parallel port
Sign in to saveAlso known as printer port, LPT, Centronics, Centronics port
an interface for connecting peripherals to computers, mainly used for connecting printers; was replaced by other technologies like USB and WLAN
Key facts
- Type
- Point-to-point
- Designer
- Centronics , IBM
- Designed
- 1970–1981
- Manufacturer
- Centronics, Dataproducts, Intel, IBM, Compaq, Nortel, etc
- Length
- 2.3 cm (0.91 in)
- Hot pluggable
- Usually not
- External
- Yes
- Cable
- Usually up to 25 wires including ground; optionally shielded
- Pins
- 8 data, 4 output control, 5 input control, 8 ground
- Connector
- DB-25 , DB25F , "Centronics" 36-pin Amphenol , DC-37 , others
- Signal
- 0 to +5.0 volt DC
- Earth
- Dedicated pins
- Max voltage
- 5 volts DC
- Data signal
- Parallel
- Width
- Variable
- Bitrate
- PP: 150 kB/s , EPP: 2 MB /s, ECP: 2.5 MB/s
- Max devices
- 2, unless devices provide passthrough
- Protocol
- Application dependent
via Wikipedia infobox
~22 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Micro ribbon 36-pin female, such as on printers and on some computers, particularly industrial equipment and early (pre-1980s) personal computers. Mini-Centronics 36-pin male connector (top) with Micro ribbon 36-pin male Centronics connector (bottom) The Apple II Parallel Printer Port connected to the printer via a folded ribbon cable; one end connected to the connector at the top of the card, and the other end had a 36-pin Centronics connector.
In computing, a parallel port is a type of interface found on early computers (personal and otherwise) for connecting peripherals. The name refers to the way the data is sent; parallel ports send multiple bits of data at once (parallel communication), as opposed to serial communication, in which bits are sent one at a time. To do this, parallel ports require multiple data lines in their cables and port connectors and tend to be larger than contemporary serial ports, which only require one data line per direction.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “parallel port” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.