Skip to content
عربيSign in

Get the app

Study guide · 4.4

Understand fundamental printing concepts

Printing turns a digital file into paper, and the print settings decide how it looks and how much paper and ink it uses. This guide covers orientation, double-sided printing, common settings and the main ways to print.

A study feature written by ExamDragon, not part of the real exam. Each heading is one of Certiport's skills for this objective.

4.4.1Describe portrait vs landscape orientation

  • Portrait orientation is taller than it is wide; it suits letters, reports and most documents.
  • Landscape orientation is wider than it is tall; it suits wide tables, charts, slides and certificates.
  • Set orientation in the app's layout settings or in the print dialog before printing.
  • You can mix orientations in one document, for example one landscape page for a wide table, using section settings in a word processor.

Example: A spreadsheet with twelve monthly columns is cut off in portrait, so you switch to landscape and it fits on one page.

4.4.2Describe double-sided printing

  • Double-sided (duplex) printing prints on both sides of each sheet, saving paper.
  • Some printers do it automatically; with others you print one side, turn the stack over and print the other side manually.
  • Flip on long edge is used for portrait pages that turn like a book; flip on short edge for landscape pages that turn upward like a notepad.
  • Choosing the wrong flip edge makes every second page appear upside down.

Example: You print a 20-page portrait handout double-sided with flip on long edge, using 10 sheets instead of 20.

4.4.3Explain common print settings

  • Choose the printer, the number of copies and whether copies are collated (complete sets in order).
  • Choose pages: all, current page, a range such as 2-5, or specific pages such as 1,3,7.
  • Set paper size (A4 in most of the world, Letter in North America) and margins.
  • Choose colour or black and white (greyscale) to save colour ink.
  • Pages per sheet prints several small pages on one sheet; scaling or Fit to page shrinks content to fit.
  • Print preview shows how the result will look before you use paper.

Example: You need three sets of pages 1 to 4 of a report in black and white, so you set pages 1-4, copies 3, collated and greyscale, then check print preview.

4.4.4Explain printing methods

  • Local printing: the printer is connected directly to the computer by USB.
  • Network printing: the printer is on the office or home network, wired or Wi-Fi, and shared by several devices.
  • Wireless and mobile printing: phones and tablets print over Wi-Fi using features such as AirPrint or the printer maker's app.
  • Cloud or remote printing sends a job over the internet to a printer elsewhere.
  • Print to PDF saves the output as a PDF file instead of paper.
  • Inkjet printers suit colour and photos; laser printers are faster and cheaper per page for large amounts of text.

Example: You print a ticket from your phone to the home Wi-Fi printer, and use Print to PDF on your laptop to save a receipt instead of printing it.

Key terms

Portrait
Page orientation that is taller than it is wide.
Landscape
Page orientation that is wider than it is tall.
Duplex
Printing on both sides of the paper.
Collate
Print complete sets of pages in order.
Print preview
A view of the printed result before printing.

Easy to confuse

  • Mixing up portrait (tall) and landscape (wide).
  • Choosing the wrong flip edge for double-sided printing, so pages come out upside down.
  • Forgetting to set a page range and printing the whole document.
  • Thinking Print to PDF needs a physical printer; it creates a file.

After this guide: You should be able to choose orientation, set up double-sided and other common print settings, and describe the main ways to print.