Ch.

3: Output Devices Theory Notes

Chapter 3
Output Devices

Eng. Omar El Safty Eng. Mustafa El-Komy

Ch.3: Output Devices Theory Notes

3.1 Monitors
CRT monitors
Advantage:
 Wider angle of viewing than most LCD monitors
 They allow the use of light pens
 The least expensive monitors to buy

Disadvantages:
 Heavyweight devices
 Have large footprint
 They consume more power than LCD monitors
 They run very hot and can cause fires if left unattended
 They can flicker, which can lead to headaches and eyestrain problems
 They produce higher electromagnetic fields than LCD monitors

Uses:
 They are only used in specialist areas, such as computer-aided design (CAD)
 They are used with light pens to allow designs to be created on-screen

LCD monitors
Advantages:
 Lighter than CRT monitors
 Have a smaller footprint than CRT monitors
 Less power consumption than CRT monitors
 They run cooler than CRT monitors
 Do not suffer from a flickering image, unlike CRT monitors
 Produce lower electromagnetic fields than CRT monitors
 Give sharper images than CRT monitors

Disadvantages:
 More expensive to buy than CRT monitors
 Narrower angle of viewing compared to CRT monitors

LCD monitors are often referred to as TFT monitors (TFT is a general term for modern thin screens)

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Ch.3: Output Devices Theory Notes

Uses:
 Viewing content on laptops/monitors/smartphones
 In portable screens for gaming/entertainment
 Displaying dashboards in offices

LED monitors
Advantages of LED monitors over LCD monitors:
 Thinner
 Lighter devices
 Less power consumption
 They run cooler
 They give a sharper image

We can summarize the differences between the 3 monitors in the following diagram:

Gives sharper image

CRT Thinner
LCD Lighter device
LED Less power consumption
Runs cooler
More expensive to buy

3.2 Printers
Laser printers
Definition:
Printers that use static electricity and toner to produce output.

Advantages:
 High-quality printing
- Higher quality printing of black and white output than inkjet printers
- Higher quality printing than dot matrix printers

 Can print on both sides

 They can handle very large print jobs
 Faster printing speed than inkjet and dot matrix printers
 The toner cartridge lasts for a long time
 Have larger paper trays than inkjet printers

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Ch.3: Output Devices Theory Notes

Disadvantages:
 Higher initial cost than inkjet and dot matrix printers
 Coloured laser printers tend to have high running cost
 Produce health hazards such as toner/ozone particles in the air
 Have smaller paper trays than dot matrix printers

The term running cost refers to the cost of operating a device.

Inkjet printers
Definition:
Printers that use liquid ink to produce output.

Advantages:
 High-quality printing
- Higher quality printing of coloured output than laser printers
- Higher quality printing than dot matrix printers
 Lower initial cost than laser printers and dot matrix printers
 Very lightweight and have a small footprint
 Don’t produce health hazards such as toner/ozone particles in the air

Disadvantages:
 Slower printing speed than a laser printer
 Cannot do large print jobs
 High running costs as:
- Ink cartridges run out too quickly
- Ink is expensive to buy
 Printing can ‘smudge’ if the user is not careful

Dot-matrix printers
Definition:
Printers that use a matrix of pins and an inked ribbon to produce output.

Advantages:
 Best printer to work in dusty/dirty environments
 Carbon copies or multi-part outputs can be produced
 Easy to use if continuous stationery is required
 Very cheap to run and maintain (lower running cost than laser and
inkjet printers)

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Ch.3: Output Devices Theory Notes

Disadvantages:
 Very noisy
 Higher initial cost than inkjet
 Slower printing speed than laser and inkjet printers
 Lower quality printing than laser and inkjet printers

Dot Matrix printer is an impact printer.

All other printers in this chapter is non-impact.

