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How Does a Printer Driver Do?

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12y ago

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One of the important things to running a printer is not actually the printer itself. It is a software application often referred to as the printer driver. The printer driver is in fact the piece of software that allows a printer to communicate with a computer. Without the driver, the computer will not be able to send printing instructions to the printer.

This driver software acts as an intermediary. When you press print on a program on your computer, it is the driver that is able to convert this information into a format that the printer is able to understand. The printer then receives this information from the driver through a link between the printer and computer either via a physical wire or through a network. It then prints the pages as instructed.

A printer driver, however, will not work for every single computer-printer setup. All different brands and models of printers have their own specific driver software that is usually incompatible with other printers. In fact, most printer drivers use specific computer languages to prevent them from working with other brands. Each driver is also operating system specific. For example, a driver designed for Windows will not work on a Mac.

The printer driver will also perform functions other than converting data. It can give commands that determine how the printer operates. For example, a driver can help set a printer�s margins, determine pagination, and complete a number of other tasks that allow a printer to operate as expected.

The driver will also likely be designed to deliver messages from the printer back to the computer. For example, if the level of ink in the printer�s cartridges is low, the driver will allow the printer to alert the user of that computer of that fact. The driver should also be able to alert that user or any errors that occur during the printing process.

Despite the incompatibility of printer drivers with printers they were not designed for, many operating systems such as Windows come with a number of printer drivers from different manufactures preinstalled. If one hooks up a printer related to one of theses drivers, that user should be able to start printing right away without having to install any new software.

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Q: How Does a Printer Driver Do?
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