X-bit labs

Personal Laser Printers Roundup: Monochrome Printing (page 27)

Category: Other

by Vasily Melnik

[ 01/19/2006 | 06:23 PM ]

Drivers and Settings

This driver offers the most flexible and full control over all the print parameters.

On the first tab you can select the format, source and even density of the print medium. It is also here that you choose the layout of pages on a sheet. The choices are then stored in a profile and recalled as necessary. The option of returning to the default settings may come in handy at times, too.

Normal or Best print quality is selected on the second tab. This setting actually affects the size of the dithering matrix. There is also a three-positional radio button to choose the toner-saving mode. On this tab you can also select the number of copies and scale the image up or down (from 25% to 400%).

Some fine-tuning options are available in this window, including toner fill density and printing colored text as black.

The third tab allows setting up the halftone reproduction parameters, particularly the type of the dithering matrix (grid or hatching) . The hatching matrix should be used to print images with regular shapes to avoid moiré patterns. You can also select the level of detail, i.e. the size of the dot in the dithering matrix, and by checking the appropriate checkbox you can even refrain from printing halftones altogether. The sliders at the bottom of the tab adjust the lightness and contrast parameters.