OUTPUT DEVICES

One of the most important output devices in computer system is its screen commonly called monitor. It is an
output device and displays all the programs and applications which are running on the computer system. A
Monitor is the visual display unit of the computer system. It displays images generated from the video output. It
displays images without keeping a permanent record.
A Graphic display is made up of a series of dots called ‘pixels’ (picture elements) whose pattern produces
images in computer system. Each dot on the screen is defined as a separate unit which can be addressed
separately. Since each dot on the screen can be controlled separately it gives greater flexibility in drawing
pictures. The Number of dots per inch (dpi) is called the resolution of the screen and represents the quality of the
computer system.

Cathode Ray Tube Monitors (CRT)

Monitors display what is going on in your computer. They can run at various resolutions. It is the part of
computer which looks like a TV set. After typing the characters from the keyboard, we can see them on the
monitor.
The main components of a CRT monitors are the electron gun, the electron beam controlled by an
electromagnetic field and phosphor coated display screen. These older monitors are bulky and require a lot of
space for installation.(A Graphic display is made up of a series of dots called ‘pixels’ (picture elements) whose
pattern produces images in computer system).

In CRT monitors, the image is projected on the screen by directing the electron beam onto the computer screen.
To precisely direct the electron beams, copper steering coils are used to create a magnetic field inside the tube.
By applying varying voltages to the copper coils a beam can be positioned at any point on the screen. In
computers, resolution is the number of pixels (individual points of color) contained on a display monitor,
expressed in terms of the number of pixels on the horizontal axis and the number on the vertical axis. The
sharpness of the image on a display depends on the resolution and the size of the monitor. The same pixel
resolution will be sharper on a smaller monitor and gradually lose sharpness on larger monitors because the
same number of pixels are being spread out over a larger number of inches.
A given computer display system will have a maximum resolution that depends on its physical ability to focus
light (in which case the physical dot size - the dot pitch - matches the pixel size) and usually several lesser
resolutions. For example, a display system that supports a maximum resolution of 1280 by 1023 pixels may also
support 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, and 640 by 480 resolutions. Note that on a given size monitor, the maximum
resolution may offer a sharper image but be spread across a space too small to read well.
Display resolution is not measured in dots per inch as it usually is with printers. However, the resolution and the
physical monitor size together do let you determine the pixels per inch. Typically, PC monitors have somewhere
between 50 and 100 pixels per inch. For example, a 15-inch VGA (see display modes) monitor has a resolution
of 640 pixels along a 12-inch horizontal line or about 53 pixels per inch. A smaller VGA display would have
more pixels per inch.

Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD)

First introduced in watches and clocks in the1970’s, LCDs are now used to display images in monitors. A newer
technology in computer screens is TFT LCD monitors. These are light weight monitors and are used in laptop
computers. Active matrix structure is used by most of the modern LCD monitors and television sets. In this
technology, a matrix of thin-film transistors (TFT) is added to the polarizing and color filters. It enhances the
display to make it look brighter and sharper. It can also produce much better images and have quicker response
times.

These monitors are portable, reliable and consume less electricity. Images produced by these monitors are of
better quality than that of old CRT monitors. The LCD monitors have very high resolution and emit less
radiation than CRT monitors. The screen is also flicker free.

Light Emitting Diodes Monitors (LED)

Light Emitting Diodes (LED) is the latest technology which is being used now a day for making high definition
TV screens and monitors. It is a semi-conductor light source. In this technology diodes are used to light up the
screen instead of liquid crystal Diodes.
LED is known as light emitting diode. It is an electronic device that lights up when electricity is passed through
it. LEDs are usually red. They are good for displaying images because they can be relatively small, and they do
not burn out. However, they require more power than LCD monitors. LED is light weight monitors and is used
in laptop computers and in TV.
The Life of LED monitors is three times than that of LCD monitors and they have less warm up time than that
of CRT or LCD monitors. These monitors require less space on the desk, less power consumption and have
flicker free screen.
Projection Displays
These are normally used for large group presentations. These systems can be connected to a computer and
whatever appears on the computer terminal gets enlarged and projected on a large screen. Video projector
receives video signals and projects the corresponding image on a projection screen. It uses a lens system for this
projection.

LCD Overhead Projector

These are popularly used for seminars, class room lectures, marketing presentations and conference room
presentations etc.

Classification of monitors on the basis of color

In terms of color capabilities, monitors can be divided into the following groups:
1.Monochrome : These monitors display the result in two colors, i.e., black/white, green/black, amber/black.
One color is for the background of the screen and other for the foreground.

2.Gray Scale: It is a monochrome type of monitor. But it displays the output by using different shades of gray,
made by a combination of black and white.

3.Color Monitor: It can display the output in many colors, ranging from 16 to over 1 million different colors.
These are also called as RGB monitors, because they accept three separate signals, which are red, green, and
blue.

Printers
Printers are used for producing output on paper. There are a large variety of printers and printing devices which
can be classified according to the print quality and printing speed.

These varieties of printers are:

Printing Technology – impact printers vs. non-impact printers

Impact printers use variations of the standard typewriter printing mechanism where a hammer strikes paper
through an inked ribbon.

