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Glossary
Appendix G: Glossary ❖ G-11
used for printing. PCL and PostScript are examples of page
description languages.
Permanent fonts Also called permanently downloaded fonts.
These are fonts set up in an application so that when the
application is loaded, the fonts are downloaded to the
printer’s memory. They then do not have to be downloaded
for every print job. Permanent fonts remain downloaded until
the printer is powered OFF.
Pitch The number of characters to the inch (10 pitch is 10
characters per inch). Typically thought of as “horizontal”
measurement.
Point Type height is traditionally measured in points. One
point is approximately 1/72 inch. Typically thought of as
“vertical” measurement.
Polling A method to control the data coming into the printer
through the I/O ports, which can include the parallel, serial,
and optional network ports. The printer looks at each port in
succession for incoming data, then transfers it to the print
buffer where it waits for processing. The print buffer is shared
among the ports, so data can arrive for different jobs
continuously.
PostScript A PDL developed by Adobe Systems in 1987.
Print density The relative darkness of print on the page.
Print queue A subdirectory on the server to which print jobs
are redirected. Jobs are released from the queue and sent to
the printer when the printer is ready to accept jobs.
Print server A computer system attached to a local area
network that provides shared printing among network
clients. The print server draws files from print queues on the
file server. Typically the print server is dedicated only to that
function—it is not used to run other end-user software.
Printer description See Description.
Printer driver A program that communicates between the
printer and the software application. The printer driver
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