an image or text on paper is to use a dot matrix printer. Remember typewriters from the middle of the last century? So heavy, with hard buttons that you have to hit with your fingers at full strength. The device of a dot matrix printer is practically no different from those machines. That is why, by the way, they work so noisily.
Dot matrix printers are more convenient to refill with roll paper
Inside the printer there is an ink ribbon or several multi-colored ribbons in the case of applying a color pattern. To display an image on paper, a print head equipped with rigid needles passes along the tape. Each of the needles in right moment hits the tape and a dot is imprinted on the paper. By the way, they called matrix printers because the needles on the head form a kind of matrix, but foreigners prefer to call such devices “dot printers.”
Scheme of operation of a dot matrix printer
The main advantage of such printers is the very low cost of prints: ink ribbons cost pennies, but they last a long time.
Dried ink
There are printers appearance very much reminiscent of laser ones. The style of work, the speed - everything in them implies the presence of a laser. However, their print quality is too good, comparable to real printing, and the price of the devices themselves will frighten even experienced printers. We are talking about solid ink printing technology.
Solid ink printers are refilled with ink chips
Here we combined several technologies into one, taking only the best from each. So, we put multi-colored blocks of ink into the compartments, similar to dried gouache, turn on the printer, press the “Print” button on the desired document and watch how, in a matter of seconds, a printout of ideal printing quality flies out of the device. Dream? No, reality, only very expensive.
Scheme of operation of a solid ink printer
The basis of solid ink printing is that the ink is melted immediately before being applied to the paper. The main component of ink is ordinary wax, which melts very quickly and immediately hardens when it gets on paper. In general, the technology replicates inkjet technology: microscopic multi-colored dots are applied to paper and form a pattern on it.
The main and main advantage, we repeat once again, is the impeccable print quality. Moreover, the printouts look not just good, but professional - the wax glitters in the light, adding gloss.
Sublimation
Undoubtedly, in an office, if there is an unlimited number of banknotes in the budget, a solid ink printer will become an indispensable assistant. There is also a home version of such a printer: a sublimation photo printer. Keen amateur photographers will love this technology because the quality of their prints is sometimes better than in darkrooms.
Sublimation printers are compact and simple - you can even take them with you when traveling
In fact, the technologies of sublimation and solid-ink printers can be combined into a single one - thermal printing. We did not do this for the reason that the purposes of the devices are completely different. And the optimal quality of prints is achieved not due to the clarity and correctness of the dots on the paper, but, on the contrary, due to mixing, superimposing adjacent dots on top of each other. It is thanks to this manifestation of technology that it is so valued by amateur photographers.
Scheme of operation of a sublimation printer
Basically, sublimation printers use four-layer film cartridges. A special roller contains a film on which three primary colors and a protective layer are applied. The printer heats up each color layer of film sequentially and the ink evaporates and falls onto the photo paper. To prevent the layers from being erased during use of the print, a protective layer is applied over the ink - it will withstand the dirty hands of the beholder, and even scuba diving.
To each according to his needs
Of course, there are other printing technologies, and therefore other uses for printers at work or at home. But even from this review of the main printing methods, the disappointing conclusion can be drawn that the habit of using the same technology for many years is simply not practical. Do you only need photo printing at home? Replace your inkjet printer with a sublimation printer. And if you need to please your clients with beautiful branded brochures, think about buying a solid ink machine.
In any case, a brief introduction to the basics of printing technology should make it easier not only to choose a new device, but also to better understand the old one.
Often those who have just acquired printing office equipment have a question about how to use the printer. In general, solving a problem of this type is very easy, especially these days, when most people have access to such devices and already roughly know how to turn the printer on or off. But still detailed instructions For a more thorough study of working with this office equipment, it never hurts.
To solve the problem of how to use the printer, you should first read the operating instructions for the device, which comes with the printing device itself. Of course, the instructions themselves may be written too broadly and it will take a lot of time to study them, so after skimming through them and looking at all sorts of illustrations, try simply turning on your device and then turning it off.
It should be said that this device is turned on by pressing the “ON” button located on its panel or on the sides of the device. In this case, first connect the device to your personal computer using a USB cable (this is what most modern MFP models are equipped with) and plug it into a power outlet.
In addition, according to the manual (application operation), install the drivers using installation disk, which is necessarily included with any printing device. If it is not available, then you can find suitable software on our website or on the official website of the office equipment manufacturer.
