OUTPUT DEVICES
Output Devices are all part
of the Hardware of a
computer system
Output Devices are about
seeing the results of your
work!
SOME OUTPUT DEVICES
Paper
Video Monitor
Sound
Controlling
Other
Machines
TYPES OF OUTPUT
Soft Copy
Hard Copy
Communications
Channel
SCREEN OUTPUT – SOFT COPY
Video Monitor
Also called Video
Display Terminal (VDT)
Image exists in video
memory—VRAM
Monitor size is
measured diagonally
across the screen
PIXELS
Images are made up of
dots called pixels for
picture elements
The number of pixels determines
the clarity of the picture on the
screen
More pixels = higher resolution =
clearer picture
COLOR DEPTH (BIT DEPTH)
Thismeans the amount of information
stored in each pixel about what is
being shown on the monitor
Monochrome (1 bit of information per
pixel)
This can only be black or white
Gray-scale (8 bits of information per pixel)
This can show more shades of grey
True color (24 or 32 bits of information per
pixel)
This can realistically reproduce a photograph on
the screen that looks very close to the original
EXAMPLES OF COLOR DEPTH
The greater the color depth the more
colours that can be represented on the
screen
1-bit depth 4-bit depth
8-bit depth 16-bit depth
CLASSES OF MONITORS
CRT (cathode ray tube)
LCD (liquid crystal display)
CRT (CATHODE RAY TUBE)
A CRT is a television-style monitor
Its features include:
Clear image
Quick response time
Low cost
Very popular
LCD (LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY)
LCDs comprise flat-panel monitors
Found on watches, calculators, digital
cameras and notebook computers
Lighter weight
Crisp,clear images
Extra viewing area for same size
More expensive to buy
Consume less power
PAPER OUTPUT – HARD COPY
A printer is a device that produces
output on paper
Most printers today can produce
both text and graphics
Two types of printers:
Impactprinters
Non-impact printers
Printers
Impact Printers Non-Impact Printers
Daisy Dot- Inkjet Thermal Laser
wheel Matrix
1
2
WHAT IS A PRINTER?
An external hardware device responsible for
taking computer data and generating a hard
copy of that data. Printers are one of the
most commonly used peripherals and they
print text and still images on the paper.
1
3
“PRINT QUALITY”
(1) Near typeset quality:
A Lower quality print similar to the output of a
type-writer.
(2) Letter quality:
Print made up by fully formed (solid line)
characters.
(3) Near letter quality:
A print of high quality formed by multiple passes
of print head over the same letter.
(4) Standard quality:
A high quality print formed by a single pass of the
print head.
(5) Draft quality:
A print formed with minimum number of dots or
lines and are smaller than the standard quality
1 characters.
4
“FACTORS AFFECTING PRINT
QUALITY”
(1) DPI:
It is a measurement of printer’s resolution indicating
how many ink dots can be placed by the printer in one
square inch. The higher the DPI, the sharper is image.
(2) Type of printer:
Each type of printer has its own capabilities of
printing. Some types of printers produce high quality
print while other produce low quality print.
(3) Print Mode:
The printing mode may also affect the quality. For
example the draft mode increases the print rate but
quality is reduced.
(4) Toner:
The quality and amount of toner also affects print
quality.
1
5
IMPACT PRINTERS
There is some physical contact with the
paper to produce the image ie physically
striking the paper
Types
Lineprinters
Dot matrix printers
LINE PRINTER
Line printers
Used by mainframes for
jobs that need a large volume of printing
Limited characters available
Print an entire line at a time
Cheap to run
Not high quality
DOT MATRIX PRINTER
Have a printhead made up of columns of
pins
The pins form characters and images as
patterns of dots produced when the pins
strike the paper
Reasonable quality text and graphics
Inexpensive to buy and run
Noisy
NON-IMPACT PRINTERS
Laser Printers
Ink-jet printers
Bubble-jet printers
LASER PRINTERS
Laser printers
Image transferred to paper with a
laser beam
Faster and more expensive
than dot-matrix
High-resolution output
Expensive to buy
Quite expensive to run
INK-JET PRINTERS
Ink-jet
Dots of ink are sprayed onto the paper to
form the image
Reasonably high quality
Available in colour or B/W
Speed measured in pages per minute
Reasonably priced
Expensive to run
PLOTTERS
Used by graphic designers/architects
Image transferred to paper with ink
pens
Very high resolution
Excellent for scientific and engineering
applications
PRINTING TERMS
Dots per inch (dpi)
Pages per minute (ppm)
Characters per second (cps)
Laser printers – 50 ppm
Ink-jet printers – 12 ppm
“PRINTERS FOR DIFFERENT USERS”
To choose a printer from a printer’s
family following considerations are to
be made.
(1) What’s the budget?
(2) Is color needed or just black&
white?
(3) What is the Volume of the output?
(4) How important is the quality of the
output?
(5) What special features are needed?
(6) Is the printer is to be used by a
2
4 single user or a whole network?
“PRINTER FOR HOME USERS”
For home users, the quality of the print and
the price of the printer both matter. So a
better choice in such case is a portable color
Inkjet printer.
If the budget of the user is good enough
then the best choice is a personal laser
printer which enhances both the speed and
quality of the print.
2
5
“SMALL AND MEDIUM OFFICES”
For small and medium scale offices a better
option is a multi-function printer which is an
integrated device fulfilling various
requirement of the office.
For better output, a laser printer is the best
choice.
2
6
“PRINTERS FOR BANKS, LARGE BUSINESS
ORGANIZATIONS AND COMPANIES”
In banks, large size business environments
and companies printers with networking
capabilities should be preferred which can
increase productivity and reduce the cost
without compromising on the quality. Of
course laser printer is quite suitable choice
but multi-functional printer and inkjet printer
can also play vital role.
2
7
OUTPUT YOU CAN HEAR
Synthesizers can be
used to generate
music and sounds
Many computers
have synthesizers
Sound cards have
built-in synthesizers
MACHINES CONTROLLING
OTHER MACHINES
By turning bit information into
movements (robots) or measurements
(sensors), machines can control other
machines:
Automated factory equipment
Telephone switchboards
Robot arms
Spacecraft
OUTPUT TO A NETWORK –
COMPUTER TO COMPUTER
Needs a
Communications
channel
The Internet and
WWW
Needs a modem to
convert data for
transmission across
network
