Printers & Scanners Articles

Article / Updated 06-26-2017

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. The Devices and Printers window displays a list of installed printers and fax machines. If a printer has documents in its print queue, the number of documents is listed at the bottom of the window. If you want more detail about the documents or want to cancel a print job, select the printer and click the See What’s Printing button at the top of the window. A list of documents appears. Click a document and choose Document→Cancel to stop the printing, if you want. To return to the Devices and Printers window, click the Close button. Right-click any printer and then choose Properties to see details about it. You see information such as which port it’s plugged into or whether it can print color copies. Click the Close button (the red X in the upper right). The Devices and Printers window closes.

Article / Updated 06-26-2017

Before you can scan documents into your computer with a scanner, you need to install the scanner driver so that your scanner and computer can communicate. Start by connecting the scanner to your computer’s USB port (see your scanner manual for information about how it connects to your computer). Some scanners use Plug and Play, a technology that Windows uses to recognize equipment and automatically install and set it up. If your scanner is Plug and Play-enabled, Windows 7 shows a Found New Hardware message in the Taskbar notification area (in the lower-right corner). Most Plug and Play devices will then automatically install, the message will change to verify the installation is complete, and that’s all you have to do. Turn the scanner on. If you’re not using a Plug and Play device or Windows doesn’t have the driver for that device, you see the Found New Hardware message. Click the Found New Hardware message, click Yes, This Time Only, and then click Next again. You only need to do this step if you don’t permit Windows 7 to automatically connect to Windows Update. Otherwise, you don’t see the Found New Hardware Wizard. If you have a CD for the scanner, insert it in your CD drive and click Next. Windows 7 searches for your scanner driver software and installs it. Choose Start→Control Panel and type scanners in the Search box. Windows returns a set of links. Click the View Scanners and Cameras link. The Scanners and Cameras window appears. Click the Add Device button and then click Next. The Scanner and Camera Installation Wizard window appears. When you click Next, the next screen of the wizard appears. Click a Manufacturer in the list on the left and then click a model in the list on the right. Now it’s just a matter of following the wizard directions based on the model of scanner you choose and whether you have a manufacturer’s disc (a CD- or DVD-ROM). If you don’t have a disc, Windows can help you download software from the Internet. When you reach the end of the wizard, click Finish. The installation is complete.

Article / Updated 06-23-2017

Before you can scan documents into your laptop creating electronic versions of them, you need to install the scanner driver so that your scanner and laptop can communicate to one another. Start by connecting the scanner to your laptop’s USB port. (See your scanner manual for information about how it connects to your laptop.) Turn the scanner on. Some scanners use Plug and Play, a technology that Windows uses to recognize equipment, install it automatically, and set it up. If your scanner is Plug and Play–enabled, Windows 8.1 shows a Found New Hardware message on the taskbar notification area (in the lower-right corner of the Desktop) or near the top of the Start screen. Most Plug and Play devices will install automatically; then the message changes to indicate that the installation is complete, and that’s all you have to do. If that doesn’t happen, either you’re not using a Plug and Play device or Windows doesn’t have the driver for that device. Click the Found New Hardware message to proceed. In the resulting Found New Hardware Wizard (this starts only if you don’t permit Windows 8.1 to connect automatically to Windows Update), click Yes, This Time Only and then click Next. If you have a DVD for the scanner, insert it in your CD/DVD drive and click Next. Windows 8.1 searches for your scanner driver software and installs it. Display the Control Panel. In the Search box, type scanners. Windows returns a set of links. Click the View Scanners and Cameras link. In the resulting Scanners and Cameras window, click the Add Device button. In the resulting Scanner and Camera Installation Wizard window, click Next. In the next screen of the wizard, click your scanner's manufacturer in the list on the left and then click the model in the list on the right. Follow the wizard directions for the model of scanner you chose in Step 6. Note whether you have a manufacturer’s disc (a CD- or DVD-ROM) for your scanner; if you don’t have a disc, Windows will help you download software from the Internet. When you reach the end of the wizard, click Finish to complete the installation.

