The key roles of each part of the print system are outlined below.

  • The drivers are responsible for generating the page description on the host system and for transmitting data to the printer.
  • The I/O manager mediates the connection with the network interface and establishes a device or print manager connection.
  • The print manager is responsible for spooling the job (if appropriate) and for feeding jobs to the correct PDL interpreter.
  • The PDL interpreters are responsible for turning page descriptions into rendered pages and for parsing job management comments.
  • The compression subsystem manages compressed pages in memory.
  • The page manager coordinates pages for sending to the engine for the most efficient printing, finishing, and accessory handling.
  • The video subsystem is responsible for decompressing pages and feeding the engine with appropriate engine signals. The video subsystem also handles certain print quality processing functions.