In addition, you should check the reliability of the organized connection between the device and personal computer. If, after installing the driver, the device appears on the PC in the “Printers and Faxes” section (you can get there through the control panel) and there are no suspicious icons next to it, then everything is fine with the connection. But if the printer icon is not displayed, then reconnect the USB cable to another connector system unit PC – preferably the one located at the back.
If the list of devices in the “Printers and Faxes” section says that the printer is disabled, then try reinstalling the device drivers or updating them. Often the problem that the printer is turned off is related to the device’s cartridge. Therefore, be sure to make sure that this consumable is installed correctly and that you have removed all protective films that were on it.
How to print?
When the turned on device is working successfully, you need to proceed directly to solving the problem of how to work with the printer. To print a document, launch it with the appropriate program, then open “File” => “Print” or use a key combination such as Ctrl + P. After you click on the print button, a window with parameters for this process will open in front of you. Indicate the number of copies there, and also decide on the scale, pages that need to be printed and other settings. If your printer has a scanning function, then you can find out how to use it here.
It should also be added that the use of the print command is available not only in the opened document. To use it, you can click on the desired document right click mouse and context menu select print option. After this, the process will start automatically. In this case, the device icon will be displayed in the taskbar, double click by which you can open the control of this office equipment and cancel the printing process.
Please note that it is very important to take into account the quality of the paper, cartridge and ink or toner used when printing documents. Be sure to ensure that the sheets of paper you use are not very wet, otherwise it will start to get stuck and stick together in the office equipment, which can lead to all sorts of troubles.
If you notice wps button on the printer, then please note that its presence is necessary in the event of organizing wireless connection. For instructions on how to use it, read the device's instruction manual or article.
It is also necessary to say that owners of inkjet printers should take into account the fact that the ink inside consumables If left idle for a long time, the device may dry out. For this reason, you need to print a couple of documents at least once every 3-4 days. Owners of laser models, if print quality deteriorates, can simply remove the cartridge from the device and shake it from side to side, then reinsert it and continue to use it.
The printer is very easy to use. The creators of office equipment have simplified this device to the maximum so that all actions can be performed using 2-3 buttons. So the question “How to use the printer correctly?” a very general and most complete answer to this can only be found in the instructions for each specific device model.
To begin with, using a printer involves installing it. It is also simplified as much as possible. Always sold complete with device boot disk. Just insert the software into the drive and follow the simple instructions. After completion, insert the cartridges (they are usually also included in the kit, you need to place them in a special slot and lightly press until they click) and connect the device to the computer. The printer is ready to use. Don't forget to put special printing paper there.
How to print text?
If you want to print several pages of text in Word program, then just go to the “File” menu and select “Print”. This will open a window where you can select printing options. If you need to print absolutely everything that you typed in Word, then you don’t have to select anything in the “Print Area” parameters. If you want to print the text selectively, but you can specify which pages you need to print (for example: 1, 2, 7), and the rest will not be printed.
In the “Number of copies” column, indicate how many identical documents you need. By default, if you do not enter anything in this column, the printer will print everything in a single copy. But you can specify the required number of documents: 2, 3, 20, etc. In the “Properties” menu, you can select the print format - portrait (the text will be located vertically) or landscape (horizontally).
After you decide on the settings, you can press the “Ok” button and wait for the result from the printer. In a few seconds or minutes (depending on how many documents you print), you will receive sheets of text.
The same manipulations can be performed by printing photographs.
Each printer has its own lifespan. Sooner or later, natural wear and tear of parts occurs, as a result of which the equipment begins to malfunction regularly. Then the printer will need to either be repaired or replaced. How quickly parts wear out depends on the brand of the device, as well as on the intensity of its use.
Most often, printer cartridges need to be replaced or refilled with new ink. This work (again, depending on the intensity of use of the device) should be carried out approximately once every six months to a year.
When considering the question of how you can use a printer, you cannot help but touch upon the question of what it is strictly not recommended to do so that the device does not fail too early. Typically, in the operating instructions for office equipment, this information is highlighted in bold, but not everyone reads the instructions. Therefore, before you start using a laser, inkjet, etc. printer, you should familiarize yourself with these simple rules again.
The equipment requires constant supervision. Change cartridges on time, wipe off dust from the device, pay attention to the slightest inaccuracies in operation. And the printer can serve you for a very long time.
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