DEPARTMENT OF CS, BCA & IT

COMPUTER GRAPHICS – SCSJC51

(5 Hours – 4 Credits)
Unit– I
Higher Education survey of computer graphics: Computer Aided Design –
Presentation Graphics –ComputerArt–Entertainment–EducationandTraining–Visualization–
Image Processing Graphical User Interfaces.
Overview of Graphics Systems: Video Display Devices – Raster Scan Systems Random Scan
Systems– Input Devices–Hard Copy Devices

INTRODUCTIONTOCOMPUTERGRAPHICS
Computer Graphics involves creation, display, manipulation and storage of pictures and
experimental data/models or images for proper visualization using a computer. Computers are
becoming a powerful tool for the rapid and economic production of pictures.
Computer graphics are used in diverse areas such as :
Science Engineering Medicine
Business Industry Government
Art Entertainment Advertising
Education Training
APPLICATIONS OF COMPUTER GRAPHICS
1. Computer Aided Design(CAD):
• It is used in the design of Buildings, Automobiles, Aircraft, Water craft, Space
craft, Computers, Textiles and many more products
• For some design applications, objects are first displayed in a wire frame outline which
shows the overall shape and internal features of objects
• CircuitsandNetworksforcommunications,watersupplyorotherutilitiesare constructed

• Theshapesusedinadesignrepresentthedifferentnetworkorcircuitcomponents
• Realtimeanimationsusingwireframedisplaysonavideomonitorareusefulfortesting
performance of a vehicle or system
• Realisticdisplaysaregeneratedforadvertisingofautomobilesandothervehiclesusing
special lighting effects and background scenes
• Architectsuseinteractivegraphicsmethodstolayoutfloorplanssuchaspositioningof
rooms, windows, stairs, shelves and other building features
 Fig1.1ExampleforWireframedrawing

2. Presentation Graphics
Presentation Graphics is used to produce illustrations for reports, Slides or transparencies for use
with projectors. It is used to summarize Financial, Statistical, Mathematical, Scientific as well as
Economic Data. For example, Bar charts, Line Graphs, Surface Graphs, Pie charts and other displays
shows relationships between multiple parameters.

Fig1.2ExampleforPresentationGraphics
1. Computer Art
Computer Graphics are used in both fine art and commercial art applications. Artists use a variety of
computer methods including special purpose hardware, artists paint brush programs, specially
developed software, symbolic mathematical packages, CAD software, Desktop publishing software
and Animation packages that provide facilities for designing object shapes and specifying object
motions
Eg) LOGOs, TV advertising, Combining Text and Graphics, Morphing, etc.

Fig1.3ExampleforComputerArt
2. Entertainment

Graphics objects are combined with actors and live scenes.Eg) Motion pictures, Music Videos,
Television shows.

Fig1.4Exampleforanimation

3. Education and Training

Computer generated models of physical, financial and economic systems are often used as
educational aids. Eg) Simulators for practice sessions, Training of ship captions, Training of pilots,
Air traffic control personnel, etc.

Fig1.5Exampleforaircraftsimulator

4. Visualization
Scientists, Engineers, Medical Personnel, Business Analysts need to analyzelarge amount of
data. Numerical simulations carried out on super computers frequently produce data files
containing thousands and millions of data values. Satellite cameras andothersources can process
amassing large data files faster than they can be interpreted .
Visualization can be of two types:
1. Scientific:Graphicalrepresentationforscientific,engineeringandMedicaldatasets
2. Business:Datasetsrelatedtocommerce,industryandothernon-scientificareas
 Fig1.5ExampleforDataAnalysis

5. Image Processing
Image processing is applied to modify/ interpret existing pictures such as photographs and TV
scans.
Applications of Image Processing:
1. Improving picture quality
2. M/C perception of visual information as used in robotics

In order to apply image - processing methods:

Digitize a photograph or picture in to an image file
Applytechniquestoenhancecolorseparationorimprovethequalityofshading e.g.,
Analyze satellite photos, Photos of earth, Galaxy, etc.
MedicalImageprocessingusesUltrasonicswhichconvertsHighfrequencysoundwavestoprocess data
and Medical scanners

Fig1.6ExampleforImageProcessing
6. Graphical User Interface
Uses Window manager which allows an user to display multiple window areas. It can be activated
by an icon.

Fig1.6Examplefor GraphicalUser Interface

VISUALDISPLAY DEVICES
The Primary output device is Video Monitor. The operation is based on the Standard Cathode Ray
Tube.
A beam of electrons (cathode rays) emitted by the electron gun passes through focusing and
deflection systems that direct the beam towards specified positions on the phosphor-coated screen.
The phosphor emits a small spot of light at each position contacted by the electron beam. Because
the light emitted by the phosphor fades rapidly, some means is needed for maintaining the picture.
One way to keep the phosphor glowing is to redraw the picture repeatedly and quickly by directing
the electron beam back over the same points. This type of display is Refresh CRT.

