An output device is any piece of computer hardware equipment which converts information into human-readable form. It can be text, graphics, tactile, audio, and video. A Computer hardware device that is used to display result or produce processed data, information with the help of output device is known as an output device. Some Output are:
Monitor [Visual Display Unit]
A monitor, sometimes called VDU, or computer screen is the most common output device used on computer systems. In a laptop the screen is often smaller than the screen on a PC. Laptop screen are lighter and more compact than the VDUs seen on a desktop computer. Older computer monitors were built using Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs), which made them rather heavy and caused them to take up a lot of desk space. Most modern monitors are built using LCD Technology and are commonly referred to as a flat screen displays. Computer screen have different resolutions. High resolution screen are needed for applications where there are lots of graphics to display. They are often used in Computer Aided Design (CAD).
Printers (Laser, Inkjet and Dot Matrix)
As we have seen, information on a screen disappears when the computer is switched off. Printers provide this hard copy (printed out on paper) output to keep the results for future use. There are generally three main types of printer in use today: Laser, Ink Jet, and Dot Matrix.
Laser Printers
Laser printers produce high quality printed documents. They work at fast speeds (on average about 10 pages per minute). Laser printers can produce both black and color print but color printers are still more expensive than black ones. Laser printers use powder to produce the printed document. This powder is called toner, and is bought in cartridges which are changed when they are empty.Toner cartridges are often expensive but they last a long time. This makes a page printed by a laser printed much cheaper than a page printed by an ink jet printer.
Inkjet Printers
Ink jet printers are very popular because they are cheap to buy. They also offer color printing. They are fairly quiet when printing. But they are slower than most laser printers. The better ones produce about four pages a minute. These printers use liquid ink contained in small cartridges. The ink cartridges are much cheaper than toner cartridges. The cartridges, however, last As Long. Inkjet printers are used by people who do not paint a lot. They are used to print out photographs at home.
Dot Matrix Printers
Dot Matrix printers print by striking tiny pins against an ink ribbon. One character of text is printed at a time. This makes them much slower than ink jet printers. They are very noisy because you can hear the pins hitting the paper. The quality from a dot matrix printer is not very good. To produce text as good as an Ink jet printer you have to print a line twice. Dot Matrix printers are ideal when carbon copies are needed. You will find them in use in factories, offices and garages for printing invoices and delivery notes where quality is not important. Dot Matrix printer have lower running costs.
Speakers and Headphones
Speakers are often connected to computers. They are needed when the output is in the form of sound such as music or voices. Headphones may also be used instead of speakers. Any program that produces sound needs speakers or headphones for the sound to be heard. Multimedia programs use sound output through speakers. Examples of these are encyclopedias which often use videos and sound output. Programs which use voices to teach you a foreign language need speakers or headphones.
Names of Output Devices
- Computer Monitor
- Actuators
- Sound Card
- Plotters
- Projectors
- Printers
- Video Cards
- Headphones
- CD and DVD media
- Speaker
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