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printer protocol

Printer protocols are programs that support the exchange of data between a computer or print server and a printer. They regulate the form of transmission and stand for the speed with which print data is transmitted from the computer to the printer and in which the print job is executed.

In addition to the print speed, the error-free print execution, the page description language used, the error message and, last but not least, the printer connection play an important role in the printer protocols. Namely, whether the printer is connected stationary to the computer or via a network to a print server.

For printer control, most manufacturers use the Printer Command Language( PCL) developed by Hewlett Packard. The Network Printer Alliance Protocol( NPAP) dates from the 1990s, but it is no longer important.

Before the actual printing process, an initialization takes place between the computer and the printer. The computer sends a status query to the printer asking whether it is busy or can accept print data. After the initialization phase, the computer transmits the data to the printer. The print data is temporarily stored in a buffer by the printer driver. The print process starts as soon as the buffer transfers the data to the printer. For this purpose, the printer interrupt is enabled until all data has been transferred from the buffer. The user receives status information indicating whether there is still print data in the buffer.

As far as the actual printer protocols are concerned, most of them are network-compatible and differ in the data transfer rates and the features with which configurations, equipment features and error states are transmitted to the computer. The Printer Access Protocol( PAP) from Apple is one such protocol, albeit a somewhat old one, or the Line Printer Remote( LPR) and the Line Printer Daemon( LPD). Others are the Internet Printing Protocol( IPP), which processes print jobs over the Internet, or the IR Line Printer Protocol( IrLPT), which transmits print jobs to the printer via infrared light.

Informations:
Englisch: printer protocol
Updated at: 18.06.2012
#Words: 334
Links: data, computer, server, printer, transmission
Translations: DE
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