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 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 Examples of Applications

Laser printer • They are used where low noise is required (for example, in an office)
• 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
• Used in medicine, for example:
- Creating prosthetics
3D Printer
- Tissue engineering
- Creation of medical tools
- Artificial blood vessels

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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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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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

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