On 02/04/2016 02:32 PM, Keith Nuttle wrote:
On 2/4/2016 1:40 PM, David H. Lipman wrote:
From: "Dave Boland"

I'm in the process of finding a new printer, and I have been
frustrated by the big box stores inability to demonstrate anything. I
noticed that a number of the printers have USB slots, but what I don't
know is what files they will read and if they can traverse a file
system (below). Does anyone know as I have not been able to find
anything from the manufacturers? My hope is that they can read jpeg
and pdf.

The files on the usb drive would be:
/home
/printer test
busletter.pdf
newsletter.pdf
picture.jpg
/other

Thanks,
Dave

It is called a USB Port.

It may be used for a Bluethooth add-on but most allow USB Flash and Hard
disks. However NOT for printing documents, only graphics.

Note that some require a FAT formatted devie and won't accept a NTFS
formatted device.



As I understand you have a USB drive with a folder Printer Test. This
folder contains two PDF files and a JPG. You are trying to carry this
USB drive to the various stores and trying to print your files to check
the capabilities of the printer.

I am unsure of the purpose of this.

To test the printer's ability to print. Not obvious? The files are
test documents - a business letter, a news letter with color graphics,
and a photo.

The usb drive is being used because there is no other way to get a file
to these printers to test them short of bringing a laptop with drivers
installed and a usb cable.

Do you want to know if the printer
will print these types of files directly from the USB Drive, or if the
printer will print these files?

Whether the printer would print files directly form the USB drive
depends not only on the printer manufacturer, but also the model of the
printer. (My HP 5740 will print jpg images directly from the USB drive)

If you are printing from another device, smartphone,tablet,laptop, or
desktop, the software you are print the file from, will put it into the
format that will print on the printer you are sending the file to. So in
this case it is not the capabilities of the printer, but the
capabilities of the software and print driver on device.

The stores selling a printer, or computer are the worst place to go for
technical information on these devices. If they give you advice, the
chances are it is wrong. There are a few stores that have competent
sales people but the quality of the sales force varies by the from
location to location, not from chain to chain.

The best source of this information for anything you are buying is from
the manufacturers website. Google for the manufacture of the printer
you are interested in. Look for the sections where the e-manuals area
stored. Download the manual for the model printer you are interested in,
and read the manual.

The printer manual will tell you if you can print from the USB drive,
and the file formats ie jpg,bmp,PDF, that are recognized by the printer.

Hope this helps

It does, but only a little. The fact is that nothing beats trying
something before you buy.

Dave,