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Common Copier Industry Jargon, Definitions, and Acronyms Explained
ADF
The acronym for the Automatic Document Feeder. A device used for automatically feeding multiple pages into a multifunction device.
Aftermarket
The sale of service & supplies that are not genuine OEM branded.
AMCV or AMPV
Average monthly copy volume or print volume.
Auditron
Feature on equipment where user codes are required to enable copying, printing or faxing.
Bins
Old-style analog copiers used multiple bins or exit trays to collate (or separate) the output.
Bond
The standard type of copy or print paper.
Booklet
The process of imposing or arranging the pages on duplexed documents so they appear in the correct order when folded in half.
Business Color
A general class of color printing that is characterized by lower requirements around color accuracy. Business color usually refers to things like PowerPoint presentations. Most any situation where spot color is being used and doesn't have to exactly match a specific printed or Pantone color.
Buy-Out
The amount owed at the end of a lease in order to own the equipment outright . Sometimes the buy out is "absorbed" in with the remaining stream of payments in order to upgrade a customer before the lease is up.
Bypass Tray
An input paper source on a copier, fax or printer that is generally used for feeding specialty paper into a machine. The bypass tray is usually characterized by lower volume, and the use and the ability to feed heavier stocks.
Cabinet
Non-desktop copiers that require a specific stand for them to sit on. On some models, this stand may be substituted for an additional set of paper drawers or cassettes.
Card Reader
A credit card style reading device for controlling access to a copy machine.
Cassette
The holding area for the paper in either a copier or printer.
Clicks
Pages produced on an output device; either copies or prints. 5,000 clicks per month means 5,000 pages or copies per month.
CMYK
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK; the process of generating a color image by absorbing light and reflecting what's left. This is a complimentary process to RGB color generation. CMYK is the process for all commercial printing and most color copiers. CMYK images are characterized as less vibrant than RGB.
Collate
The means by which original sets are separated from each other for easy identification.
Color Calibration
Usually an electrical process of setting the image quality to a known standard such as a test sheet.
Color Separation
The process of separating an electronic or hardcopy image into 4 base color components (CMYK) in preparation for printing on a color press.
Convenience Stapling
Off-line stapler attached to equipment (user staples).
Coverage
A term used to describe how much information (toner usage) is on a piece of paper. A standard business document is generally thought to contain between 5 and 15% coverage.
CPC
The acronym for Cost per Copy - Can have three meanings based on usage:
1. The total cost of ownership per copy including Equipment,maintenance, supplies & finance
2. Price plan that includes supplies bundled with maintenance Or bundled with maintenance & equipment
3. Portion of a maintenance plan that is billed on a “per copy” basis
CPM
The acronym for Copies Per Minute - the maximum speed that an output device is capable of delivering paper to the output. May be affected by job specifics such as stapling or sorting and may be affected by the data stream.
CRD
The acronym for Central Reproduction Department. In a larger company, the room with the "big" copier in it. CRDs are generally responsible for large print and copy jobs, specialty binding, etc.
Creative Color
Creative Color refers to the upper-end requirements for color printing and copying. Creative color generally refers to customers with needs such as matching specific colors (Pantone), matching previously printed output, etc. Frequently creative color customers are using Macintosh computers.
DADF
The acronym for Duplexing Automatic Document Feeder. An automatic document feeder capable of reading both sides of an original in a single pass.
Data Stream
A general term that refers to the electronic signal going to a printer. The data stream carries the PDL (page description language) information.
Densitometer
A device used to measure the color shade and density from a printed image. Used in conjunction with a printed test target and calibration software to set a color machine to a known value.
Desktop
A copier, printer or fax that does not require a stand of its own. It's capable of sitting directly on a counter or desktop.
Digital
Digital copiers scan to a digital image and print on the integrated laser printer to produce the copy. Because the image is digital, the quality is better and features such as reduction and enlargement are easier to implement because they are done in software.
Document Feeder (ADF, DADF)
The generic term for an automatic document feeder; a way feeding a stack of paper into a copier or scanner unattended.
Domain
A domain can be either or single server or multiple servers acting as on single network.
Domain Controller
The central computer in the domain that is responsible for authenticating or verifying a user's logon name and password.
Dot Matrix Printer
A printer that creates characters and graphics by means of a small row of wires on its print head. The wires move forward and strike the paper through an inked ribbon, creating small dots on the page that make up the image. Dot matrix printer are characterized by extremely low quality print and high ribbon costs.
DPI
The acronym for Dots Per Inch. The measure of resolution or the amount of information in a digital file. Also, a printing term used to indicate output quality.
Drawer
The holding area for the paper in either a copier or printer.
Duplex
Information on both sides of the document. Usually refers to output or printing, but can also be used to describe the original documents. Duplexed documents can be long edge (opens like a book) or short edge.
Duty Cycle
A term that refers to the amount of work that can be expected from a particular device (scanner, copier, printer, fax, etc). Duty Cycle is frequently an arbitrary number and may be hard to compare from one manufacture to another. Service technicians can be resources for determining real-world duty cycle numbers based on actual experience. Usually calculated on a monthly basis.
