Output Devices

Output devices are pieces of

equipment that are used to get
information or any other
response out of a computer.
 Types of Output
●Output can be divided into two types − soft
copy output and hard copy output.
●Softcopy output is temporary output and it
refers to information displayed on a screen
or in audio or voice form through speakers.
This kind of output disappears when the
computer is switched off.
●Hardcopy output is permanent output and
refers to output printed onto paper.
 Typical Output Devices

● VDU or Monitor ● Plotter

● Multimedia Projector • Flatbed
● Impact Printer • Drum
• Dot Matrix • Electrostatic
• Daisy Wheel ● Voice Response
● Non-Impact Printer ● Speech Synthesis
• Thermal ● Robot/Control System
• Ink Jet ● Machine Tool
• Laser ● Microfilm/Microfiche
Monitors
Monitors and their capabilities depend
on:
●Graphics/Video card or adaptor
●Size
●Resolution
●Display quality
Monitors
● Graphics/Video Card or Adaptor
• Is an electronic link between the processor and
the monitor.
● Size
• This is the diagonal dimension of the screen.
(Common sizes include 15”, 17” and 19”
monitors)
Monitor - Display quality

● This depends on the type of monitor as well

as the refresh rate
●In a faster device the output is scanned
across the screen many times a second
and it either leaves a glowing dot or it
doesn't (see the animation). The dots
join up to form the picture that we see
on the screen.
 VDUs - Screen Resolution

● Resolution is the clarity or

sharpness of an image when
displayed on the screen.
● The more pixels there are on a
screen, the greater the level of detail
that can be shown in an image, and
the higher the resolution.
● VGA (Video Graphics Array) = 640 x
480 pixels
● SVGA (Super Video Graphics Array) =
800 x 600 pixels
● XGA (Extended Graphics Array) = 1024 Diagram of different
x 768 pixels screen resolutions
 Monitors

● Visual Display Units (VDU) or monitors are

used to visually interface with the computer
and are similar in appearance to a television.
● Visual Display Units display images and text
which are made up of small blocks of coloured
light called pixels.
● The resolution of the screen improves as the
number of pixels is increased. Most monitors
have a 4:3 width to height ratio.
● Two types of Monitors: CRT and Flatpanel
CRT – Cathode Ray Tube

● The most common

type of display
screen, the
technology is the
same as that of a
television screen.

A cathode ray monitor

Flat Panel
LCD – Liquid Crystal Display
●Smaller, lighter and they use much less
power than a CRT display
●Frequently used on laptop computers
●Another type of flat panel display is the
gas plasma

A LCD monitor
Touch Sensitive Screen

● A Touch Sensitive
Screen is an input
device as well as an
output device.
● There are three
forms of touch
screen: pressure-
sensitive,
capacitive surface
and light beam.
Multimedia Projector

● Used to create and deliver dynamic

multimedia presentations.
● Contains an LCD panel, whatever is
displayed on this panel is shown on the
screen.
● Can be connected to the computer, television,
cable and even video.
Output Devices - Printers

● You can print out information that is in

the computer onto paper. By printing you
create what is known as a 'hard copy'.
● There are different kinds of printers
which vary in their speed and print
quality.
● The two main types of printer are impact
and non-impact.
 Impact Printers

Impact Printers use a print head containing a

number of metal pins which strike an inked ribbon
placed between the print head and the paper.
Some print heads have only 9
pins to make the dots to build
up a character; some have 24
pins which produce a better
resolution.
The main types are:
• Dot Matrix Printer
• Daisywheel Printer An impact printer showing
detail of print head
 Dot Matrix Printer

● Characters are formed from a

matrix of dots.
● The speed is usually 30 - 550
characters per second (cps).
● This is the cheapest and
noisiest of the printer family.
The standard of print obtained
is poor.
● These printers are cheap to run A dot matrix printer
and relatively fast. They are
useful for low quality carbon
copy printing.
 Daisywheel Printer

