Editing Page printer (section)

==Components==
The components of a page printer are:
*A print engine, "the unit within a printer that does the actual printing."<ref>{{cite web|title=Definition of:printer engine|url=https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/49696/printer-engine|website=PC Magazine|access-date=August 29, 2014}}</ref> For example, in a laser printer this would consist of the laser and drum and the mechanical paper feeds.
* [[Computer memory|Memory]] to process input and build up the image of a page. The printer may have its own memory or may use the host computer's memory.
* A [[page description language]] (PDL), with commands which tell the printer how to format the page. Popular PDLs are [[Printer Command Language|PCL]] (Printer Command Language) from [[Hewlett-Packard]], [[PostScript]] from [[Adobe Systems]] and PostScript clones, and [[Microsoft Windows|Windows’]] [[Graphics Device Interface]] (GDI).
*A [[raster image processor]] (RIP), i.e. a [[microprocessor|processor]] which constructs the [[Raster graphics|bitmap]] image of the page. Sometimes, this processing is done by the host computer. In other cases printers may have imbedded processors to perform this task.
*A printer driver, a program ([[device driver]]) which converts the computer's information about the page into the actual PDL. Printer drivers may be included with the [[operating system]], be distributed with the printer on CDs or DVDs, or be downloaded from the printer manufacturer's home page or from independent web sites.
*A connection (interface) to the host computer.  Many printers communicate by [[Wi-Fi]].  Other popular interfaces are [[USB]] and [[Ethernet]].  Many older printers also have a parallel ([[IEEE 1284|Centronics]]) interface.  High-end printers often have a [[Channel I/O|channel interface]] for direct connection to a [[mainframe computer]].