A Guide to The Most Common Printing Terms

Last Updated on June 11, 2020 by Christian Ralph

The world of printing is an extremely extensive one, with countless devices, technologies and practices to keep up with.
When purchasing a new printer for your business, you’ll want a model with tonnes of great features available to utilise. However, if you are searching our website and coming across printing terms that you don’t understand, you might find it hard to choose the right device for you.

Therefore, to help you decipher some printing jargon and make an informed decision on your printer purchase, we’ve compiled a handy guide. Once you have read through these terms, we can assure you that the right printer is simply a click away:

AirPrint

AirPrint is a feature which allows you to quickly print documents from certain Apple devices, without having to send them to a computer first.

As this software comes ready installed on iPads and iPhones, it cuts out the need to download anything, saving time and helping your business run as efficiently as possible.

For AirPrint to work, both the device that you are printing from, and a printer that supports AirPrint must be connected to WiFi.

DPI

When printing, DPI stands for dots per inch, which is the measurement of the resolution of your print-out.

Each dot is a tiny blob of ink, and DPI is the measurement of how many of these blobs can be placed side by side. The higher the DPI, the higher the quality of your printed piece.

Duplex Printing

This term refers to printers that can print on both sides of the paper, which can help to save energy and resources.

A modern all in one printer can usually use this feature automatically, although with some devices you may have to manually feed the sheet back into the printer for it to print on both sides.

A printer which can only print on one side is sometimes referred to as a simplex printer.

Google Cloud Print

Google Cloud Print is a service offered by Google which allows you to print from anywhere provided both devices are connected to the internet. This can be both desktop and mobile.

Like AirPrint, this lets you print to and from any machine in your network, without having to spend time downloading or updating drivers. You can even send to Google Cloud Print and printing will begin when the computer and printer are next connected.

Ink

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Ink is a liquid used for printing images or text on paper. It can be stored within a cartridge which is then inserted into an inkjet printer, where a printer will deposit the substance onto the paper.

Inkjet printer

Inkjet printers are one of the main printer types available on the market.

This device prints documents by firing dots of ink onto the page with tiny guns. They commonly either use a fixed print head, or a disposable print head.

These printers use ink cartridges, which can be purchased in every large manufacturer brand name. For example, HP printer ink is available for HP inkjets, that have been tried and tested to work with these devices.

Laser printer

Laser printers are printing devices which use laser beams to attract powdered ink, otherwise known as toner, to the page. Unlike inkjet printers, they use toner cartridges.

These devices tend to print sheets faster than inkjets and are suited for high-demand workplaces.

Mono

Mono printers are printing devices which can only print documents in black and white. Therefore, they only use one cartridge in black, unlike colour printers which also have cyan, magenta and yellow available to print with.

MFP (multifunction printer) or all in one printer

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A multifunction, or all in one printer is a printing machine which can serve multiple other functions, such as fax, copy and scan.

Both mono and colour multifunction printers can be purchased.

Multi-purpose tray

A multi-purpose tray is a printing tray that you can load with several different types of media, such as envelopes and glossy coated paper.

This is extremely useful if your business will be printing many different materials as it will mean that you do not have to keep reloading one tray.

NFC

NFC printing stands for Near Field Communication printing and is a technology that allows data to be passed between two devices by holding them close together.

This is an incredibly useful feature in offices that are exceptionally busy, as it means that documents can quickly be printed without setting up a desktop and files can quickly be attained before meetings.

PPM

PPM in printing terms means pages per minute and is a measurement of how fast a printer can print a document.

On devices that can print in both mono and colour, the PPM may differ between the two types, with mono usually being the faster print.

Toner

Toner is used in laser printers and comes in a powdered form. During the printing process the powder is melted and binds to the paper.

Different manufacturers tend to have their own toner cartridges which are safe to use in their machines. For example, with Samsung laser printers, it is best to purchase Samsung toner cartridges to ensure quality in print outs and that your printer is not damaged by cheap alternatives.

Toner is available in the standard ink colours, cyan, magenta yellow and key. Key refers to black.

Now that you know some tricky printing terms, finding a device that fits all of your needs should be much easier. If you have any further questions, or want to discuss the options available to you, feel free to contact our team of experts who will be more than happy to help you.

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