Learn Hardcore Japanese: nootopasokon kara purintaa ni deeta wo okutte, kaigi no siryou wo insatusita. - I sent data from my laptop to the printer and printed the meeting materials.

If the context is obvious, in casual speech one of them MIGHT be dropped, but the standard, clear pattern uses both. For a learner, it’s best to keep both particles.

Why is 送って in the -て form instead of 送った? What does 送って、…印刷した mean grammatically?

The -て form of a verb can connect actions in sequence:

Vて、Vた = did V and then did V / did V and V-ed

So:

データを送って、会議の資料を印刷した。
literally: (I) sent the data, and (then) printed the meeting materials.

Here, 送って works like “sending (it), then…”.
If you used 送った。そして印刷した。, it would be more like two separate sentences: “I sent the data. And I printed the materials.” The -て form makes it a smoother, single flow of actions.

Does 送って、会議の資料を印刷した mean I definitely sent the data before printing, or could the actions be simultaneous?

In this context, it strongly implies sequence: first send, then print.

The -て form in Japanese can sometimes mean:

simple sequence: did A and then did B
cause/result: did A and (as a result) did B
or just combining: did A and did B

Here, logically, you have to send the data to the printer before you can print the materials, so it is naturally interpreted as A then B:

データを送って、資料を印刷した。
= I sent the data (to the printer) and then printed the materials.

Who is the subject of 送って and 印刷した? Why is I not in the sentence?

Japanese often omits the subject when it is clear from context.

The understood subject here is “I” (or “we”, depending on context).
Both 送って and 印刷した share the same subject.

So conceptually, the sentence is:

（私は）ノートパソコンからプリンターにデータを送って、会議の資料を印刷した。
= (I) sent the data from my laptop to the printer and printed the meeting materials.

Leaving out 私は is completely natural in Japanese when it’s obvious who is acting.

Why is データ marked with を? What role is を playing here?

を marks the direct object of a verb – the thing directly affected by the action.

データを送って
= send the data (data is what gets sent)

Later:

資料を印刷した
= printed the materials (materials are what get printed)

So データ and 資料 are both direct objects, and を marks them as such.

What exactly does 会議の資料 mean? Is it “meeting’s materials”, “materials for the meeting”, or something else?

会議の資料 can be understood as “materials for the meeting”.

The particle の between nouns often shows:

possession: 田中さんの本 = Tanaka’s book
belonging/attribute: 日本の車 = Japanese car
purpose/relation: 会議の資料 = materials related to / for the meeting

So:

会議の資料 = handouts, slides, printouts, etc., used in the meeting.

Why is 資料 used instead of just データ? What nuance does 資料 have?

In Japanese:

データ = data in a more abstract or digital sense (files, numbers, etc.)
資料 = materials, handouts, reference documents, especially things you might hand out or refer to in a meeting/presentation.

So the sequence is:

Send データ (the digital content) to the printer.
Print 会議の資料 (the physical materials/handouts for the meeting).

The implication is that the data is used to produce the meeting materials.

Why is it 会議の資料 and not something like 会議への資料 or 会議のための資料?

You could say:

会議のための資料 = materials for the sake of the meeting (more explicit)
会議用の資料 = materials for use in the meeting

But 会議の資料 by itself is already natural and usually understood as:

materials that belong to / are used for that meeting.

Adding のため or 用 gives extra nuance or emphasis, but isn’t necessary in a normal context. Simple 会議の資料 is the most common and neutral expression.

Why is the verb 印刷する used instead of プリントする? Is there a difference?

Both are used in everyday Japanese:

印刷する (insatsu suru)
- more standard/formal, often used in business, manuals, written text
- literally “to print”
プリントする (purinto suru)
- more casual, colloquial, from English “print”

In a sentence about preparing meeting materials, 印刷した sounds very natural and slightly more formal/neutral than プリントした. In casual conversation, プリントする is also common, especially about photos or simple printing tasks.

Why is the sentence in plain past (印刷した) and not polite past (印刷しました)? How does that change the feeling?

印刷した。 = plain past
印刷しました。 = polite past

The choice between them is about politeness level, not about the core meaning.

印刷した。
- used in casual explanation, diary, storytelling, internal narration, etc.
印刷しました。
- used when talking to someone you should be polite to (customers, boss, people you don’t know well).

So:

The sentence as given is in plain style, maybe from a diary, a narrative, or a textbook example.
To say this politely to your boss, you’d usually say:
ノートパソコンからプリンターにデータを送って、会議の資料を印刷しました。

Is there any difference between ノートパソコン and just パソコン?

Yes:

パソコン
- short for パーソナルコンピューター (personal computer)
- can be a desktop or a laptop, depending on context
ノートパソコン
- specifically a notebook/laptop computer
- ノート here comes from “notebook”

So ノートパソコン makes it clear that it’s a laptop, not a desktop PC.