EDM
The acronym for Electronic Document Management; the process of storing and retrieving document, both scanned images and electronic files, in a centrally controlled and secured location.
Engine
An "engine" is the portion of a digital device that is responsible for printing.
Enterprise
Generally the term enterprise refers to larger, more spread out networks. Companies that look at "Enterprise" solutions are looking at larger, more costly systems; usually to cover multiple servers and a large number of end-users.
Envelope Feeder
An attachment that generally inserts into a paper drawer for the purpose of feeding envelopes.
Ethernet
A type of physical network connection. Ethernet uses a specific kind of wire, connector and way of communicating on the network. If the customer uses Ethernet, their network connected equipment must use Ethernet.
Exchange e-mail
An email server that utilizes Microsoft Exchange rather than SMTP or Lotus Notes. Customers who use Exchange email have to use email devices that are capable of working with it.
Fax
Short for facsimile. A facsimile machine sends a digitized copy of a document through a phone line to another fax machine.
Finisher
An add-on accessory for a copier or printer that provides the finishing options; stapling, collating or sorting, folding, hole punching, etc.
Finishing
The term used to describe how you want your printed output to be physically handled; stapled, collated, sorted, folded, etc.
Firmware
A physical memory chip containing software. The software can be changed by a technician through a process of "flashing" new instructions onto the chip. Firmware is used inside copiers to control internal operations and features.
First Copy Out Time (FCOT)
The time it takes from pressing the "copy" button to receiving the first page in the exit tray.
FTP
The acronym for File Transfer Protocol. A protocol or set of instructions for how a file is transferred on a network from point A to point B. If two different computers or pieces of hardware both support FTP, they can share files back and forth.
Gamut
The color Gamut is a measure of the maximum number of colors reproducible by any given technology. The color gamut for an RGB image displayed on a color monitor will be larger than for one printed on a CMYK printer or press.
Giga (G)
1,000 million or billion. 1G = 1,000M = 1,000,000,000.
Gigabit Ethernet
The same RJ-45 connector used for 10bT but on a network capable of transmitting data at 1,000 megabits or 1 gigabit.
Graphic Color
Graphic Color and Creative Color are terms that are used interchangeably.
GUI
Graphical User Interface. The interface to a computer program. Windows is a graphical interface while DOS was a text based interface.
Hard Drive
Most Print Controllers have hard drives in them just like computers. The hard drive is used for spooling (or copying) print jobs from the network very quickly and then storing them until the print engine is ready to print that job.
Hardware
The physical pieces of a computer or network device such as the hard drive, mother board, etc.
ICC Profile
ICC profiles are definition files that allow color mapping between devices with different color gamuts. ICC profiles are a controlled way of moving between devices that are not capable of producing the same range of colors.
Imaging
A general term that refers to either putting marks on a page (printing or copying) or scanning (digitizing) a document.
Imposition
The process of rearranging pages in a "booklet" order. If you fold a single piece of paper in half, page 1 and 4 are on side A while pages 2 and 3 are on side B.
InkJet Printer
A type of printing that utilizes a print head capable of squirting tiny bubbles of ink to create dots on the page. The dots, similar to a dot matrix printer, form characters and images. Inkjet printers provide good quality but are expensive to operate because of the cost of the ink cartridges.
Interposer
An add-on accessory for a copier or printer that provides the ability to insert a document after the fuser. Since the fuser is hot and tends to pull off toner from previously printed documents, interposers are used to insert these types of documents into a finished set without sending them through the copier or printer.
ISIS (see TWAIN)
An ISIS driver is a piece of software that allows an application program to talk to a scanner. If a program is ISIS compatible then you must use an ISIS compatible scanner with that software. Most MFPs that can scan DO NOT have ISIS drivers. Generally you need a standalone scanner when an ISIS scanner is required.
Jog (jogger)
The process of offset (physically shifting) stacking a copied (or printed) set in order to separate it from the other sets.
Kilo (k)
1,000 or add 3 zeros. 50k = 50,000.
Laser Printer
A type of printer that utilized a laser beam to actually draw the printed image onto a photoconductive material. The material then comes in contact with toner, which sticks to the image drawn by the laser. Finally, the tone image is transferred to paper. Laser printers provide good quality.
LCT
Large Capacity Tray. An add-on accessory for a copier or printer that allows for large amounts of paper to be loaded. Usually in the range of 1,000 to 3,000 sheets.
LDAP
Light Directory Access Protocol. A way of maintaining address book information for email addresses in a central server and then pulling that information into the copier or MFP.
Leasing
The customer pays a base charge for a set number of months. Generally, the customer does not own the equipment at the end of the lease.
Ledger Size
US 11 x 17 paper size.
Legal Size
US 8 1/2 x 14 paper size.
Letter Size
US 8 1/2 x 11 paper size.
Line Printer
A general data processing term that refers to a large, high speed printer for producing output on pin fed or continuous feed paper.
Lotus Notes
An email server that utilizes a program called Lotus Notes rather than SMTP or Microsoft Exchange. Customers who use Lotus Notes email have to use email devices that are capable of working with it.