The following table is a comparison between laser, inkjet, and dot matrix printers:

Paper Printing
Printing Quality Initial Cost Running Cost
Tray Speed

B&W: Highest B&W: Low

Laser Large Highest Highest
Coloured: High Coloured: High

B&W: High
Inkjet Small Low Lowest Highest
Coloured: Highest

Dot
Largest Lowest Lowest High Lowest
matrix

3-D printers
Definition:
Output devices used to produce solid 3D objects.
Advantages:
 Easier to produce customized items than use traditional ways
 Faster to produce customized items than using traditional ways
 Less manufacturing cost compared to using traditional ways
 Parts for machinery that are no longer made could be manufactured using 3D printers
 Medical benefits are emerging, such as producing artificial organs, prosthetics, and special
tools surgery

Disadvantages:
 3D printers are expensive to buy (high initial cost)
 Can be used to produce items that infringe on others’ copyright
 3-D printing can be used to produce dangerous items (such as weapons)
 Potential job losses if technology takes over from some types of manufacturing

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Ch.3: Output Devices Theory Notes

Steps of producing a solid object using a 3D printer:

1 3D printer is programmed to produce the object // A 3D model of the object is created
2 Data of the object is entered to the 3D printer
3 3D printer software slices the model into multiple layers
4 3D printer prints the object layer by layer on top of each other

Uses of different types of printers:

Type of printer Applications

 They are used where low noise is required (for example, in an office)
Laser printer
 If fast, high-quality, high-volume printing is required

 Used where low-output volumes are required

Inkjet printer
 Printing photographs
 Inkjet technology is used in 3D printing

 Used in noisy or dirty environments (for example, garage workshops)

 Used in applications where print quality is not that important
Dot Matrix printer  Used when producing physical carbon copies (such as when
producing wage slips)
 Used in till receipts

 Produce prototypes
 Produce customized items, for example:
3D Printer - Produce prosthetic limbs to exactly fill the recipient
- Produce customized items for surgical equipment
- Making parts for items no longer in production

3.3 Other output devices

Plotter
Advantages:
 They work on larger sheets of paper compared to printers
 Produce high-quality output
 Can print on several different materials
 Drawings are very accurate

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Ch.3: Output Devices Theory Notes

Disadvantages:
 Expensive to maintain
 Can be slower to output than a printer
 It has a large footprint //Takes up a lot of physical space
 Not as portable as a printer
 Can be noisy

Uses:
 Producing architectural drawings
 Producing engineering drawings
 Drawing animation characters (cartoon characters)

Multimedia projector
Advantages:
 Enables many people to see a presentation rather than crowding around
a small computer screen
 Avoids the need for several networked computers

Disadvantages:
 Expensive to buy
 Difficult to set up

Uses:
 Presenting slideshows in meetings/classrooms
 Watching movies on a larger screen

Speakers
Advantages:
 Sounds amplified through speakers can be much louder than the original
sound
 It can create a good atmosphere when making a presentation
 They can help visually impaired people by reading aloud text on the screen
 Very simple technology

Disadvantages:
 Speaker output can be disturbing to others in an office environment
 To get high-quality sound, the required speakers can be quite expensive
 Speakers can have a large footprint

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Ch.3: Output Devices Theory Notes

Uses:
 Used in all phones and built into most computers
 Outputs sound from multimedia presentations
 Helps visually impaired people by reading aloud text on the screen
 Plays downloaded sound files

3.4 Actuators
Definition:
 An actuator is a mechanical output device that produces movement
 They can rotate, close, push, and pull an object

Actuators are used for tasks such as:

 Controlling robot arm
 Spinning a fan
 Pumping water

Advantages:
 They allow remote operation of many devices (for example, pumps in a nuclear reactor
where remote operation is a big safety factor)
 They are relatively inexpensive devices

Disadvantages:
 Because they are usually analogue devices, computer signals need to be converted using a
DAC to enable computer control

Eng. Omar El Safty 31 Eng. Mustafa El-Komy