How to Connect a Printer Power Cord

Series Summary

Printing from your home computer can sometimes be quite an adventure. And problems only seem to arise when there’s a deadline looming. Often times printing errors are the result of minor oversights, such as not selecting the correct printer from your print menu, an empty ink cartridge or paper tray, or a loose USB or power cable. Taking a few minutes to become familiar with the components and functions your printer can save a lot of time and headaches later on.

In this series of free video clips you’ll learn the basics of using a computer printer. Expert Zak Owen demonstrates how to connect the power and USB cables and install printer drivers from a disc or via the internet, shows how to load bottom and back loading paper trays and replace and refill ink cartridges, and offers tips on troubleshooting a number of printing errors you might encounter, including the classic paper jam. He also shows you how to use a networked printer, select the correct printer from your print menu, and how to select the correct printing settings for your print job.

Video Transcript

" Hi! This is Zak with Expert Village, and today I’m going to talk to you about hooking up your printer to its power supply. Printers generally come with two different kinds of power supplies. Some have external power converters such as this one seen here. Usually you’ll have the power converter itself that plugs into the printer and a power adaptor to plug into the converter and this plugs into the wall. Other printers such as this one right here, we have a power cable that plugs directly into the printer. This is useful because it reduces the kind of clutter on your desk and really minimizes all the cables you have running around in your workspace. For this kind of connector, we just find the power port on the back of the printer and plug in the cable and you’re ready to go. The reason some printers have power converters instead of just plug in straight into the wall is usually to help minimize the amount of space needed for the actual printer to take up on the desk. Slimmer printers such as Epson printers and Lexmark printers are smaller and slimmer and thus use an external power supple, whereas printers that are meant more for photo quality printing and office printing can afford to take the space to have the power converter actually inside of the printer."