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parallel port. An access point through which a computer transmits or receives data that consists of
several bits sent simultaneously on separate wires.
PCL5e. Hewlett-Packard's Printer Command Language, a data stream used for printing.
pel (picture element). (1) An element of a raster pattern; a point where a toned area on the
photoconductor may appear. (2) On an all-points-addressable output medium, each pel is an addressable
unit. On a row-column addressable output medium, the only pel addressable is the beginning of a
character cell.
physical page. The form on which the printer is printing, such as an 8-1/2 x 11-inch sheet of paper. See
also page. Contrast with logical page.
pitch. A unit of measurement for the width of a printed character. It identifies the number of graphic
characters per inch; for example, 10-pitch has ten graphic characters per inch. Uniformly spaced fonts
are measured in pitches. Contrast with point.
point. A unit of measurement for describing type sizes. There are 12 points to a pica, about 72 points to
an inch.
point of origin. The location of the first print position on a logical page. The point of origin is usually
stated in terms of X and Y coordinates. The point of origin used by a printer can be affected by factors
such as printable area and forms orientation.
portrait orientation. Pertaining to a display or hard copy with greater height than width. Contrast with
landscape orientation.
PostScript. (1) A page description language with interactive graphics capabilities that was developed by
Adobe Systems, Inc. (2) An interpretive programming language that describes the appearance of text,
graphical shapes, and sampled images on a printed page by defining a print file format that is the
interface between document composition applications and raster printing devices.
preprinted form. A sheet of forms containing a preprinted design of constant data with which variable
data can be combined. See also forms.
Print-Error Marker (PEM). Small, black, rectangular marks that indicate incorrectly placed data in the
valid printable area.
print position. The physical positions of the characters constituting a print line relative to the form.
print quality. The quality of printed output relative to existing standards and in comparison with jobs
printed earlier.
print surface. The side of a form that receives the printed image.
raster. (1) In computer graphics, a predetermined pattern of lines that provides uniform coverage of a
display space. (2) The coordinate grid that divides the display area of a display device. (3) In the printer,
an on/off pattern of electrostatic images produced by the laser print head under control of the character
generator.
raster font. A font in which each character is defined by a raster bitmap.
raster pattern. A series of picture elements (pels) arranged in scan lines to form an image.
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Appendix F. Glossary
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