Optimal printer settings

Optimal printer settings for a smooth print. Not only when things need to be done quickly, cumbersome inputs for each individual expression, such as paper size or resolution, create an unnecessary obstacle in the workflow. Each print program specifies default values ??for the printouts that have been specified by the manufacturer and must be customized by the user before each printout.

But there is a remedy. The basic settings of the print programs can be individually adjusted and set as a future basis for all further prints. Here we show you how you can permanently set your printer software for your individual needs in order to save time and misprints.

The printer driver - the control center of your printer

The printer driver contains all the information your printer needs to print. This information pool presents the many possibilities in which printing can be performed as values ??- e.g. Paper size or resolution - available in numerous variants. The user passes these values ??on to the pressure device with a mouse click, which physically executes the pressure according to the entered values ??on the basis of this pulse.

The right printer driver

Your printer needs its own control center to communicate with your operating system - the printer driver specially developed for it, which you need to install on your computer. On the homepage of the manufacturer of your printer the suitable printer drivers for the respective device and for different operating systems are made available.

Normal or turbo

Many manufacturers provide several drivers for their printer models that cater to different customer needs. On the one hand, there are the basic drivers for handling that is as uncomplicated as possible, most of which also enable use in a LAN or WLAN network. These drivers include extensive setting options for printing documents in the everyday area. In addition, there are the large software packages with printer drivers.

These complete so-called driver suites provide extensive libraries with a wide range of detailed setup options that fully leverage the technical capabilities of the printing device. The difference between the base driver and the full driver suite lies not only in the file volume, but also in the requirements that the respective program places on the user.

The basic driver provides a solid and manageable tool for printing at a classically professional level, while the driver suite with its extensive libraries provides a sophisticated fine-tuning for print service providers. If your base driver does not meet your print setting requirements, we recommend installing the full driver suite.

Freshness cure for your printer driver

As manufacturers continue to evolve not only their product range but also optimize their existing fleet, the associated driver software is also regularly updated. A good way to maintain your printer continuously optimally is to update the printer driver regularly, for example during maintenance of the device. All you need to do is check the manufacturer's homepage from time to time to download the latest driver for your printer.

When revising their drivers, manufacturers often expand or improve the setting options for printing or fix defects, such as cumbersome operation. Here it is worth the effort to refresh the driver from time to time by installing an updated driver software.

First Abbreviation - Define default printer

You can already save the first step in the printing process by setting your own default printer for each print. The specification of this standard removes the query for the selection of the printing device for future prints. The default printer is set in your operating system.

To do this, open the so-called "Control Panel" or the "System Settings" of your operating system, click the printer icon in the window that opens (with the right mouse button for various Windows systems) and select one of the displayed printers as yours from the list of print devices that appears Default printer off. This printer automatically activates after its selection for all future print jobs by the operating system, unless you select another printer as needed.

The way for Windows operating systems

To permanently set the print settings for your Windows operating systems, open the Control Panel and go to "Show Devices and Printers". Then open "Related Settings" and go to "Devices and Printers". There, right-click on the icon of the printer you want to edit to select "Print Settings" in the selection that appears.

An alternative way to edit the print settings in Windows operating systems in the Control Panel is via the item "Printer Properties" to the selection "General" and finally to the menu item "Settings". In the most recent Windows systems, double-clicking on printer icons and double-clicking on "Customize Print Options" also leads to the settings screen, which provides criteria for individual settings and stores them after input and confirmation for future print jobs.

The way for iMac operating systems

Individual printing standards are defined on the iMac via the printer window, which opens when a document is printed. Click on "Show Details" and select your print settings to be standardized. Once all options are set, click on "Preferences" and select "Save current settings as default" to give your standard a name and save it.

In this way, you can specify various presets from which you can then select again for a future print job. So you can, for example, set one standard for photo printing, another for text printing, and another for simple design prints to retrieve as needed. For the next print job, click on "Preferences" or "Show details" in the printer window and select your desired standard.

How to set standards for your printing

Depending on the printer model, different settings for printing are possible. A monochrome printer has settings other than a color system, and a regular document printer has other settings than a photo printer. The possibilities that your respective printer offers you can be found on the input screen, which you should work through carefully for the basic setting, so that you do not have to make any or as little additional settings for your future prints. The first default setting is to set the paper size.

The selection ranges from various US formats to envelope formats up to A4 or A3 size. The orientation of the print can be set in portrait or landscape format, as well as your document can be printed in a 180 degree rotation, ie upside down.

You determine from which paper tray the paper is to be obtained and whether the paper feed should be automatic or manual and on which paper medium (normal, photo paper, etc.) should be printed. You can print multi-page documents in continuous or reverse order. In addition, your document can be reduced in size or printed out, which usually requires a percentage value, or it can automatically scale to paper size. Finally, you need to set the resolution for your prints.

High image quality requires as high a resolution as possible, but slows down the printing speed, while a low resolution gives a rough printout at high speed. High-resolution image prints that are output to high-quality color prints should be set to at least 300 dpi resolution. If you print mainly black-and-white prints or text prints with black text on a Color printer, then you should select the "Grayscale" preference.

If your color printer prints black or gray documents using the Color Printing setting, it will use the color cartridges. When printing with "grayscale" only black is given out by ink or toner, which not only produces a deeper blackness, but also uses the cheaper supplies with black. Once you've set and saved all your settings, you'll be able to seamlessly print your documents and save valuable time in the future.