2: System Description
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Choosing a Printer
The range and quality of work produced on a printer varies with the
type of printer you choose. We advise you to use a parallel printer,
rather than a serial printer, if possible. Parallel printers are easier
to set up and use than serial printers.
• A dot matrix printer is relatively cheap and produces acceptable
quality for most purposes.
• A laser printer costs more but produces excellent quality output
for both text and graphics.
• A PostScript® laser printer provides special features which are
useful for applications such as high-quality desktop publishing,
for example, special graphics features and support for fonts.
Much of the information on the following pages does not apply to
PostScript printers.
Setting up a Printer
These general instructions are to help you set up your printer. You
will also need to refer to the manual provided with your printer.
1. Find out from your printer manual if your printer is a serial or
parallel printer, or both. If your printer can be either, use the
parallel connector and cable as this is generally simpler and
faster than serial printing.
2. Attach one end of the printer cable to the correct connector
(parallel or serial) on the rear of the computer and attach the
other end to the printer.
If the cable does not fit into your computer's connector, you
may need a different cable. Tell your supplier that your
computer is compatible with the IBM PC-AT range of
computers.
3. Plug the printer into the mains and switch on.
4. Load the printer with paper as instructed in the printer manual.
5. Now select the printer as specified in next section.
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