OUTPUT DEVICES

An output device is an electro mechanical device which converts machine readable information into
human readable form. The output devices display the processed information which is in the form of
digital signals by converting them into graphical, alphanumeric or audio-visual form.

Types of output device:-

Output produced by the output devices can be of the following forms.

1) Text :- Textual form of output consists of characters(letters, numbers, punctuation marks.)

2) Graphics:- Graphics are digital representation of non-tetxual information such as drawings,
charts, photographs and animation.
3) Audio:- Audio includes music, speech or any sound.
4) Video:- Video consists of images that are played back at a speed that provide the illusion of full
motion.

Generally there are two basic categories of output. The output which can be understood and used
by the individuals, and which is stored on secondary storage devices so that the data can be used as input
for further processing.The output which can be easily understood and used by the individuals are of
the following forms.

1) Hard copy: The physical form of output is known as hard copy. It refers to the recorded
information copied from a computer onto the paper or some other durable surfaces. Hard copy
output is permanent and relatively stable form of output.
2) Soft copy: The electronic version of an output which resides in the computer memory and/or on
the disk, is known as soft copy. It is not a permanent form of output. It is transient and is usually
displayed on the screen. It is not tangible.

CLASSIFICATION OF OUTPUT DEVICES:

Printers, plotters and microfilms are the commonly used hard copy output devices while monitor,
voice systems, projectors are soft copy output devices.

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1) Printers:
A printer prints information and data from the computer onto a paper. The printer prints 80 or 132
columns of characters in each line and prints either on single sheets, or on a continuous roll of paper,
depending upon the printer itself.

Printers are divided into two basic categories:

1) Impact printers
2) non-impact printers.

Impact printers use some sort of physical contact with the paper to make a mark onto it, while non-
impact printers use techniques other than physically striking the page to transfer ink onto it.

A.) Impact Printers An impact printer uses pins or hammers that press an inked ribbon against
the paper to make a mark on the paper. Each hammer is embossed with a specific shape, which is
transferred onto the paper through the inked ribbon thereby producing a printed character.

Characteristics of impact printers are as follows:

 There is physical contact with the paper to produce an image.

 They are cheap and useful for bulk printing.
 They can withstand dusty environment, vibrations.
 Ideal for printing multiple copies.
 They are slow and noisy.

The three most commonly used impact printers are

1. Dot matrix printers
2. Daisy wheel printers
3. Drum printers

Dot matrix printers: Dot Matrix Printers Dot matrix printer (also known as the wire matrix printer)
uses the oldest printing technology and it prints one character at a time. It prints characters and images
as pattern of dots. The speed of dot matrix printers is measured in characters per second (cps). Most dot
matrix printers offer different speeds depending upon the quality of the print desired. The speed can vary
from about 200 to more than 500 CPS. Dot matrix printers are inexpensive and have low operating
costs.

Print quality is determined by the number of pins which can vary from 9 to 24.Most dot matrix printers
have the resolution ranges from 72 to 360 DPI. Dot matrix printers are able to use different fonts, type of
papers. They can print from either direction left or right. They are suitable in the field where quality is
not too important.

Draw back:

 It can print only in black and white

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  Printing is low or medium quality
 Printing ability is limited
 Difficult to draw graphic objects

b) Non impact printer: Non-impact Printers: Unlike impact printers, a non-impact printer forms
characters and images without making direct physical contact between the printing mechanism and the
paper. In this printer, the print head does not make any contact with the paper, and no inked ribbon is
required. Ink can be sprayed against the paper and then heat and pressure are used to fuse a fine black
powder into the shape of a character. The major technologies competing in the market of non-impact
printers are ink-jet and laser. Characteriscts are:

 They are faster and quicker than impact printer.

 The produce high quality graphics.
 They cannot print carbon copies.

i.) Inkject printers:

It places small droplets of ink onto paper to

create an image. It has a print cartridge with a
electrically heated chambers which are attached to
the print head with a series of small nozzles that
spray ink onto the surface of the paper. As print
head moves back and forth across the page,
software gives instructions regarding type and
quality of colours and also the position where the
dots of ink should be ‘sprayed’.

