How to install a printer is fairly easy process. To use a printer, your computer has to have software installed — a printer driver — and use certain settings to tell your computer how to find the printer and what to print.If you use Windows 10, see the article on How to Connect Printers and Devices in Windows 10.

Calibration refers to the proper alignment of the inkjet cartridge nozzles to the paper and each other; without a properly calibrated printer, your print quality degrades. You’ll want to calibrate your printer when you see lines appearing fuzzy in artwork or when colored areas in printed images start or stop before they should.

Scanners are nifty little devices that work like photocopiers. Rather than make a copy, the scanner takes the original and creates a graphics image that’s then stored in your computer. So, the scanner gets the images directly into your computer:Connect the scanner to your PC.Most scanners connect via a USB cable.

You need to clean your inkjet cartridge nozzles about once every three months or whenever the output from your printer suddenly starts streaking. You don’t need a scrub brush to clean your printer cartridges; instead, your printer can take care of cleaning its own cartridges (with your approval, of course). You can probably access your printer’s cartridge-cleaning controls in its Properties dialog box:Choose Start→Printers and Faxes to see the available printers on your system.

Over time, you may install multiple printers, in which case you may want to remind yourself of the capabilities of each or view the documents you have sent to be printed. You can also cancel existing print jobs. To view the printers you have installed and view and modify any documents currently in line for printing, follow these steps: Choose Start→View Devices and Printers.

A wireless printer connects to your laptop either through a technology called Bluetooth, which requires devices to be next to each other or, if you have access to a wireless network, using Wi-Fi (available to devices within 50 to 100 feet or so). Here’s a rundown of things you should be aware of when setting up your laptop to connect to a wireless printer: Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are short-range wireless connections (meaning you have to be near the printer to connect to it).

You can set printer preferences, such as being able to print in color or black and white, print in draft quality (which uses less ink) or high quality (which produces a darker, crisper image), and more. Fortunately, you can modify these settings once for all documents you print. Choose Start→Devices and Printers (in the Hardware and Sound group).

When you scan photos, choose a scanner resolution based on what you plan to do with the photo and whether you plan to enlarge it. The scanner resolution you choose for your photos impacts not only how the digital image looks, but also what you can do with that image. Most information you can find about image editing includes arcane formulas to calculate scanning resolutions for photos.

Photo printers are specifically designed to create photographs that rival any 35mm film print. Photo printers use inkjet or dye-sublimation (dye-sub) technology (also called thermal wax printing). When deciding whether to get a photo printer or an inkjet printer, keep these points in mind: Photo printers can often accept memory cards from digital cameras directly, so you don’t even need to use your PC to print your digital photographs.