OUTPUT DEVICES

Students are expected to be able to:

 identify the following output devices: monitors, printers (laser, ink jet and dot matrix),
plotters, speakers
 identify suitable uses of the output devices, stating the advantages and disadvantages
of each.
 identify relative purchase costs, running costs, quality and speed of different types of
printers.
 Identify output devices suitable for use by people with disabilities.

Output can be classified into hard, soft and machine readable.

 Hard copy implies permanence – the output can be retained for an indefinite (long) period of
time example are printed materials (magazines, photos, books, test papers e.c.t).
 Soft copy output lasts for a short period of time, examples information displayed on monitors
and speech or sound produced from an output.
 Machine readable these are output that have been produced by the computer for data to be
entered and then the output will again be sent into the computer as input example machine
that produces forms for OMR and OCR.

1. MONITORS
The computer monitor, screen or VDU (Visual Display Unit) is the most common output device.
It gives output in the form of softcopy.

There are two types of monitors:

1. Cathode ray tubes (CRT) and

2. Liquid crystal displays (LCDs)
 a. Cathode ray tubes (CRT)

Most computer monitors are similar in many ways to a television. They use cathode ray tubes
(CRTs) containing an electron gun at the back of the tube which fires electrons at groups of
phosphor dots coating the inside of the screen. When the electrons strike the phosphor dots
they glow to give any possible colour.

b. Liquid crystal displays (LCDs)

Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) – This are the type of displays that uses much less power than a
normal monitor, light weight and does not break easily. LCDs are also used in watches and
calculators. They are also found in laptops.
Advantages
 LCD displays are sharper
 Requires less power than other types of display
 They are small and light
 It does not get easily damaged and takes up les space
Disadvantages
 They are expensive to buy and maintain.

2. PRINTERS
The most common way of producing human readable output is using printers which produce hard
copies. Printers are categorized according to purchase costs, running costs, quality and printing
speed.
There are two categories of printers,namely: Impact printer and Non Impact printer
An impact printer is one in which letters are formed by forcing the paper and the printing head
together to print the characters. An impact printer requires an inked ribbon next to the paper. An
example of impact printer is a dot matrix printer because the header strikes the ribbon on to the
paper.
A Non-Impact printer is the one in which prints without striking the paper. They are quieter and
fast in printing due to lack of moving parts in the print head. An example for non-impact printer
is laser printer.

Printers can be placed into three main groups: Dot-Matrix printer, Ink-jet printers and Laser
printers

a. Dot-Matrix printer
This is an impact printer which has a vertical row of small pins in its
print head. As the head moves across the paper the correct pins are
pushed forward to form the shape of the letter required. Limited to
situations where carbon copies are needed and the quality is not too
important. Typical uses might be in warehouses where duplicate
copies of orders need to be produced quickly and cheaply.
Advantages
 The purchase cost is low and the running costs are very low.
 They can print fairly quickly, particularly if you remember that
multiple copies are being printed in one print run.
 They are robust and can operate in harsh environments.
 If several sheets of self-carbonating paper are placed into the printer then the impact will
produce multiple copies.
Disadvantages
 The printing quality is low - these printers produce low to medium quality black and white
printing and can only print low resolution graphics.
  Because of this impact these printers can be quite noisy
 They are very slow.

b. Ink-jet printers
An ink jet printer is a non impact character printer. The print head
contains tiny nozzles through which different coloured inks can be sprayed
onto the paper to form the characters or the graphic images. The ink is
forced out by heat. It is a popular choice for home and school use where
small amounts of printing are done and colour printing is only occasionally
needed.
Advantages
 These printers are relatively inexpensive and produce high quality black and white or colour
printing.
 They are quiet (less noisy than dot matrix)
Disadvantages
 The ink cartridges can be expensive so running costs can be high.
 The printing speed is slow compared to a laser printer.

c. Laser printers
The powdered ink (toner), is transferred to the paper and then fixed by heat and pressure. They
are used wherever fast, high quality printing is required.
Advantages
 They are quiet and fast when printing
 They produce high quality printouts.
 Running costs are low because although toners are expensive to
replace, they last a long time.
Disadvantages
 Non-colour laser printers are more expensive than ink-jet printers (but
the difference is narrowing).
 Colour laser printers are considerably more expensive. (but their speed
and high quality output means they are becoming more popular).

Other output devices:

1. Graphics plotter: Plotters are often used in science and engineering applications for
printing building plans, printed circuit boards and machine parts. They are fast and accurate but
relatively expensive compared to printers. Plotters are a specialist type of printer which is able
to draw high quality images on very large pieces of paper, for example, they can produce far
larger printouts than standard printers, up to the size of a small room.. A plotter differs from a
printer in that it draws images using a pen that can be lowered, raised and moved across the
paper to form continuous lines. The electronically controlled pen is moved around the paper by
computer controlled motors.
Advantages
 Drawings are of the same quality as if an expert drew them
 Larger sizes of paper can be used than most printers can
manage
Disadvantages
 Plotters are slower than printers because each line is drawn
separately
 They are often more expensive than printers
 They do not produce very high quality text printouts
 2. Braille printer: by converting text into the Braille code, this printer produces patterns of
raised dots on paper for use by the blind.

3. Speaker: These can output sound from the computer. This is particularly useful for blind users
where text or figures can be spoken by the computer.

4. Speech synthesis is used by Btc, Mascom and orange for their directory enquiries service. When
the operator has located the number for you the information is given to you through a computer-
synthesised voice.

5. Lights: These are known as LED’s (light emitting diodes) and they are useful in presentations and
also for situations like when a computer is controlling traffic lights.

6. Digital Projector: This output device produces an enlarged display for what is supposed to be
show on the monitor, often projecting the light on the wall. Suitable for visually impaired
people and making presentations or demonstrations to a group of people.