In Advanced Server, a shared printer queue is the mechanism through which a collection of printer devices is accessed by LAN users with appropriate permissions. A print device is the actual hardware that produces printed output. Print devices can be connected directly to the server (via serial or parallel port), to the network (via a network adapter card), or to a client computer on the network.
The UNIX system, on which Advanced Server is installed, provides LP Printer functionality which mediates between Advanced Server and the print devices. Users access printers by sending their print jobs over the network to shared printer queues, which in turn forward the jobs to print devices or other destinations.
In Windows NT terminology, a printer is the software interface between the operating system and the print device. The printer defines where the document will go before it reaches the print device (to a local port, to a file, or to a remote print share), when it will go, and various other aspects of the printing process.
In Advanced Server terminology, a shared printer queue is the software interface between the application and the print device. When you administer an Advanced Server print server from Windows NT, a "printer" represents a "shared printer queue."
A printer driver is a program that converts graphics commands into a specific printer language, such as PostScript or PCL. When you add a printer, you are installing a printer driver and making the printer (shared printer queue) available on the network by sharing it.
A print server is the computer that receives documents from clients.
Spooling is the process of writing the contents of a document to a file on disk. This file is called a spool file.
Advanced Server supports all of the printer devices that are supported by the local spooling system, including dot matrix, ink jet, and laser print devices. The local spooling system is the process that runs on the Advanced Server computer’s UNIX system which handles system printing.
Network-interface print devices have their own network cards; they need not be physically connected to a print server because they are connected directly to the network.