Understanding the history of printers also provides an introduction into how to use the printer buttons. This part of the learning center explains how to activate the printer features using the keyboard.
Keystrokes from a keyboard arrive in the computer and become the responsibility of the application program running in the computer. Application soft-ware then sends the proper instructions to the printer. If you press a word processor's underline key, the key is translated into an underlining command understood by the printer.
The computer industry has specialized into software companies, hardware companies, and printer companies (printer & inkjets & toner cartridge producing company). Software companies shoulder the burden of implementing printer hardware features. Many software companies approach this problem by surveying printer features and making a list of what is most common among all printers; then, they write software that uses just those features.
A software company can designate Alt-U as the underlining command and translate Alt-U to underlining instructions for any printer attached. The soft-ware company then can provide a database describing how to translate all generic printer commands to specific printer models.
Because printer manufacturers want to sell printers, new features always are being added. Most software companies do not revise their software to take advantage of new printer features, and sometimes Microsoft Windows doesnt integrate all of them either, but the new feature is there.
This process leads to the hidden treasure syndrome in which some techie figures out how to activate the new feature. The techie then writes a letter to a magazine describing the new feature. Everyone in the office soon starts clamoring for the feature. Consultants, help desks, and micro managers begin tearing their hair out while trying to figure out what the techie did. The time spent to implement the new feature is wasted, however, as soon as the printer or software is upgraded.
