Input and Output

Devices
Ashley-Ann Cooper, Stephan Pitterson, Russell Coke,
Briana Douglas, Kode Williams
6B.1
#TEAMOrgaNice

What is an input device?

An input device is any technology used to get information
from the outside world into the computer for processing.
There are two types of input devices: manual and direct.

Manual Input Devices

A manual input device:
Is a hardware or peripheral device
Used to communicate and feed instructions and data into the
computer
for processing, display, storage
user must enter or transfer data into the computer by hand.

Examples
Keyboard: one of the most common manual input devices.

Used to type commands and instructions into the computer.

Has a set of alphanumeric keys, and function keys
Convert keystrokes into binary digits,
Carries out the commands of function keys

Examples
Mouse: also one of the most common manual input
devices.
The most common pointing input device. It sends positional
information to the computer my clicking or scrolling of the mouse
buttons.
Has two buttons: the left is usually used to select items and the
right to access menus.
There are two types of mice: mechanical and optical.

Examples
Joystick
Similar in appearance to a vehicle hear shift, but has buttons
which carry out different commands.
Generally used for playing video games and in virtual reality
simulations and robot control.

Examples
Touch screen
Allows the user to press parts of the screen with their fingers or a
stylus in order to activate commands
There is no need for a keyboard or mouse with a touchscreen

Direct Input Devices

Direct input devices:
convert data directly from the source into a format the computer
can understand.
Doesnt require user to manually input the data.
They reduce the chance of data entry errors, as the user needs
not worry about entering data incorrectly.

Examples
Scanner
Allows the transfer of pictures, graphics and text to the computer by
scanning the image from top to bottom, one line at a time, and
transfers it to the computer.

Used to capture a hard-copy of an image and create a digital copy of it.

Usually connected via USB which transfers data at 20-60Mb/s.
The resolution of the scanner varies; high end scanners have a
resolution of up to 24000 pixels per inch.

Examples
Microphone
Data is input in audio form
Commonly used in voice recognition software: users can dictate or
give commands directly to the computer without the need for
typing or clicking.
Can be connected to the computer via USB or through the
microphone port. Some computers come with microphones built
in, as do most webcams.

Examples
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition
Reads data printed in special magnetic ink and converts it into a
computer readable form.
Commonly used by banks on cheques.
Connect to the computer via PS2 Y port.

What is an output device?

An output device is any technology used to present
information from the computer to the user.
There are two types of output: hard copy and soft copy.

Hardcopy Output
Hardcopy output refers to physical output from the
computer: recording letters, graphics or pictures on a
permanent medium such as paper or film.
Modern output devices are fairly fast, the fastest printer
being able to print up to 500 pages in just over 7 minutes.
The quality of the output varies depending on the type of
device; the highest quality device on the market are film
recorders, outputting at least 4,000dpi (dots per inch)
versus a standard ink jet printer which outputs about
600dpi.

Printers
Printers are the most common type of hardcopy output
devices. They print information from the computer onto
paper. There are two types of printers: impact and nonimpact.

Impact Printers
Impact printers work by striking a carbon/inked ribbon
onto paper. They have very low resolutions and are
incapable of printing graphics. They are slow and very
noisy, as the process is purely mechanical.
However, some line printers are very fast, capable of
printing 1500 lines per minute, hence their usage in
printing mass bills, address labels, etc.

Non-Impact Printers
Most printers used today are non-impact printers. These
printers do not strike the paper, but instead spray ink or
toner powder onto it. Heat is then used to fix the
characters onto the paper.
Three types of non-impact printers are ink jet printers,
laser printers, and thermal printers.

Ink Jet Printers

Ink jet printers produce small ink droplets and move them
around electrostatically. Speeds of 4-6 pages per minute
can be achieved.
Resolution varies greatly as different printers have
different capabilities, and the colour being printed also
affects the quality. Standard ink jet printers have
resolutions of 600*600 dpi (dots per inch).

Laser Printers
Laser printers work by producing charges on the paper
that attract dry ink powder. The pattern is then heated to
fix it on the page.
Resolutions tend to call between 300 and 1200 dpi.
Speeds of 4 to 20 pages per minute are common.

Thermal Printers
Thermal printers use heat on chemically treated paper to
make characters. These are common in ATM machines to
print receipts and in some ultrasound machine printouts.

Plotters
Plotters are specialized type of printer. They are used by
designers, engineers, and architechs to print accurate
charts, 3D drawings, blueprints, etc. The use coloured
pens or toner to draw the images on the paper.
They can print up to 500 sq ft/hour.
They have a standard resolution of 1200x600dpi.

Soft Copy Output

Soft copy output refers to devices that feed information to
the user through the use of a temporary output device.
Softcopy devices include monitors, speakers, headphones
and projectors.

How are they connected to the

computer?
Modern visual softcopy output devices usually used HDMI ports to
connect to computers, as HDMI provides the best definition, speed
colour, and sound.
Speakers are connected either by Wifi, Bluetooth, or audio jacks.
The standard size of an audio jack is 3.5mm.
Older projectors and monitors use VGA (Video Graphics Analog)
connectivity. This is the oldest type of connectivity for these
devices and provides the lowest speed and quality, as the digital
data from the computer has to be converted to analog data for
transmission, so quality is lost.

Specialized Devices
These are not typical input/output devices. They are used
by people who are disabled, or have special occupations.

Specialized Devices : Braille

Devices
Braille is the writing system for blind persons.
Braille keyboard: similar to a regular keyboard, but keys are
embossed in braille rather than printed in English characters.
Braille display/terminal: a monitor for blind people. It works by
raising round pins in patterns to resemble braille characters.
Braille printers: a type of impact printer which prints embossed
onto paper. Normally, a braille translation software is used to
convert English characters to braille.

Other Specialized Devices

Speech Synthesizers: Used to convert text, or other input, into digital
signals, which are then converted into text. The most common is TTS
(Text-To-Speech) devices.
Virtual Reality devices: Used by designers to create a virtual reality
in which they can see how their product would work in the real
world. It also allows them to modify the design before building the
final product.
There are also rumoured devices which can convert brain activity
into digital signals, which would be used by disabled people who
have no way of entering data manually.