Glossary
The language of printing – explained
What is the difference between ADF and DADF? And what exactly are Duplex and Duty Cycle? Get the answers by looking over our handy glossary of printing terms.
Automatic Document Feeder (ADF)
An attachment that allows the automatic feeding of one page at a time from a multiple page document you insert. This is found on some copiers, MFPs and scanners. Some devices do not have this and instead a user lays the original on the glass or platen.
Colour Calibration
Adjustment to a colour printer’s colour space to mimic another device’s colour space. In some cases adjustments can made to make output colours more pleasing.
Collation
With collation enabled, multiple copies of a multi-page document print as separate documents instead of multiple copies of page 1, followed by multiple copies of page 2 and so on.
CMYK (see also RGB)
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black. These are the primary colours used in the vast majority of colour printers. Also known as process colours. They work by subtraction of light.
DADF
Duplexing (two-side) ADF which allows for capture of both side of the document. Some vendors call this RADF where the R stands for “reversing”.
DPI
Dots per inch is a measurement of print resolution
Driver
Software supplied by a manufacturer to communicate with their device from your PC or Mac (the device could be a printer, MFP, scanner, camera, etc.)
Duplex
The printing or scanning of two sides of a single sheet of paper. Duplex can be manual or automatic. We try to refer to this functionality as automatic-two-sided printing but you may see it simply as auto-duplex.
Duty Cycle
Refers to the number of copies or prints that the printer, copier or MFP can reliably produce on a monthly basis. Exceeding the duty cycle number on a regular basis can lead to equipment malfunctions and breakdowns over time. Alternatively, not printing or copying in numbers close to the duty cycle could mean you have over-purchased on equipment. Some vendors also refer to a recommended duty cycle.
Fax Forwarding
The automatic forwarding of an inbound fax document to another device such as another fax number or an email address.
Monochrome Printer
A printer that prints in only one colour, usually black. Black and white is commonly used also, but monochrome as a term includes the ability to print many shades of grey.
MFP
Stands for multi-functional printer. Before MFPs were developed we had standalone copiers and then printers. Copiers with expensive network adapters allowed double duty as printers and copiers. In the late 1990s new devices arrived that incorporated new features such as scan to mailbox, scan to email. Today we have multi-functionality available in a range of price levels and feature sets. The best devices include truly useful features such as the ability to forward faxes to an email addresses, and automatic PDF creation.
PDL or Page Description Language
A computer language used to define and manage the elements (fonts, graphics, margins, spacing and colours) of a page to be printed.
Pantone or PMS
A popular colour matching system developed by Pantone, Inc. supported by many printer manufacturers and software vendors such as Adobe, Quark and Microsoft.
Portable Document Format is an open file format invented by Adobe. Allows for higher quality document storage in a universally accepted format.
PPM
Pages per minute. Standard pages are 8.5″ x 11″ in size unless otherwise specified.
RAM
Random Access Memory is used in a printer or MFP to temporarily store document data from a print or scan job until it is printed or stored permanently.
RGB
Red, Green, Blue: the colours used to display full-colour images on a computer screen. This colour space is used in digital cameras and scanners and must be translated to CMYK colour spaced before it is output on a colour printer. The RGB colour system creates colours in what is known as an additive process.