#Serial vs parallel printer ports serial#

Parallel ports, like serial ports, are built into the motherboard. Enhanced parallel ports have been developed however to achieve higher speeds - the EPP ( Enhanced Parallel Port) achieves speeds of 8 to 16 Mbps, and the ECP ( Enhanced Capabilities Port), developed by Hewlett Packard and Microsoft has the same characteristics as the EPP, with a Plug and Play feature, allowing the computer to recognise the connected peripherals. The recommended maximum length of a parallel cable is 4.5 m.

Figure 7 displays a Centronics connector. The first two-way parallel ports allowed for speeds of 2.4Mb/s. The printer port which connects by a cable to the parallel port of a computer is a 36-pin Centronics port, referred to in the standard as Type B. On another level we have actual implementation of such ports such as the RS-232, RS-485 or USB for serial ports and IEEE 1284 or say ATA for parallel ports. The parallel ports on personal computers can be used to send 8 bits (one octet) simultaneously via 8 wires: begingroup One one level we have general port types such as serial ports and parallel ports. Parallel data transmission involves sending data simultaneously on several channels (wires). A serial port connector generally has 9 or 25 pins and resemble the following (DB9 and DB25 connectors respectively):Ī personal computer generally has between one and four serial ports. This is why the connectors behind the casing that are connected to the motherboard by a wire cable can be used to connect an exterior element.

Microsoft Windows features a workaround for this scenario by allowing a shared printer to be mapped to an internal virtual LPT (Line Printer Terminal) port by using a command line. Hence, older programs do not have USB ports enabled, only parallel port printers. What is a serial port? Serial ports are generally built into the motherboard. Before the USB, most printers used a parallel port to connect to the computer.