The print server's software handles the incoming job. If the printer is free, the document can be printed immediately. If the printer is busy, the document is spooled in a print file on the print server's hard disk. The file joins the queue, waiting its turn to be sent to the printer. The print server's buffer feeds print jobs to the printer at the correct pace.
Data waiting to be printed is stored in the buffer before it is sent.
The larger the buffer, the faster the printing, since fewer disk accesses are necessary to feed the file to the printer. Although printer sharing was an original impetus for installing a network, networks still don't always share printers gracefully and easily. Some problems are inherent in having multiple people use the same printer. A common problem is the conflict between the application and network. Some applications try to talk directly to the printer port and the network operating system does not have the opportunity to redirect the output.