OUTPUT CONCEPTS
The output devices receive results and other information from the computer and provide it to the users.
Output is the process of translating data in machine-readable form into a form understandable to humans or readable by other machines.
In today's information society, people require clear, legible and output. Output that can be understood by humans can be categorized as:
- Hard copy
- Soft copy
Hard copy is the output, such as paper, that can be read immediately or stored and read later.
It is relatively stable and permanent form of output. Soft copy is usually a screen-displayed output.
It is transient form of output and is lost when the computer is turned off.
But if the data needed to create the soft copy have been saved on disk or tapes, the soft copy can be reproduced on the screen anytime .
OUTPUT DEVICES
Any peripheral that receives or displays output from a computer.
An inkjet printer is a good example of an output device that can make a hard copy of anything on a computer.
Below is a listing of all the different computer output devices found on a computer:
- Flat panel
- Monitor
- Printer
- Projector
- Sound card
- Speakers
- Video card
An output device is any piece of computer hardware equipment used to communicate the results of data processing carried out by an information processing system (such as a computer) to the outside world.
Most of the computer output devices are common to home as well as office environments.
At the same time, there are some devices, which are not as commonly available.
Having said that, let’s take a look at computer output devices list.
Monitors
A computer display is also called a display screen or video display terminal (VDT).
A monitor is a screen used to display the output.
Images are represented on monitors by individual dots called pixels.
A pixel is the smallest unit on the screen that can be turned on and off or made different shades.
The density of the dots determines the clarity of the images, the resolution.
Types of Computer Monitors
The computer monitor (also known as a VDU or Visual Display Unit) is the most common computer output device.
For desktop computers, cathode ray monitors (CRT) are gradually being replaced by flat-screen monitors such as the Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) and Thin Film Transistor (TFT) displays used with laptop computers because they use less power and take up less space.
Printers
A printer is a peripheral which produces a text and/or graphics of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media such as paper or transparencies.
Many printers are primarily used as local peripherals, and are attached by a printer cable or, in most new printers, a USB cable to a computer which serves as a document source.
Some printers, commonly known as network printers, have built-in network interfaces, typically wireless and/or Ethernet based, and can serve as a hard copy device for any user on the network.
Individual printers are often designed to support both local and network connected users at the same time.
Types of Printers
A printer is an output device that produces a hard copy of data.
The resolution of printer output is expressed as DPI. Printers can be classified into different types in several ways.
First, the printers can be divided into three categories by the way they print.
Serial Printers: Also called a character printer. Print a single character at a time. They are usually inexpensive and slow.
Line Printers: Print a line at a time. They are expensive and very fast. Line printers use a band, a chain, etc.
Page Printers: Also called a laser printer. Print a page at a time.
They usually use a laser to produce page images. Quality is best.
This is a little bit expensive, but the price of the personal laser printer is decreasing.
The price range of the personal laser printer is around $400, today.
Second, printers can be classified into two forms according to the use of a hammer.
Impact Printers: Hammer hits ribbons, papers or print head. Dot-matrix and daisy-wheel printers are the example. Noisy.
Nonimpact Printers: They do not have the hammer and do not hit. An example is an ink-jet and laser printer.
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