Output devices Cambridge IGCSE Information & Communication Technology revision
Not started
Learn it
In plain words
An output device turns the results of processing into something people can see, hear or use, or into movement. As with input, the skill is choosing the right one for the job.
6 things to know
- A monitor displays output on a screen. A touch screen is an output device as well as an input device. A multimedia projector shows a computer's display on a large screen for an audience.
- A laser printer is fast and quiet, gives high-quality print and has a low cost per page for large volumes. It costs more to buy, and colour versions are expensive.
- An inkjet printer is cheap to buy and good for photographs and small print runs. It is slow, and its ink cartridges are costly and run out quickly.
- A dot matrix printer strikes an inked ribbon with pins. It is noisy, slow and low in quality, but it works in dirty or damp places and can print on continuous or multi-part paper, making carbon copies.
- A plotter draws very large, accurate drawings such as building plans. A 3D printer builds solid objects in layers from a design.
- A speaker outputs sound. An actuator produces movement, such as a motor or a valve, and is the output of a control system.
Worked example
A garage needs to print invoices in three copies at once, in a workshop with dust and oil in the air. Which printer is most suitable?
- Three copies at once means multi-part paper, which needs the print head to strike the paper.
- Only a dot matrix printer strikes the paper.
- It also copes with dirty conditions that would damage a laser or inkjet printer.
Tips and tricks
- Choose a printer by the job: volume and speed (laser), photographs at home (inkjet), copies and harsh conditions (dot matrix), huge drawings (plotter).
- An actuator is the device a computer uses to make something move. Remember it for every control question.
It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.
Output devices: 5 questions and answers
These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.
Which printer would be best for printing 2000 copies of a letter?
It is fast and cheap for each page.
Which printer can make carbon copies on multi-part paper?
Its pins strike the paper.
Which output device produces movement?
Motors and valves are actuators.
Which device would an architect use to print a large building plan?
It draws accurately on very large sheets.
Which is a disadvantage of an inkjet printer?
It is cheap to buy but expensive to run.
Quiz
5 questions
Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.
Worksheet
2 questions, 4 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.
Output devices
Cambridge IGCSE Information & Communication Technology 0417 · 4 marks · papermunch.org
Name ______________________________ Date ______________
Give two advantages of a laser printer compared with an inkjet printer.[2]
Show answerHide answer
It prints faster. The cost of each page is lower when many pages are printed. (Also: toner lasts much longer than ink cartridges.)
State what a plotter is used for and give one reason it is used.[2]
Show answerHide answer
To print very large drawings, such as architects' plans. It can print accurately on much larger paper than other printers.
Answers: Output devices
- 1. It prints faster. The cost of each page is lower when many pages are printed. (Also: toner lasts much longer than ink cartridges.)
- 2. To print very large drawings, such as architects' plans. It can print accurately on much larger paper than other printers.