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option button: A circular section of a dialog box when clicked causes the center part of the
circle to turn black. This indicates the feature or choice mentioned in the accompanying
caption has been selected. Option button are used in groups, and selecting one button
deselects all the others. See also Check box.
outline fonts: Fonts whose characters are vector images, built using mathematical represen-
tations. Unlike bitmapped fonts, they can be scaled to any size without degradation. Ex-
amples include PostScript (Adobe Type 1) and TrueType fonts.
output tray: Where paper is received after it has been printed. Usually on the top of the
printer.
pages per minute (ppm): The maximum number of pages that the printer’s paper trans-
port is deigned to pass through in one minute. If your pages are largely text, your printer
will produce printed pages close to the rated ppm; if you have more complex graphics
images, pages will appear more slowly.
paper jam: What happens when paper doesn’t flow smoothly through the paper path.
Paper is usually trapped inside the printer and creased or torn.
paper tray: Removable storage for sheets of paper. The printer takes sheets of paper from
the tray during the printing process. Also known as a cassette.
parallel: A way of transmitting information using (typically) eight bits at the same time.
Most PCs have a parallel port to connect to a printer. See also serial.
parity: A bit (number) in serial communication that is used to detect bad data transmis-
sion.
PCL: A page description language, similar to but much less powerful than PostScript.
Requires PCL-format fonts. Invented by Hewlett-Packard, PCL is now uncommon.
peer-to-peer: A form of networking used mainly in smaller installations. Any computer can
communicate directly with any other computer. Printers are often attached to computers
directly. See also client/server.
peripheral device: Any device used to input, output, or exchange data. See device.
pixel: The smallest area of a computer screen that can be controlled by software programs.
Screen resolution is measured in either the number of pixels visible across the entire screen
(for example, 640 x 480), or in pixels per inch. Screen resolution is usually less than printer
resolution, so you can’t guarantee that what you see is exactly what will print.
platform: A type of computer standard (Windows, Mac OS, DOS, etc.) which covers all
computers that conform to that standard, including clones.