It does not touch the paper while creating an

image. They were originally designed to print in black and white , but now it has been expanded to
Cyan(C), Magenta(M), Yellow (Y) and Black(B). The combination is called CMYK.

 They are costlier than dot matrix printer and quality is much better.
 They can print any shape. Inkjet printers typically print with a resolution of 600 DPI or more.
 Due to high resolution these printers produces high quality graphics.
 They are affordable
 Suitable for small business and home,
offices.

ii.) Laser Printers: A laser printer

provides the highest quality text and images for
personal computers today. it is a very fast
printer which operators on the same principle
as that of a photocopy machine. Most laser
printers can print text and graphics with a very

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high quality resolution. They are also known as page printers because they process and store the entire
page before they actually print it. They produce sharp crisp image of both text and graphics, providing
resolution from 300 to 2400 dpi. Laser printer can print more than 2000 lines/min. Laser printers are
faster but more expensive. They are fast and are able to print 4-32 text only per minute for micro
computers and upto 200 pages for mainframe computers.

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iii.) Hydra Printer: Hybrid document reproduction apparatus (HYDRA) printer is known as all in
one printer is a device that consolidates the capabilities of multiple devices in one machine. It may
include some or all of the devices like printer scanner, photocopier and fax machine. Apart from these
devices some hydra printers contain memory card slots which facilitate easier printing of photos and
also have the inbuilt wireless capabilities that make sharing of this printer with other systems easier.

Following are the features that must be considered while evaluating these printers:
 Print speed
 Maximum resolution
 Memory card compatibility
 Scanner resolution
 Fax speed
Hydra printers are use full for small organizations due to their small size, less space requirement and
cost effectiveness.
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2)Plotters: a plotter is a pen based output device that is attached to a computer for making vector
graphics. It is used to draw high resolution charts, graphs, maps and other line based diagrams. It draws
lines using a pen. Multi colour plotter uses different coloured pens to draw different colours. A plotter
draws much crisper lines and graphics. Plotters are expensive as compared to printers.

Types of Plotters There are two different types of plotters:

i. Drum plotter (where the paper moves)

ii. Flat-bed plotter (where the paper is stationary).

i.) Drum plotter: Here, the paper on which the design is to be printed is placed over a drum. These
plotters consists of one or more pen that are mounted on a carriage, which is either clockwise or
anti-clockwise direction under the control of plotting
instructions sent by the computer.

ii.) Flat- bed plotter: It consists of a stationary

horizontal plotting surface on which the paper is
fixed. The pen is mounted on a carriage which can
move in all directions to draw lines. These plotters

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 are instructed by the computer about the movement of pens in the X-Y co-ordinates on the page.

The heart of the plotter is printer head assembly which consists of a horizontal bar and pen in use
attached to the head assembly holding. Plotters create plots by moving a pen under computer control
over a drafting paper. The computer instructions received by a plotter consists of a colour and beginning
and end co-ordinates for a line.

4.MONITOR:

A computer monitor is a TV like display attached

to the computer on which the output can be
displayed and viewed. The computer monitor can
be a monochrome display(uses one colour) or a
colour display. Monitor are available in various
sizes like 14,15,17,19 and 21 inches. The size of
the display is described based on two parameters.

i. Aspect ratio – It is the ratio of the width of

the display screen to the height i.e ratio of
the vertical points to the horizontal points.

ii. Screen size – which is measured

diagonally (in inches), the distance from one corner to the opposite corner. In monitor image is
created and displayed using configuration of dots known as Picture element or pixels or pels.

