Output Devices

An output device is a device that receives data from the computer system and presents it to the user — on a display, as a physical printout, as sound, and so on. Its job is the reverse of an input device: it converts digital information into a human-understandable form.

Common examples

Everyday output devices (some shown in Figure 1.3) include:

• Monitor — displays text, images and video on screen.
• Projector — throws the display output onto a large screen or wall.
• Headphones and speakers — convert digital audio into sound we can hear.
• Printer — produces output on paper.

Accessibility

Just as braille keyboards help visually impaired users give input, a braille display monitor helps a visually challenged person understand the textual output generated by a computer, by rendering it in a touch-readable form.

Printers — hardcopy output

The printer is the most commonly used device for getting output in physical (hardcopy) form. Three types of printers are in common use:

• Inkjet printers,
• Laserjet printers, and
• Dot matrix printers.

3D printers

A newer kind of printer is the 3D printer, which does not print on paper at all — it builds a physical replica of a digital 3D design, layer by layer. Current uses of 3D printers include:

• Manufacturing industries, where they create prototypes of products quickly before mass production. …