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PrinterArchive

Glossary

A vendor-neutral A-to-Z glossary of printing, scanning, and document-workflow terminology. Each entry is a concise, standards-anchored definition of one term (a color model, protocol, component, file concept, or measurement) with a short definition, a plain-language explanation, and seeAlso links into deeper guides, history, and other glossary entries.

11 live pages · long-term capacity 55–110

Entities

organization

Printer Working Group (PWG) · IETF · ISO · IEC · Mopria Alliance · Wi-Fi Alliance · Adobe Inc.

protocol

Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) · Bonjour (mDNS) · SNMP

standard

Printer Command Language (PCL) · TWAIN · Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)

format

PostScript · Portable Document Format (PDF)

technology

CUPS

concept

Raster Image Processor (RIP) · Halftoning · CMYK color model · Automatic Document Feeder (ADF)

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Planned coverage

  • CMYK Color Model — Defines the subtractive cyan-magenta-yellow-key color model used in printing and why it differs from RGB screen color.
  • Dithering — Defines error-diffusion and ordered dithering as techniques for approximating colors and shades with a limited palette of dots.
  • PCL (Printer Command Language) — Concise definition of HP's PCL page description language and its role as a widely supported print data format.
  • IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) — Defines IPP as the IETF/PWG standard protocol for submitting and managing print jobs over IP networks.
  • IPP Everywhere — Defines the PWG's driverless-printing standard built on IPP and how it enables printing without vendor drivers.
  • Mopria Print Service — Defines the Mopria Alliance standard for standardized mobile printing across compliant printers.
  • Wi-Fi Direct — Defines the Wi-Fi Alliance peer-to-peer connection standard as applied to direct device-to-printer printing.
  • CUPS (Common UNIX Printing System) — Defines CUPS as the IPP-based printing system used on macOS and many Linux distributions.
  • Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) — Defines the ADF as the mechanism that feeds multi-page originals into a scanner or copier automatically.
  • WIA (Windows Image Acquisition) — Defines Microsoft's WIA framework for communicating with scanners and cameras on Windows.
  • Imaging Drum — Defines the photosensitive drum and its role in the electrophotographic (laser) printing cycle.
  • Print Head — Defines the print head as the component that deposits ink, and distinguishes fixed versus cartridge-integrated designs.
  • Color Depth (Bit Depth) — Defines bits-per-pixel color depth and how it governs the number of representable tones in scanned or printed images.
  • Optical Resolution — Defines a scanner's true optical (hardware) resolution and contrasts it with interpolated resolution.
  • GSM (Paper Weight / Grammage) — Defines grams-per-square-metre grammage as the standardized measure of paper weight, referencing the ISO grammage standard.
  • Multifunction Printer (MFP) — Defines the all-in-one device combining printing, scanning, copying, and often faxing in one unit.
  • Collation — Defines collated versus uncollated output when printing multiple copies of a multi-page document.
  • Borderless Printing — Defines edge-to-edge borderless printing and the overspray/margin trade-offs involved.
  • Raw Printing (Port 9100) — Defines raw TCP port 9100 socket printing and its relationship to the historic JetDirect approach.