Tip #2873 - Printing Properties
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Q:
Can you tell me a little about the different features in the printing
Properties? I'd like to know what all I can do with them.
A:
Sure thing, that's no problem! Printers come along with many different
features and it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with them. Whether
you're an advanced or beginner printer user, it doesn't hurt to know what
your printer can do for you.
First of all, to get
to your printer's Properties, go to Start, Control
Panel, Printers and Other Hardware and then
choose Printers and Faxes. Once there, you will see a
list of all the printers you have installed on your computer. It will
usually only be one or two. Find the one you want and click on it to highlight
it. Then just right click and select Properties.
You will now see a
box with seven different tabs.
Let's go over all
of those right now and see what all lies within your printer. First is
the General tab. Under this, you will see the full name
and the model type of your printer. (For example, mine is an HP DeskJet
690C). Below that, you can look at some of the features of your printer,
such as if it's color capable and the speed it runs at. You can also set
your printing preferences and print a test page here.
Next is the Sharing
tab. This is basically used only if you want to share your printer with
another computer. If so, you can choose that option and then read about
the drivers needed to do that and so forth. Following that is the Ports
tab. This is where you set up which port you want your printer to print
out of. You can check mark the one you want to use, add a port, delete
a port or configure a port all right here. It's very handy.
Next is the Advanced
tab. This is where you can set some more of your printing preferences.
You can decide when you want your printer available, you can choose to
spool your print documents, choose when you want the printing process
to start, etc. You can read through everything else there yourself, because
there's quite a few options to go through.
Now it's time for
the Color Management tab. If you don't have a color printer
or don't use a colored ink cartridge, you won't have to worry about this
one. But if you do, you can go here and set your color options. You can
choose to have your printer automatically print in color or you can do
it manually yourself. You can also work with your color profiles under
this tab.
The last two tabs
are Device Settings and Services. Under Device Settings,
you can work with your paper tray and set it just the way you want it,
etc. Under the Services tab, you can align your print
cartridges and clean them with just a push of your mouse button. Once
you click on either of those, just follow the directions to complete the
task. Once you have all the settings the way you want them on your printer,
just click OK and you'll be all set!
And there you have
it, your printing Properties in a nutshell. Now, keep in mind that every
printer is different, so what I have gone over may not fit exactly with
the type of printer you have. If not, you can always refer to your printer's
manual for additional help.
~ Erin
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