Bit-Mapped Font: In a bit-mapped font, each character is stored as a matrix of tiny squares or “pixels”. As with any bitmapped image, if you zoom in for a closer examination, you’ll see a “stair-step” pattern along the characters’ edges. Nevertheless, bitmapped fonts can look very sharp in print, but only up to a certain size.
Device Driver: Software that controls hardware devices such as printers. A driver acts as an interpreter, ensuring that your printer understands commands sent by software programs.
Font: An alphabet, including a set of numerals, punctuation marks, and other characters, of a specific size and typeface design. Fonts may be built into your printer, stored there temporarily with a document, or sent to your printer as graphic images from your computer.
Internal Font (Resident Font): Fonts that are stored in a printer’s Read Only Memory. Every printer needs at least one resident font in order to print text sent as a string of ASCII codes. You normally don’t need a lot of internal fonts because you rely on your applications software to deliver the fonts you need. If your printer has enough RAM (Random Access Memory), and your applications software permits, you can download fonts to your printer as “resident.” By doing so, your printer can access fonts faster, without waiting for your computer to send them each time you print a document.
Outline Font: With outline fonts, equations are used to describe and store each font character. Characters can be scaled to any size, with the equation maintaining the same proportions, thus the reason outline fonts are often called “scaleable” fonts.
Parallel Port: A computer interface that communicates with an external device such as a printer. In parallel mode, data is sent eight bits at a time through eight wires. While parallel data transfer is faster than serial transfer, it has distance limitations; your printer should be located no more than 20 feet away from your computer.
SCSI: Stands for “Small Computer System Interface.” A type of port used for connecting computers to peripherals (such as printers), to other computers or to local area networks. A single port can accommodate a number of peripherals through a series of connections called a “daisy chain”.
Serial Port: A computer interface that communicates with an external device such as a printer. In serial mode, data is sent one bit at a time through one wire and is therefore slower than parallel. It can, however, be accomplished when printers are located more than 20 feet from connected computers.
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