Printer Communications

Computers and their peripheral devices, such as printers, scanners, etc., communicate with each other using a variety of different communication methods.   Cognitive offers a full communication connectivity suite on the C/Rx printer model.

• Ethernet:  Most computer networks, including local-area networks such as the one in your office and home, use this kind of connection to tie together all the computers and printers on the network.  Every device on the network has an address which other devices can use to send messages to it.  The advantage of using a network connection is that the C Series printer can be used by any number of computers on the network.
  
• USB-B (Device):  USB, or Universal Serial Bus, is a high-speed connection used to form one-to-one connections between computers and peripheral devices.  There are a few different connectors in the USB family.  The ‘B’ connector is used on the ‘device-side’ of a USB line and tells you that the device will be ‘owned’ or ‘used by’ the other device. The advantage of USB is that it provides very fast communication directly to a computer without the need for a network.
  
• USB-A (Host): USB-A has the same characteristics as USB-B; but when you use the ‘A’ port you are indicating that, of the two devices being connected, the printer is the host.   A C Series printer can host USB devices such as keyboards, keypads, and flash drives.  You can use a keyboard connected directly to the printer to tell it what to print, and you can use a flash drive to upgrade the printer’s software.
  
• Serial & Parallel:  Serial and Parallel connections are available on most systems, including older printers.  For integration into existing systems with legacy hardware, you can usually rely on serial and parallel connections when network and USB hardware are unavailable.  This port requires a Cognitive specific custom serial cable or parallel cable. 
  

For more information, refer to the C/Rx Users Manual.