● Molded metal characters like those in a

typewriter are mounted on extensions
attached to a rotating wheel and are
printed onto the paper by means of a
hammer and print ribbon.
● This results in a great deal of movement
and noise during the printing of
documents, so printing is slow (less than
90 cps).
● The standard of print is similar to that
produced by an electric typewriter. As
the characters on the wheel are fixed, the A daisy wheel
size and font can only be changed by showing detail of
using a different wheel. However, this is
very rarely done. the characters
Non-Impact Printers
● Non-impact printers are much quieter than
impact printers as their printing heads do not
strike the paper.
● Most non-impact printers produce dot-matrix
patterns.
Several different technologies have been
used to provide a variety of printers.
● The main types of non-impact printer are:
• Thermal Printer
• Laser Printer
• Ink Jet Printer
 Thermal Printers

● Characters are formed by heated

elements being placed in contact
with special heat sensitive paper A fax machine uses
forming darkened dots when the a thermal printer
elements reach a critical
temperature.
● Thermal printer paper tends to
darken over time due to exposure to
sunlight and heat. The standard of
print produced is poor.
● Thermal printers are widely used in
battery powered equipment such as
portable calculators.
 Laser Printer

● Laser printers use a process

similar to a photocopying
machine.
● Laser Printers use a laser beam
and dry powdered ink toner to
produce a fine dot matrix pattern
being transferred to the page and
then fused on to it by heat and A laser printer
pressure.
● This method of printing can
generate about 4 pages of A4
paper per minute.
 Laser Printer

● Colour laser printers are expensive

They work by printing 4 times.....Once
with Cyan toner, then with Magenta
toner, then Yellow then Black.
● The standard of print is very good and
laser printers can also produce very
good quality printed graphic images too.
● Prices of laser printers are falling
rapidly, so they are becoming one of the
most popular printers.
Inkjet printers

● Inkjet printers produce an

image by spraying ink onto the
paper.
● Colour graphics may be
produced by spraying cyan,
magenta, yellow and black
inks.
● Very common for most home
users of computers as they are
cheap to buy and can print in
both colour and black and
white.
Braille Printer

● Braille Printer - by
converting text into
the Braille code, this
printer produces
patterns of raised
dots on paper for use
by the blind.
Plotters
● Plotters are used to produce high quality
precision graphics usually on large sheets of
paper.
● They are slow, but can draw continuous colours
often in a variety of colours.
● They are especially useful for architectural
drawings, building plans and CAD (Computer
Aided Design) applications, where precision
drawing is required.
● A mechanical arm holds a pen which can be
moved across the page.
Plotters

● The paper is sometimes laid on a flat bed (flat

bed plotter) or on a rotating drum (drum
plotter).
Flatbed Plotters
Drum Plotter
Question - Would you use a
printer or a plotter for....
Output Printer or Plotter?
• A legal document
• a contract Plans for a new car
• A list of customer addresses
• An invoice for a customer
• A pattern for a new wallpaper design.
• Plans for a new kitchen
Sound Output

● Computer synthesised voice and music output

is now well established using a speaker as an
output device.
● Sound cards need to be installed in
microcomputers to obtain good quality sound for
music software or games.
● A simple speaker will make a range of sounds
both computer generated and the speaking
voice.
Voice Response Unit
●Selects digitised audio recording of
words, phrases, music, alarms or
anything you might record.
●Audio is pre-recorded and stored on
disk.
●When output occurs a particular sound is
converted back to analog before being
routed to the speaker.
Question
●Give some specific applications where
sound clips might be heard.
• Alarm clock
• Microwave oven
• Elevator
• Automated teller machine
• Automobile warning system
• Video games etc.
Speech Synthesis Systems
●Converts raw data into electronically
produced speech. (Text to Speech)
●Used for computer aided conversations
by hearing and speech impaired persons
or converting conversations from one
language into another.
●Problems with speech synthesis:
• Vocal inflections and phrasing
• Software requires considerable training
Robot/Control Systems

● The output from a computer may be in the

form of a signal to a hardware device.
● In a control system, sensors are used to
measure a physical quantity and send input to
the controlling computer. The computer
responds by sending an output signal which
may activate an item of hardware.
COM (Computer Output on
Microfilm)
●COM is a technique of reducing
documents in size and photographically
printing them so that they can be read
using a special magnifying machine.
●Microfilm is a roll of film and microfiche
is a rectangular sheet of film on which
many frames (pages of information) can
be stored.
Microfiche & Microfiche Reader

Microfiche Reader