A non-Impact printer uses chemical, heat or electrical signals to produce symbols on paper. Some of these
require special coated or treated paper to print characters on them.

Classification of printers on the basis of speed :

On the basis of speed printers are of following types

1. Character Printer : These printers can print only one character at a time. They work similar to a
typewriter. The examples are Daisy Wheel Printer, Dot Matrix Printer and Inkjet Printer.

(a) Daisy-Wheel Printer : This printer is similar to a ball-head typewriter. This type of printer has a
plastic or metal wheel on which the shape of each character is embossed.

Daisy-Wheel Printer
A hammer presses the wheel against a ribbon, which in turn makes an ink stain in the shape of the character on
the paper. Daisy-wheel printers produce letter- quality print but cannot print graphics. The print quality of
this impact printer is very low as is the speed. These are practically obsolete now.
Dot-Matrix Printer : This is one of the most popular printers used for personal computing systems. These
printers are relatively cheaper compared to other technologies and use impact technology.
In the 1970s and 1980s, dot matrix impact printers were generally considered the best tradeoff between expense
and versatility, and until the 1990s they were by far the most common form of printers used with personal
computers. Characters in this printer are formed by the combination of dots.
 Dot Matrix Printer
A Dot-Matrix printer creates characters by striking pins against an ink soaked ribbon. Each pin makes a dot and
combinations of dots form characters and illustrations. The moving portion of the printer is called the print head.

Characters as a pattern of dots

Advantages
•Dot matrix printers, like any impact printer, can print on multi-part stationery or make carbon copies.
•Impact printers have one of the lowest printing costs per page. As the ink is running
out, the printout gradually fades rather than suddenly stopping part of the way through a job.
•They are able to use continuous paper rather than requiring individual sheets, making them useful for data
logging. They are good, reliable and ideal for use in situations where printed content is more important than
print quality.
Disadvantages
•Impact printers are usually noisy.
•They can only print low resolution graphics, with limited color performance, and limited quality.
•These printers are slow. Speed can be 225 cps to 250 cps. Speed may vary from one
printer to another.
2.Line Printer: As the name suggests a line printer is a high speed printer which is used to print one entire
line of text at a time. Line printers are used to print large amount of data, printing labels, accounting work and
other large business printing applications in data centers. These are fast printers ranging in speed from 300 to
2500 lines per minute. Examples are Drum Printers and Chain Printers.
3.Page Printer: These are very high speed printers which produce high quality output. Their speed ranges
from10-25 pages per minute. These printers are commonly used today. They use modern Laser Printer
technology and print a whole page at one go. There are many varieties of laser page printers and so their prices
range from base level upwards.

Classification of printers on the basis of quality

The various types of printers based on print quality are as follows
1.Ink-jet Printer: The Inkjet printer works on inkjet technology and produces better quality printouts than dot
matrix printers. These print by spraying a controlled stream of tiny ink (cartage) droplets accurately on the paper
forming either dot matrix or solid characters.

The printing quality of these printers is very good with a speed of 700 or more characters per second. These are
non-impact and hence are relatively silent during the printing process. These printers are easy to use and can be
used to print color pages.
Advantages

Compared to other printers, inkjet printers have a number of advantages. These are
• They are quieter in operation than impact printers.
• They can print finer, smoother details through higher print head resolution
• They can produce photographic-quality text and images.

Ink-Jet Printer

Disadvantages
The disadvantages of Inkjet printers are :
•The ink is often very expensive.
•Many intelligent ink cartridges contain a microchip that communicates the estimated ink level to the printer;
this may cause the printer to display an error message, or incorrectly inform the user that the ink cartridge is
empty.
•The very narrow inkjet nozzles are prone to clogging with dried ink.
2.Laser Printer : This is a high quality, high speed and high volume technology printer. In laser printers, a
laser(Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) beam is used to produce an image on a
drum. The light of the laser alters the electrical charge on the drum wherever it hits it. The drum is then rolled
through a reservoir of toner, which is picked up by the charged portions of the drum. Finally, the toner is
transferred to the paper through a combination of heat and pressure. Laser printers produce very high quality
text and graphics but are expensive. The technology used by them is the same as that of photocopying machines.
The speed of laser printers varies from 10 pages per minute to 200 pages per minute. Laser printers are also
called page printers; because they print a whole page at one go.
Standard laser printers can be classified into two categories in terms of color:
• Monochrome laser printer, and
• Color laser printer Disadvantages
Monochrome laser printers use a single toner. Color laser printers
use four toners to print in full color. These printers are about five to ten times as expensive as their monochrome
siblings. Color laser printers are popular and are being widely used, in spite of their cost. To print documents
with graphics and photographs a color laser printer is a good option. Print speed, quality, printer resolution,
reliability and the costs of toner are the major deciding factors for choosing a printer.

Speaker
Computer speakers, or multimedia speakers, are external speakers, commonly equipped with a low-power
internal amplifier which produces sound as output. External speakers are connected with a computer by using a
plug and socket.

Multimedia Speakers
Computer speakers range widely in quality and in price. Laptop computers have inbuilt speakers.