Mailbox
A virtual location for storing print or copy jobs; usually on the hard drive of the print controller. Occasionally the term may be used to indicate a physical set of output bins or trays.
Mega (M)
1,000,000 or add 6 zeros. 1.6M = 1,600,000.
MFP or MFD
Multifunction Product (or Device). The term used to describe a digital copier that can be used as a network printer, scanner or fax machine.
Mil
A thousandth of a dollar or 1 tenth of a cent. $0.001. The most common increment for talking about copy cost. i.e. "the toner portion of the contract was 2 mils or $0.002"
Network
A group of 2 or more computers connected by a network cable for the purpose of sharing files, programs or devices.
Network Drop
A networking term that usually means an RJ45 connection. In order to connect the copier, you'll need a network drop here.
NIC
Network Interface Card. A piece of hardware that connects a peripheral (copier, printer, computer) to the actual network cable.
OCT
Offset catch tray (method of collating copy sets that does not require bin sorters)
Parallel
A type of printer (or data) cable that transfers data 8 bits at a time. Basically if your equipment has a parallel connection, you need a parallel cable to connect to it. A network connection IS NOT a parallel connection.
PCL
Page Control Language. Developed by HP for Windows printing, PCL has traditionally been thought of as a lower end printing solution used primarily for office documents. Today, the gap between PCL and Postscript is nearly non-existent, but PS still has an edge in graphics applications (and is required for MAC printing).
PDF
Portable Document Format. A proprietary document file format created by Adobe Systems. PDF has become a de facto standard for sharing of documents because of its ability to lock down the format, share files cross-platform and the availability of the free viewer.
PDL
Page Description Language. The general term used to describe any software language designed specifically to tell printers how to draw marks on a piece of paper. Postscript and PCL are the two most popular PDLs, but there are others, especially in the data center (IPDS, DJDE). The important thing is to match the customer's requirement with the appropriate PDL.
Platen
The glass on the top of a copier where a document is placed for copying.
POP/ POP3
A protocol used for receiving email across the internet.
Postscript
A PDL (page description language) developed by Adobe Systems. Macintosh systems only print using Postscript. Postscript is generally characterized as being an upper end, higher quality language than PCL. Most high end color printer use Postscript.
Print Controller
The print controller generally refers to the RIP (raster image processor) and the NIC (network interface card). The Print Controller is responsible for making a copier into a printer.
RADF
Recirculating Automatic Document Feeder. An automatic document feeder that sends the paper through twice, flipping it over to read the other side.
Ream
A package of paper that is 500 sheets. (10 reams=1 case of paper)
Resolution
How much information is in a digital file or scanned image. Usually expressed in DPI (dots per inch) or LPI (lines per inch).
RFP
Request For Proposal. A request from a customer to "bid" on a system or group of equipment based on a set of specifications.
RGB
Red, Green, Blue; the process of generating color by projecting light rather than absorbing it (CMYK). RGB combines the projected light from the primary colors to produce a color image. RGB is how a computer monitor generates color. RGB images are characterized as brighter and more vibrant (wider color gamut) than CMYK images.
RIP
Raster Image Processor. A device responsible for taking the output of the print driver and turning it into raster (dot) information so that the laser can draw the image to be printed. Sometimes used interchangeably with Print Controller.
RJ-45
An 8 pin, phone-style connector used on Ethernet networks.
Saddle Stitch
The process of stapling a document on the fold as in booklet printing.
Scan to e-mail
The process of utilizing a copier as a scanner with the express purpose of sending the hardcopy document to an email address.
Scan to File
Refers to the process of utilizing a copier as a scanner.
Scanner
A device used for digitizing hardcopy documents.
Scanning
Refers to the process of turning hard copy paper documents into electronic files (digitizing).
Server
A centrally located computer dedicated to a specific, shared task such as sharing files and/or printers.
SMTP
Simple Mail Transport Protocol. A common internet email protocol frequently found on MFPs.
Software
The written instructions or code that a computer uses to do something useful. Microsoft Word is an example of a software package or application.
TCO
Total Cost of Ownership (includes equipment, maintenance, supplies, financing)
Thermal Printing
A method of printing an image by heating up specially treated paper (thermal paper). Heat causes the paper to turn black. Thermal prints are characterized by poor storage (fades in the sun) poor longevity (only last a few years before fading) and expense. Generally used in older fax machines.
Thermal Transfer Printing
A method of printing using heat to transfer ink from a mylar sheet onto plain bond paper. Thermal transfer prints hold up and store well but are more expensive to produce. Generally used in older fax machines.
Toner
An electrically charged powder used for creating the image on a print or a copy.
Tray
Generally refers to an exit location for paper but some manufacturers use the term "input trays" interchangeably with cassettes or drawers.
TWAIN
A TWAIN driver is a piece of software that allows an application program to talk to a scanner. If a program is TWAIN compatible then you must use a TWAIN compatible scanner with that software. Most MFPs that can scan have TWAIN drivers.
Workgroup
A term that usually refers to a small group of computers or computer users.
Workstation
A computer at someone's desk is referred to as a workstation computer or sometimes a desktop computer.
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