Tolga Tinker

Unit 30 Digital Graphics: D1

13O

The ongoing developments in these digital graphic output

technologies:
Introduction:
In this report I will be discussing the impact of evolving output mediums on the
design and creation of graphics images, I will be viewing the following output
devices; large flat panel screens, Tablet computers, 3D printers, Mac vs PC and a
variety of other output mediums. The development of these digital graphic
output technologies has resulted in the creation of more creative, innovative and
higher quality products being produced, as well as a variety of new careers paths
created by these new technologies.
What Is an Output Device?:
An output device is a piece of computer hardware that is used to display
information that has been communicated to a device which can process the data,
in most cases a computer system is used, this data is then converted into an
electronic form which is viewable/readable by us. An example of this is a printer;
it will receive the data from a computer and output the information on paper.
Hard Copy & Soft Copy:
There are two ways in which we refer to Graphics, a Hard Copy which is a
permanent reproduction, or copy, in the form of a physical paper object; these
are generally photographs, paintings and drawings. Whereas a Soft Copy is a
digital form of the graphic which is not physical and is generally a document
which can be viewed by certain graphics editing software such as Photoshop.
Examples of a soft copy include but are not limited to; digital photos, digital
graphics created by a computer, a digital file and more.
Monitors Evolution:
The First output medium I will be discussing is the computer monitor and its
evolution within digital graphics, we see a clear change in monitors over the
years from their sizes, features and weight. The early development of the
computer monitor is known as CRT Monitors (CRT - cathode-ray tube). A CRT
monitor contains tiny red, green, and blue phosphor dots that glow when struck
by an electron beam that travels across the screen to create a visible image. CRT
Monitors are bulky and have lower aspect ratios and resolution in comparison to
the newer models such as LCD, LED, 4K and more. The lack of the resolutions
ultimately means that there will be a lack of quality in graphics that has been
produced as you are limited to such a small display.

Tolga Tinker
Unit 30 Digital Graphics: D1
13O

Bellow you can see a table showing the evolution of aspect ratio and the
resolution of monitors as the size increase, we see the constant increase in
resolution and aspect ratio, which in return leads to better quality when
producing graphics.

Therefore the advancement and developments within monitors has allowed for
graphics designers and photographers to produce higher quality graphics at
larger resolutions, whereas before they were limited to tiny displays, therefore
lower quality images, which were in most cases distorted, bellow is an example.

Tolga Tinker
Unit 30 Digital Graphics: D1
13O
Plotters Evolution:
Computer monitors are not the only output medium that has changed
significantly; we also see an evolution within plotter technology, plotters are
printers and is a term applied nowadays to describe those printers which print
large scale images or drawings, often CAD drawings showing building or
engineering plans, POS images, or big canvas prints which are usually either A1
or A0 in size.

The original technology whereby plotter pens plotted across the paper to create
drawings. Despite plotters being replaced for the most part by the mid-1990s,
the term "plotter" is still frequently used; above you can see an example of an
older plotter which still uses the old technology, whereas on the right you can
see the advanced plotter, which prints the images. The advancement in this
technology means that images that are outputted from a plotter will be more
detailed now, as a pen is simply limiting in what it can perform, whereas having
the computer send the exact data to be printed, allows for a multi-coloured
image, whereas the older technology would require constant changing of pens to
achieve the same effects and still would not be up to the same quality. Therefore
the advancements in these digital graphic output technologies have allowed
designers and photographers to print on a larger more commercial scale, such as
advertisements, largescale photos and more, whereas previously it was not
possible.
Printer Evolution:
Similar to plotters but more compact are printers, a machine for printing text or
pictures, especially one linked to a computer, they too as an output technology
have also advanced, from previously only being able to print on white paper, and
only print in black ink, it was also limited to just text, whereas nowadays
advancements allow us to print on a variety of papers from gloss paper, coloured
paper and even photo paper, whereas before you would have to pay a
professional, therefore this is extremely useful for any independent graphics
designer/photographer as they will be able to show a brief of the product they
are producing, in high quality. The advancement in printers has also seen colour
being added to printed documents.

Tolga Tinker
Unit 30 Digital Graphics: D1
13O

There have been significant developments within the printing industry; we now
see domestic 3D Printers for sale, which have the ability to produce three
dimensional products, objects are built up in a great many very thin layers.
Graphic image creation and editing is also enhanced through the printers of
today by allowing the user to perform more than one function for example being
able to scan images, copy images and print in different colours if required; the
printer caters to the designers needs. Therefore the ongoing developments in
these digital graphics output technologies has allowed for more flexibility for
designers and more creativity, as they are no longer limited by the technology
they are using. The ability to own a printer has allowed for many forms of digital
graphics to advance from photographers to graphics designers, it has also
produced new forms of designers in the 3D modelling field.
Tablet Evolution:

Despite Tablets being a relatively new creation, they too have evolved rapidly
over the years; from simple PDAs we now have technologies such as graphics
tablets, tablet computers and more. If you see the timeline bellow you can see

Tolga Tinker
Unit 30 Digital Graphics: D1
13O
the history of tablets from 1967 2010 when the first iPad Tablet PC was
launched.

Apple's iPad is a revolutionary product that is cratering the PC industry. But it

wasn't Steve Jobs' idea. A full decade before Jobs launched the iPad in 2010, Bill
Gates launched Microsoft's touch input tablet computer. However, after the
introduction of the iPad in 2010, we see a rapid advancement in the variety of
tablets produced, i.e. the Amazon Kindle, a variety of graphics tablets that have
allowed for graphics designers to create more precise products, and has allowed
creativity and innovation to flow. There is a variety of tablets available for all
different types of users, from graphics tablets, to the amazon kindle to simply
read e-books and your generic pc tablet.

Bellow you can see examples of work produced by designers with the use of
Tablets and touchscreen computers, we can see it is less limiting than a piece of
paper, as you would require multiple colouring pens/pencils whereas on a tablet
it is a click away.

Tolga Tinker
Unit 30 Digital Graphics: D1
13O

Conclusion:
As a result of my research and my own knowledge I have come to conclusion
that the ongoing developments within digital graphic output technologies we
have seen an increase in creativity, and forms of media that has been procuded,
from 3D printed products to graphics tablets allowing a designer the flexibility to
draw straight onto their computers, this combined with the advancment in
printer technology has allowed for designers to scan sketches directly into digital
format, this kind of technology was previously not available and therefore this
creativity was not accessibly by designers, another key example of this would be
the monistors as stated before., the advancements in monitors has allowed
designers to add more detail and precision to their work, therefore my final
conclusion is that the ongoing developments within these digital graphic output
technologies has led to a more advanced and creative indsutry which will
continue to expand as technology does.