Output Devices
Two Types
- Hardcopy devices
- Softcopy devices
Generally, the output from a computer is in a form a human can read and understand. This type of output is said to be human readable but there is also a type of output that cannot be understood by humans and this type of output is called machine readable.
Hardcopy output is output that is permanent. Hardcopy output can be held in your hands. Softcopy output on the other hand, is of a temporary nature as information displayed on a screen or output from speakers.
Printers
Printers are the most common hardcopy output devices. There are many different types of printers and there are different ways to classify printers.There are mobile printers that are light weight and battery powered and there are even braille printers that convert text into braille code. We can put printers into two categories :
- Impact printers
- Non-impact printers
Impact printers
These printers produce output when metal hammers strike an inked ribbon placed between the print head and the paper. They make noise when printing on paper. If you examine how an old manual typewriter produces output you will understand how an impact printer works.
There is a type of character printer called a dot matrix printer which forms characters from a matrix of dots. Dot matrix printers are becoming obsolete as more people use laser printers and inkjet printers to produce hardcopy output.
Non-impact printers
The print head of non-impact printers do not strike paper, so they are much quieter than impact printers. The main types of non-impact printers are :
- Laser printers
- Inkjet printers
- Thermal printers
3D Printers
3D printers print physical three dimentional objects as output by building specific materials in layers. They can even use food ingredients as a building material.
Learn More Youtube clip about 3D printers (5 mins)
Graph Plotters
A plotter is a hardcopy output device that is used to draw high-quality images, graphics, charts, graphs and maps. They are often used to produce building plans and computer-aided design (CAD) drawings.
5 Top plotters Youtube clip about plotters (3 mins)