Output Devices

Monitor

It is also called as screen. It is a soft copy output device. It is similar to television. Earlier monochrome (Black & White) or Colour CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors were used but now LED & LCD monitors are prevalent. We can see the input information supplied to the computer as well as the results obtained after processing on monitor. The computer screen is divided into rows and columns. The number of rows and columns that can be displayed is known as the resolution like 640 x 480, 1024 x 768, etc. The intersection of row and column is called a pixel (Picture Element).

Following are the different types of monitors generally used with computers

• LED (Light Emitting Diode) Monitor
• SVGA (Super Video Graphic Array) Monitor
• LCD (Liquid Crystal Diode) Monitor

Printers

Printers are used for producing the hard copy output on paper. Printers can be broadly classified into Impact Printers & Non-impact Printers.

Impact Printers

Dot Matrix Printer A printer that produces output by printing dots onto the page. They are often inexpensive. They are available in 80 and 132 columns with print speeds from 100 characters per second to 1200 characters per second.

Non- Impact Printers

Ink jet Printer It uses nozzles which spray jets of ink onto the paper. The operating cost of the ink jet is low and expensive maintenance is rare. The only part that needs replacement is the ink cartridge, which typically costs less. Its speed is to print 2-4 pages per minute.

Laser Printer Laser printers are more expensive than inkjet printers. Their print quality is higher and is faster. They use direct scanning of laser beam on the roller which fuses ink to the paper.

Plotters

Plotters are output devices, which plots big size drawings on to the sheets. They are used in plotting of engineering drawings, architectural maps, design layouts, etc.