Computer Output Devices

What Are Computer Output Devices?

Technically speaking, computer output devices are any machines that are capable of representing information from a computer. Computers both receive and send information. Two terms that are most often associated with computers are input and output devices. Computers receive information through keyboards, importing of data, web pages from the Internet, etc.

The two most common output devices associates with your computer are the screen display and printers.

Screen Display

The computer screen display is the computer output device used to show still and moving images generated by the computer. It is also referred to as a monitor or screen.  

Computer monitors generally conform to one or more display standards such as UXGA, SXGA, WXGA, XGA, VGA and EGA (to mention a few).

Until recently, most computer monitors had a 4:3 aspect ration. However, more recent monitors with 16:9 and 16:10 aspect ratios have become available. These produce a widescreen format, similar to the TV screen.  

Printers

The computer printer is a very common computer output device. It is a computer peripheral that produces hard or permanent copy from data stored in the computer connected to the printer. This information can be in the form of text, graphics or photos and is usually printed onto paper.

There are three common types of printers. One of the first computer output devices commonly used was the dot matrix printer. This output device prints by striking wires or fine rods, within a matrix or array of dots, onto an ink-coated ribbon which is against a piece of paper. These dots form letters and numbers.

An inkjet printer is a second common output device. This type of printer sprays dots of ink onto paper to create an image. They are generally inexpensive, but higher quality inkjet printers can print near photo quality output. 

The laser printer is a common output device used in business. The laser printer is a high quality image printing system, which uses a laser beam to produce an image on a photosensitive drum. This image is then transferred to paper using a conventional xerographic printing process.

About The Author:

Larry Andrew is an educational consultant, author and publisher of www.ez-software-review.com. Learn how to purchase cheap, reliable and quality software for your home, school and business.

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Computer Output Devices