AS Level ICT

1. AS Level ICT Selection and use of output methods, media, and devices: Printers

2. Output methods Outputs come in a variety of different formats including: Hard copy (e.g. paper printouts) On-screen display (e.g. webpage) Digital outputs as inputs (e.g. a weather station’s output is sent in digital form to the National Weather Centre’s computer, where it becomes part of the inputs the computer needs to track and predict the national weather picture)

3. Output methods Digital outputs to portable devices (e.g. files saved from a computer onto an IPod or MP3 player) Digital outputs as control signals (e.g. computer aided manufacture)

4. Output devices Outputs devices include: Printers Screens (also called Visual Display Units) Plotters Speakers and headphones Any device that produces output media (e.g. Flash drives, removable hard drives, CD-ROMs, CD-RW, DVDs)

5. Printers The main types of printers are: Ink-jet printers Laser printers Dot matrix printers Thermal printers Multifunctional printer

6. Ink-jet printers Ink-jet printers are popular with home and small office users They work by spraying dots of fast-drying ink onto paper, and can produce both colour and black and white printouts

7. Ink-jet printers The dots are extremely small (usually between 50 and 60 microns in diameter, which is smaller than the diameter of a human hair [70 microns]) The dots are positioned very precisely, with resolutions of up to 1440 x 720 dots per inch (dpi) The dots can combine different colours together to create photo-quality images

8. Ink-jet printers The main components of an ink-jet printer are: The print head assembly Print head – contains a series of nozzles that are used to spray drops of ink Ink cartridge – this contains the ink that is sprayed through the print head Print head stepper motor – moves the print head assembly (print head and ink cartridges) back and forth across the paper

9. Ink-jet printers

10. Ink-jet printers Belt – is used to attach the print head assembly to the stepper motor Stabiliser bar – is used to ensure that movement is precise and controlled

11. Ink-jet printers

12. Ink-jet printers The paper feed assembly Paper tray feeder Rollers – pulls the paper from the paper tray feeder and advances it when the print head assembly is ready for another pass Paper feed stepper motor - powers the rollers to move the paper in the exact amount needed to produce a continuous image Power supply Control circuitry Interface ports

13. Ink-jet printers

14. Ink-jet printers - Advantages Ink-jet printers: Can produce high quality printouts (including photographs) Are quiet when operating Are cheap to buy

15. Ink-jet printers - Disadvantages Ink-jet printers: Are costly to run (ink cartridges are expensive and the cost per page is higher than a laser printer) Can produce smudged images (the ink used will smudge if the printout is not handled properly, especially just after printing) Need special paper when producing photographic images

16. Laser printers Laser printers are popular with business users They work by using photocopier technology and toner to produce printed outputs

17. Laser printers

18. Laser printers

19. Laser printers

20. Laser printers

21. Laser printers

22. Laser printers

23. Laser printers

24. Laser printers

25. Laser printers

26. Laser printers

27. Laser printers

28. Laser printers - Advantages Laser printers: Have a high print speed, which makes them very useful in an office environment Are very reliable Have a low print cost per page when printing in black and white Use standard paper Are quiet when operating

29. Laser printers - Disadvantages Laser printers: Have a high initial start-up cost Use more electrical power than other printers Have a high print cost per page when printing in colour

30. Dot matrix printers Dot matrix printers were – at one time – very common, but now they are rarely found outside certain specialist business environments They are also know as impact printers because they work by hitting a matrix of small pins against an ink-impregnated ribbon

31. Dot matrix printers

32. Dot matrix printers The matrix of pins form the characters, and when the ribbon is pushed against the paper by the impact, the characters are printed

33. Dot matrix printers

34. Dot matrix printers - Advantages The dot matrix printer has several unique advantages over other printers including: Their ability to print multi-part forms using NCR (no carbon required) paper; this enables several copies of the same form to be printed so that they can be distributed to different parts of an organisation Their ability to print on continuous stationery – the sprocket feed enables continuous (and often NCR) stationery to be used; this is particularly useful when printing product lists, stock lists, etc.

35. Dot matrix printers - Advantages

36. Dot matrix printers - Advantages Their reliability because they use simple technology that rarely fails Their ability to switch between different paper sources

37. Dot matrix printers - Disadvantages The dot matrix printer has several disadvantages: They are very noisy The characters that are printed are unclear because they are a matrix of dots and not a completely formed character They cannot produce graphical images They can only print in the colour of the ribbon that has been installed in the printer

38. Thermal printers Thermal printers are popular with users who need fast, silent, and high quality output They are used in: Cash registers and point-of-sale terminals Cark park ticket printers Lottery ticket printers

39. Thermal printers

40. Multifunctional printers Multifunctional printers (often called PSCs [printer/scanner/copiers]) are very popular in environments (e.g. home offices, small offices) where space or specialist usage are limited

41. Multifunctional printers They combine several related information communication technologies into one machine: Printer (usually either an ink-jet or laser printer) Scanner Photocopier Fax machine

42. Multifunctional printers

43. AS Level ICT Selection and use of output methods, media, and devices: Printers