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Orientation
The direction of print on the page. Printing across the narrow width of a
page is called portrait orientation printing. The word “portrait” comes from
portraits of people, which are usually vertical in format. Printing across the
length of a page is called landscape orientation printing. The term “land-
scape” is derived from pictures of the landscape, which are usually hori-
zontal in format.
Page Description Language (PDL)
A programming language, such as PostScript, that is used to describe
output to a printer or a computer monitor.
Page Memory
A special buffer large enough to hold an entire page of data.
Paper Path
The path the paper follows in its journey through the printer; it begins at the
paper cassette or tray pickup point and ends at the output tray.
Parallel Interface
A data transmission technique that sends each bit simultaneously over
separate lines. (For this reason it is generally faster than a serial interface.)
It is normally used to send 1 byte (8 bits) at a time between computers and
printers. You printer has a Centronics parallel interface port. See also
serial
interface
.
Parity, Parity Check
The addition of overhead bits to ensure that the total number of 1s in a
grouping of bits is either always even (for even parity) or always odd (for
odd parity). This permits detection of single errors. It may be applied to
characters, transmission blocks, or any convenient bit grouping.
PCL
See
HP PCL.
Peripheral Device
A hardware device connected to a computer (such as a printer) or to a
printer (such as an external hard disk).