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The IEEE 1284 parallel interface standard is the prevalent standard for
connecting a computer to a printer or certain other devices over
a parallel (eight bits of data at a time) physical and electrical
interface. The physical connection is similar to the older
When the Centronics parallel interface was first developed, the main peripheral was the printer. Since then, portable disk drives, tape drives, and CD-ROM players are among devices that have adopted the parallel interface. These new uses caused manufacturers to look at new ways to make the Centronics parallel interface better. In 1991, Lexmark, IBM, Texas instruments, and others met to discuss a standard that would offer more speed and bi-directional communication. Their effort and the sponsorship of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) resulted in the IEEE 1284 committee. The IEEE 1284 standard was approved for release in March, 1994.
The computer must determine what the capabilities of the attached peripheral are and which mode to utilize. The concept developed to determine these factors is called negotiation. Negotiation is a sequence of events on the parallel port interface that determines which IEEE 1284 modes the device can handle. An older device will not respond to the negotiation sequence and compatibility mode is selected to operate that device. A newer device will respond to the negotiation sequence and a more advanced mode can be set.