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Study guide · 1.5

Explain core printer concepts

Choosing and connecting a printer well saves money and frustration. You should know how laser and inkjet printers differ, how to confirm a printer is connected, and how to set the one you use most as the default.

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

1.5.1Distinguish between laser and inkjet printers

  • A laser printer uses toner powder that is fused onto paper with heat; an inkjet sprays tiny drops of liquid ink.
  • Laser printers are usually faster and cheaper per page for large amounts of text.
  • Inkjet printers usually cost less to buy and are good at colour photos, but ink per page tends to cost more.
  • Inkjet ink can dry out if the printer sits unused for long periods; toner does not dry out the same way.
  • Choose by need: high-volume documents suit laser, occasional photo printing suits inkjet.

Example: A small office that prints hundreds of invoices a week chooses a laser printer, while a family that prints holiday photos now and then chooses an inkjet.

1.5.2Confirm a successful connection to a printer

  • Printers connect by USB cable, Wi-Fi, Ethernet or Bluetooth.
  • Check the printer appears in the operating system's printers list and shows a ready or idle status, not offline.
  • Print a test page from the printer settings to confirm the connection works end to end.
  • Open the print queue to see waiting or stuck jobs and cancel any that block others.
  • For network printers, the computer and printer must be on the same network.

Example: A document will not print; the queue shows the printer as offline, and reconnecting the printer to the office Wi-Fi brings it back to ready.

1.5.3Select a default printer

  • The default printer is the one apps choose automatically when you print.
  • Set it in the operating system's printer settings, usually with a 'Set as default' option.
  • Some systems can let the operating system manage the default by choosing the last printer used; turn this off if you want a fixed default.
  • You can still choose another printer in the print dialog (Ctrl/Cmd+P) for a single job.

Example: A teacher sets the classroom printer as default so worksheets go there, but chooses the colour printer in the print dialog for a poster.

Key terms

Laser printer
A printer that fuses toner powder onto paper using heat.
Inkjet printer
A printer that sprays droplets of liquid ink onto paper.
Toner
The fine powder used by laser printers.
Print queue
The list of jobs waiting to be printed.
Default printer
The printer an app selects automatically when you print.

Easy to confuse

  • Toner is for laser printers; ink cartridges are for inkjets.
  • A printer listed on the computer is not necessarily ready; check its status or print a test page.
  • Changing the printer in one print dialog does not change the default.

After this guide: You can compare laser and inkjet printers, confirm a working connection and set a default printer.