Skip to main content
Skip to footer
Glossary Terms: B
- Back-up run time
- The length of time a UPS system will supply battery power to a computer and other connected equipment during a power failure.
- Backlit display
- A feature available for some handheld screens. Backlit displays are available for easier reading, especially in low–light situations. Most handheld displays are available in black and white, though color displays are becoming more popular and affordable.
- Ballpoint ink
- Filled with oil–based ink, which is water–resistant and long lasting.
- Banner lifter
- An attachment that helps smoothly feed continuous banner paper through an inkjet printer.
- Barrel
- Refers to the whole length and width of the pen.
- Battery
- The power source used when there is no outlet available. Notebook batteries are rechargeable and usually last from one to seven hours.
- Battery backup
- Ensures that information such as time, date, and phone numbers held in memory keys will not be lost if something happens to the primary power source.
- Bi-directional
- A term for a parallel printer connection or an external peripheral in which the data flows regularly in both directions between computer and printer.
- Bin capacity
- Measured in gallons, bin capacity describes the amount of shredded material a shredder's bin can handle before it will need to be emptied. Bin capacity ranges from 1 to 41 gallons.
- Bit depth
- Refers to the color of an individual pixel. The higher the bit depth, the more numerous the colors, and the more nuanced the shading between colors and between dark and shaded gray areas.
- Blackout
- A complete loss of electrical power that is usually caused by a storm or accident. Unless a computer is connected to a UPS battery backup device, all of the current work (including in–progress files and documents) can be lost.
- Bottled toner
- Used in higher–quality laser copiers. Because it is poured directly from a bottle into a toner reservoir within the machine, it is relatively easy to replace.
- Brightness
- Brightness measures how white paper is. The brighter the paper is, the whiter it is. Brightness typically ranges from 84 to 99.
- Broadcasting
- Enables a fax machine to send the same fax to multiple recipients.
- Bus speed
- The speed with which information is transferred between a computer's CPU and memory (RAM).