Displays and printers

There’s more than one way to make a monitor, but they all share one very important common feature: the pixel. Once we understand that all monitors have pixels, it’s easier to understand the different technologies you might find in a modern monitor.

The Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) is the dominant technology for today’s monitors. A good tech should possess a deep understanding of how LCDs work and how to open and repair an LCD monitor.

Monitors don’t create the images they display; that’s the graphics card’s job. Graphics cards come with different features and capabilities that a good tech understands very well.

More resolution means a more detailed picture. Monitor resolutions have increased for decades and a good tech understands common resolutions and aspect ratios.

Graphics cards often require special treatment when installing them in terms of power and cooling. In addition, systems need special drivers to take full advantage of the power of most graphics cards.

The CompTIA A+ concentrates on Windows, but every operating system gives you the ability to use more than one monitor. Make sure you understand the power of multiple monitors as well as how to install and configure them.

It’s easy to think of projectors as nothing more than monitors that project on a wall but that’s a bit short-sighted. Projectors come with their own technologies and configurations that a good tech understands.

The CompTIA A+ exams will challenge you on monitor troubleshooting. Whether it’s simply changing the input or replacing a burned-out bulb, troubleshooting displays is critical for techs.

Laser printers provide excellent print output on paper in both black and white and full color. Laser printers use a fairly complicated printing process that techs should understand. This video details the processes and components for techs to maintain and

Inkjet printers offer relatively inexpensive color printing for everyone. Techs need to understand how inkjets work for maintenance and troubleshooting. This video covers all the components and processes involved.

Impact (or dot matrix) printers use a mechanical print head with print wires that strike a ribbon to print on paper. Impact printers are still around, and techs need to know how they work for maintenance and service. Mike describes the pieces and processe

Thermal printers use heat to mark text on special thermal paper. They’re used in many point-of-sale systems and kiosks. Mike describes the features of thermal printers and what techs need to know to maintain and service the machines.

Installing a printer attached to a computer (a local printer) is a bread-and-butter task for techs. This video describes the installation process using the Devices & Printers section of the Settings app in Windows.

It rarely makes sense for every computer in an office or lab to have its own dedicated printer. This video looks at printer sharing and security options in Windows, so techs can set up, maintain, and remove shared printers. Mike also covers how to access

Many printers today come with wireless capabilities and can connect directly to an infrastructure or ad hoc 802.11 network. This video looks at manual and automatic setup options, plus how to connect a printer for cloud-based printing.

Good techs understand the many general issues with printers misbehaving. This video covers a lot of these issues, such as permissions, connectivity (physical/wireless and configuration errors), and mechanical issues.

3D printers use some material (such as plastic) to create a physical object from a 3D model file. This video explores the concepts in 3D printing and provides examples of software for controlling the printer output.