Article / Updated 06-23-2017

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). To use a Bluetooth-based wireless printer, you may have to connect a Bluetooth transmitter to a USB port on your laptop. This transmitter is a small device about the size of a stick of gum that transmits a signal to your printer. If you have a Wi-Fi–enabled laptop, you can skip this step. You should run through the procedure in the previous task to set up the printer in Windows Control Panel and install any required drivers. After you click Advanced Printer Setup in the Hardware and Sound window, click the The Printer That I Want Isn’t Listed link, and then choose Add a Bluetooth, Wireless, or Network Printer in the first dialog box that appears and follow the instructions. The Add a Printer wizard walks you through the process of pairing your laptop and printer; you may need a passcode (provided with your printer) for this. After you’ve installed the printer, you should be able to print just as you would with any other kind of printer, but without the hassle of extra wires littering your desk. If you run into a problem, check your wireless printer’s instructions for help. If you own a printer with Air-Print capability, you can print directly from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch device. See your printer’s user manual to find out whether your model has this capability and how to use it.

Step by Step / Updated 06-22-2017

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. To install a printer:

Article / Updated 06-19-2017

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). In the resulting Devices and Printers window, any printers you have installed are listed. Right-click a printer and then choose Printing Preferences. The Printing Preferences dialog box appears. The settings in the Printing Preferences dialog box may differ slightly depending on your printer model; color printers offer different options from black and white printers, for example. Click any of the tabs to display various settings, such as Color. Note that different printers may display different choices and different tabs in this dialog box, but common settings include Color/Grayscale: If you have a color printer, you have the option of printing in color. The grayscale option uses only black ink. Quality: You can print in fast or draft quality (these settings may have different names depending on your manufacturer) to save ink, or you can print in a higher or best quality for your finished documents. Some printers offer a dpi setting for quality — the higher the dpi setting, the better the quality. Paper Source: If you have a printer with more than one paper tray, you can select which tray to use for printing. For example, you may have 8½-x-11-inch paper (letter sized) in one tray and 8½-x-14-inch paper (legal sized) in another. Paper Size: Choose the size of paper or envelope you’re printing to. In many cases, this option displays a preview that shows you which way to insert the paper. A preview is especially handy if you’re printing to envelopes and need help figuring out how to insert them in your printer. Click the OK button to close the dialog box and save settings and then click the Close button to close other open Control Panel windows. Whatever settings you make using the procedure in this task are your default settings for all printing you do. However, when you’re printing a document from within a program such as Works word processor, the Print dialog box you display gives you the opportunity to change the printer settings for that document only.

Article / Updated 06-19-2017

After you install a scanner, you may want to take a look at its default settings or even change them. Fortunately, modifying the scanner settings is an easy task. Choose Start→Control Panel. Type scanners in the Control Panel search field and press Enter. The Control Panel window appears. Click View Scanners and Cameras. You see a list of installed scanners in the Scanners and Cameras dialog box. Click any scanner in the Scanners and Cameras area and then click the Scan Profiles button. The Profiles dialog box appears. Select a scanner and click Edit. The Edit Default Profile dialog box appears. Review the settings. These settings may include (depending on your scanner model) color management for fine-tuning the way colors are scanned and resolution settings that control how detailed a scan is performed. (The higher the resolution, the crisper and cleaner your electronic document, but the more time it may take to scan.) Click Save Profile to return to the Properties dialog box and then click the Close button twice. The Scan Profiles and Scanners and Cameras windows close. When you’re ready to run a scan, place the item to be scanned in your scanner. Depending on your model, the item may be placed on a flat “bed” with a hinged cover or fed through a tray. Check your scanner’s manual for the specific procedure to initiate a scan (for example, pressing a Scan or Start button). After you begin the scan, your computer automatically detects it and displays a dialog box showing you the scan progress and allowing you to view and save the scanned item.

Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016

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. Although each brand (and sometimes each model) of printer has different on-screen controls for calibrating output, you should be able to access them from the printer’s Properties dialog box:

Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016

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:

Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016

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: