A menu is a list of possible commands or characteristics with some means of making a selection. Printer menus
reside in the printers read-only memory (ROM) and print the current value of each item on paper. Values are
changed by stepping through the possibilities using buttons on the front panel.
MODE.
A PC-DOS (external) command used to set serial ports and adjust terminal settings.
Paper bail.
A bar with several small rollers used to hold the paper against the platen.
Paper lever.
A lever, generally on the right side of the printer (with the printer facing you) that forces a paper roller against the
platen for friction feeding of paper.
Paper-Out Override.
The printer normally senses when there is no paper, and halts. The override feature permits you to print closer to
the bottom of the page when using cut sheets.
Paper Park.
This feature allows you to easily switch back and forth between continuous-form paper and single sheets by
pressing a button to temporarily retract the continuous-form paper out of the paper path.
Paper separator.
The paper separator is a printer part that separates incoming paper from output to guard against misfeed.
Parallel.
A parallel connection or interface is one in which data is sent one byte at a time, each bit in the byte having a
separate wire. This is the most common and fastest connection for a printer.
Pica.
10 cpi printing.
Platen.
The rubber-coated roller on the printer which both brings paper into the machine and serves as a backing for the
striking action of the printheads pins.
Print quality.
Print quality refers to the resolution and characteristics of a character set. The ML380 has two print qualities:
Letter Quality and Utility.
Printhead.
The printhead is the mechanism that contains the pin firing mechanism and the pins used in dot matrix printing.
RAM.
Random Access Memory: A temporary memory device (integrated circuit chip). In most printers, RAM is used
for temporary storage of data before printing (this type of RAM is called a buffer) and for storage of commands to
change printing features. This type of memory is volatile_that is, it is erased when the printer is turned off.
Rear feed.
A printer configuration in which paper is fed from the rear of the printer. This setup can save space, but it should
not be used when printing labels or multi-part forms.
Registration.
The alignment of dots during printing. When printing graphics in the bidirectional print mode, the back and forth
motion of the printhead can result in misalignment of dots, producing poor registration. This causes the graphics
to look blurry. Unidirectional printing is preferable for graphics because it results in much better alignment of
dots. You can also correct for poor registration in bidirectional printing by adjusting the print registration item in
the Menu Select Mode.
ML 380 ( 96-02-03 )
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