The screen clarity depends on three basic qualities, which are as follows:
1) Resolution: It refers to the number of pixels in the horizontal and vertical directions on the
screen. CRT display is currently 800 x 600. 1024 x 786 will produce sharper images.
2) Dot Pitch: It is the measurement of the diagonal distance between the two like-colored (red,
green or blue) pixels on a display screen. It is measured in millimeters and common dot pitches
are 0.51, 0.31, 0.28, 0.27, 0.26 and 0.25 mm. Smaller the dot pitch, sharper will be the image
when displayed on the monitor. Generally, a dot pitch of less than 0.31 mm provides clear
images.
3) Refresh rate:- It is the number of times per second the pixels made from phosphor are recharged
so that their glow remains bright. Refresh rate is measured in hertz.

Colour Depth:- It also refered to as bit depth, refers to the number of bits assigned to each pixel in the
image and the number of colours that can be created from those bits. An 8 bit colour is known as
pseudocolour, 16 bit mode as high colour and 24 bit mode is called true colour.

In 1981, IBM introduced colour graphics adapter(CGA’S) which had 4 colour. In 1984, IBM introduced
enhanced graphics adapter(EGA) display which enabled monitors to display 16 different colours. In

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1987, video graphics array(VGA) was introduced. In 1990, extended graphics array(XGA) was
introduced. Nowadays i.e. uses super video graphics array(SVGA).

Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)Monitors:- Most computer monitors uses CRT technology. A beam of
electrons emitted by an electron gun passes through focusing and deflection systems that direct the beam
towards specified positions on the phosphor coated screen. The phosphor then emits a small spot of light
at each position contacted by the beam. When the electron beam strikes the phosphor, light is emitted for
short period of time which is known as persistence.

Displaying graphics on a CRT:- Two classes of computer graphics displays are used:-

1. Raster Scan Display

2. Random Scan Display
1. Raster Scan Display:- In this, electron beam is swept across the screen, one row at a time from top
to bottom. Picture definition is stored in a refresh buffer or frame buffer which is displayed on the
screen one row at a time.
2. Random Scan Display:- Here CRT has electron beam directed only to the parts of screen where
picture is to be drawn. It draws a picture one line at a time and they are referred to as vector, stroke-
writing or calligraphic display. Picture definition is stored in refresh display file.

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Colour Display On a CRT:- CRT monitor displays colour pictures by using a combination of
phosphors that emit coloured lights.

Two basic techniques for processing colour display are as follows:

1) Beam penetration:- It is used with random scan display. In this system, two layers of phosphor
are coated on inner side of CRT screen. Displayed colour depends on how far the electron beam
penetrates into the phosphor layers.
2) Shadow masking:- It is used in raster scan system. A shadow mask CRT has 3 phosphor colour
dots and 3 electron gun and a shadow mask grid behind phosphor coated screen. When three
beams pass through a hole in the shadow mask they
activate a dot triangle which appears as a small
colour spot on the screen.

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)Monitors:-

An LCD screen is a collection of multiple layers. A

fluorescent light source, known as the backlight, makes up
the rearmost layer. The light passes through the first of the
two polarizing filters. The polarized light then passes
through a layer that contains thousands of liquid crystal
blobs aligned in tiny containers called cells. These cells are
aligned in rows across the screen; one or more cells make
up one pixel. Electric leads around the edge of the LCD
create an electric field that twists the crystal molecule,
which lines the light up with the second polarizing filter and allows it to pass through. Colour LCD is
more complex.

Differences between CRT and LCD:-

i. SIZE:- LCD is lightweight compared to CRT.

ii. RESOLUTION:- LCD works in single resolution while CRT for many resolutions.
iii. Pixel Density:- Pixel density of LCD is not as tight as dot pitch in CRT.
iv. Brightness:- Phosphor of a CRT is not as bright as LCD florescent light.
v. Power consumption:- LCD consumes less power than CRT.
vi. Flicker:- LCD runs at much slower refresh rate than CRT
vii. Pixel response time:- the time taken by a pixel to change its state is called pixel response time.
CRT has fast pixel response time than LCD.
viii. Viewing angle:- a CRT can be viewed at almost any angle but LCD is best viewed ‘head on’.
ix. Viewing area:- viewing area of CRT is less than its advertised area. But LCD is measured
exactly.
x. Cost:- cost of LCD are high than CRT.

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