Lecture 13: Network Printing

Vocabulary flashcards summarizing the main terms and definitions presented in Lecture 13 on Network Printing.

Network Printing

Sharing printers over a local or wide area network so multiple clients can send jobs to the same devices.

Direct Printing Model

Legacy approach where an application sends data straight to a printer; driver must exist in every application for each printer.

Modern Printing Model

Uses a print server to mediate between clients and printers, handling spooling, conversion, and driver distribution.

Print Server

Hardware or software service that receives, queues, converts, and forwards print jobs between clients and printers.

Spooling

Temporarily storing print jobs on disk or memory so they can be queued and printed in order.

Automatic Driver Installation

Feature (introduced with Windows NT) that automatically supplies the correct printer driver to a client when it connects to a network printer.

Printer Queue

A virtual line of print jobs for a specific printer; multiple queues can exist for one device with different defaults or permissions.

Printer Pooling

Combining several identical printers into one queue to provide load-balanced, faster throughput.

Print Permission

Basic right that allows a user to submit documents to a network printer.

Manage Documents Permission

Privilege (often given to Creator/Owner) that allows a user to cancel or reorder only their own print jobs.

Manage Printers Permission

Higher-level right enabling a user to cancel or reprioritize anyone’s jobs and change printer settings.

Serial Connection

Early physical interface (common on UNIX/mainframes) that sends data one bit at a time to a printer.

Parallel Connection

Legacy PC printer interface that transmits multiple bits simultaneously through a parallel port.

USB (for printing)

Most common consumer printer interface providing plug-and-play setup and higher throughput than serial/parallel.

Line Printer Remote (LPR)

Traditional TCP/IP printing protocol that sends jobs to a host/queue pair; limited ports, 4-minute timeout, one-way communication.

Line Printer Daemon (LPD)

Server-side service that listens for and processes LPR print jobs on UNIX and other platforms.

RAW Protocol

Default Windows network printing method that sends unprocessed data over a TCP port; bi-directional, no timeout or port limits.

Common Unix Printing System (CUPS)

De facto UNIX printing system providing spooler, scheduler, converters, and back-end connectivity to printers.

Page Description Language (PDL)

Programming language that describes page content to a printer; implemented by the driver and understood by the printer.

Printer Command Language (PCL)

HP-developed PDL (1984) that is simple, lightweight, and widely used for inkjet and many laser printers.

PostScript

Adobe PDL (1982) treating all output as raster images; supports scaling/rotation and underpins PDF format.

Graphics Device Interface (GDI)

Windows component that converts application output into device-specific commands and passes them to the print driver.

Printer Driver

Software module that converts GDI data into the printer’s PDL, tailoring output to device capabilities.

Client Spooler

Client-side service that packages and sends print jobs to the network print server.

Print Spooler Service

Server component that schedules incoming jobs, locates drivers, and manages the print queue.

Print Router

Server module that directs a print job to the appropriate print provider based on job information.

Local Print Provider

Server component offering printer management and job control; can operate without additional drivers or GDI.

Print Monitor

Module that sends jobs to physical or network ports and enables bi-directional status feedback between printer and client.