Gestetner 5450 Reference Manual

74

the set to 256 by adding an eighth 

bit

 to each existing character.  The expanded set

provides graphic, Greek, scientific, financial, and foreign language characters.

ASIC Chip - Application-Specific Integrated Circuit – a semiconductor product created

to perform a particular function.  An example would be a logic 

chip

 in the controller

or computer that allows the 

microprocessor

 (a generic or non-specific 

IC

), to get and

move data in a specific environment.

Auto Switching - Describes the behavior of the controller with respect to how it decides

from which input 

port

 it will capture data for printing.

Bi-directional - Communication flow in two directions.

Binary Digit - Describes base-2 math or electronic states of zero (off) or one (on).

BIOS - Basic Input Output System – the 

hardware

 and 

firmware

 which allows a

processor

 to control and use various aspects of a computer’s 

hardware

 (such as 

disk

drives

, keyboard, monitor, and printer 

ports

).

Bit - The smallest unit of storage or communication in a computer.  See 

Binary Digit

.

Bleed Off - The technique of printing to the physical edge of the document paper.

Bleed Through - The result when, during the printing process, ink saturates the paper

and is deposited on the copy below it, or leaves residual ink on the drum which is
passed on to the next copy, resulting in a ‘ghost’ image.

Buffer - A temporary data storage area necessarily used during data transfer between two

systems or processes whose input and output data rates differ.

Fonts

 which are resident in the controller and cannot be erased through

normal use of the controller.

Eight 

bits

, can represent a character or number, and is the most common form of

data storage and transfer.

Cache – A high-speed, short-term storage area.  Also describes the act of copying data

from a relatively slow, long-term storage medium into a relatively fast storage
medium/buffer, to enable fast access by multiple processes.

Cache Buffer - An area in 

RAM

 or on a 

hard drive

 used for storing frequently accessed

data or program instructions.

Chip - The short name for an integrated circuit (IC) device.

Complex Instruction Set Computer – a type of 

CPU

 that can recognize as many

as 100 or more instructions, enough to carry out most computations directly.
Generally slower than a RISC 

processor

.

Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black, the four colors used in making a composite

color picture (K = key color = black) – see 

Color separations

.

- LAN

 interconnect wire, usually type RG58, runs from one computer

workstation to another in a daisy-chain design.