Printer Cables - A Guide to Buying the Compatible Printer Cable for Your Computer

Printers will not function without printer cables, whichFinally, a serial printer cable has a 9-pin or 25-pin serial
connect printers to devices like computers, digitalcable on one or both ends. This is the highest quality
cameras, and scanners. They are made with insulatedprinter cable and provides high-speed data transfer.
wires with specific connectors at both ends.However, not all computers are compatible with this
Before, a printer cable was usually sold at "standard"type of cable.
types for PC or Mac. Today, there are several typesHow to buy
of cables available.When buying printer cables, the following guidelines
Parallel printer cablecan be followed:o Check for compatibility. Make sure
A parallel printer cable consists of two parallelyou buy the right printer cable that can be supported
connectors that serve to connect parallel-enabledby your computer. Some Macintosh computers are
printers to computers. This is usually used to connectnow using serial cables while Windows is still using the
computers to old, dot matrix printers.standard USB cable.o Check for the system
USB printer cablerequirements. Your cable and printer will not work if
The USB printer cable is made up of two USBthey are not compatible with your operating
connectors and has a data transfer rate of 480system.o Do not trust brands that claim to provide
mbps. This is ideal for high-volume printing. There arethe highest data transfer rate among others. Ask for
some computers that have both parallel and USBa demonstration first.o Check for cable length.
ports. You can choose either one depending on yourChoose a cable length that spans the distance
printer.between your computer and printer.
Serial printer cable