Fig1.7StructureofCRT

MainComponentsofCRTare:
1. ElectronGun:Electrongunconsistingofaseriesofelements,primarilyaheating filament
(heater)and acathode.Theelectronguncreatesasourceofelectronswhichare focused intoa narrow
beam directed at the face of the CRT.
2. ControlElectrode:Itisusedtoturntheelectronbeamonandoff.
3. Focusingsystem: Itisusedtocreateaclearpicturebyfocusingtheelectronsintoanarrow beam.
4. Deflection Yoke: Itis usedto controlthedirectionoftheelectronbeam. It createsanelectric or
magnetic field which will bend the electron beam as it passes through the area. In a
conventionalCRT,the yokeislinkedtoasweeporscangenerator.Thedeflectionyokewhichis
connected to the sweep generator creates a fluctuating electric or magnetic potential.
5. Phosphorus-coatedscreen: TheinsidefrontsurfaceofeveryCRT iscoatedwithphosphors.
Phosphorsglowwhenahigh-energyelectronbeamhitsthem. Phosphorescence isthetermused to
characterize the light givenoffbya phosphor afterit has been exposed to an electronbeam.
Functions of Heated metal Cathode and Control Grid
Heat is supplied to the cathode by directing current through a coil of wire called filament, inside a
cylindrical cathode structure. This causes electrons to be “boiled off” the hot cathode surface. In the
vacuum inside the CRT envelope, the free negatively charged electrons are then accelerated towards
the phosphor coating by a high positive voltage or an accelerating anode or focusing anode. Intensity
of the electron beam is controlled by setting voltage levels on the control grid will shut off the beam
by repelling the electrons and stopping them from passing through the small grid at the end of the
control grid. A small negative charge will decrease the electrons passing through.
The light emitted by the phosphor coating depends on the number of electrons striking the screen, so
we can control the brightness of a display by varying voltage on the control grid. The focusing
system in a CRT is needed to force the electron beam to converge into Higher Education small spot a
sit strikes the phosphor, otherwise the electrons would repel each other and the beam would spread
out as it reaches the screen.
Focussing is done with electric / magnetic fields. Electrostatic focusing is done in television and
computer graphics monitors. Additional focusing hard ware is used in high-precision systems to keep
the beam in focus at all screen positions. Electron beam will be focused at the centre properly and to
other places it will be blurred. This can be compensated by adjusting focusing systems.
Deflection can be controlled by electric or magnetic fields. CRTs are constructed with magnetic
deflection coils mounted on the outside of the CRT. Spots of light are produced on the screen by the
transfer of CRT beam energy to the phosphor. When the electrons collide with phosphor coated
screen, they are stopped and their kinetic energy is absorbed by the phosphor. Part of beam energy is
converted by friction into heat energy and the remainder causes electrons in the phosphor atoms to
move up to high-quantum levels. After a short time, the excited phosphor electrons begin dropping
back to their stable ground state.

High resolution systems are called as High definition system

Aspect Ratio : Number of vertical points to horizontal points necessary to produce equal length lines
in both directions on the screen.
E.g.,AspectRatio¾:Verticalpoints3plottedwithhorizontal4
Different kinds of phosphors are available fo ruse in CRT. Major factor is persistence(how long
they continue to emit light).
Persistence is defined as the time it takes the emitted light from the screen to decay to one-tenth of
its original intensity. Lower persistence phosphor requires higher refresh rates. Lower persistence is
used for animation. High persistence is used for highly complex and static pictures. Persistence
varies between 10-60 micro sec
RASTERSCANDISPLAYS
The most common type of CRT is the Raster Scan display, based on television technology. In a
raster-scan system, the electron beam is swept across the screen, one row at a time from top to
bottom. As the electron beam moves across each row, the beam intensity is turned on and off to
create a pattern of illuminated spots. Picture definition is stored in a memory area called refresh
buffer or frame buffer. The memory area holds the set of intensity values for all screen points. Stored
intensity values are then retrieved from the refresh buffer and “painted” on the screen one row at a
time.

Fig1.8RasterScandisplay

Each screen point is referred to as a Pixel or Pel (Picture element). Eg) Home television sets and
printers are examples of systems using raster-scan methods. Intensity range for pixel positions
depends on the capability of raster system. In a simple black and white system, each screen point is
either on or off . (i.e.) only one pixel is needed to control the intensity of screen positions
In High Quality system up to 24 bits / pixel is required. 3MB of storage is required for Frame buffer.
Black and White Frame buffer is called as Bitmap. Color monitor is called as Pix map. Refreshing
on a raster scan is carried out at a rate of 60-80 frames/second.
Scanning left to right is called as Horizontal retrace. At the end of each frame, the electron beam
returns to the top left corner of the screen (vertical retrace) to begin the next frame. The CRT has the
electron beam directed only to the parts of the screen where a picture is to be redrawn.

Random Scan(VectorScan)
In this technique, the electron beam is directed only to the part of the screen where the picture is to
be drawn rather than scanning from left to right and top to bottom as in raster scan. It is also called
vector display, stroke-writing display, or calligraphic display.
 Picture definition is stored as a set of line-drawing commands in an area of memory referred to as
the refresh display file. To display a specified picture, the system cycles through the set of
commands in the display file, drawing each component line in turn. After all the line-drawing
commands are processed, the system cycles back to the first line command in the list. Random-
scandisplays are designed to draw allthe component lines ofa picture30to 60times eachsecond.

Refreshratesdependsontheno.oflinesto bedrawn.Picturedefinitionisstoredasasetofline- drawing

commands in an area of memory called refresh display file (refresh buffer).

Fig1.9StructureofRandomScandisplay

SupposewewanttodisplayasquareABCDonthescreen.Thecommandswillbe:
• DrawalinefromAtoB
• Drawaline fromBto C
• Drawaline fromCto D
• DrawalinefromDtoA

Fig1.10ExampleforconstructionofsquarewithRandomscandisplay

Drawbacksofrandomscandisplay
• Itcanbeusedforlinedrawingapplications
• Cannotdisplayrealisticshadedscenes
• Notstoredasasetofintensity
COLORCRTMONITOR
ACRT monitordisplayscolorpicturesbyusingacombinationofphosphorsthat emitdifferent colored
light. Techniques for color displays :
i) Beampenetrationmethod
ii) Shadowmaskmethod

i) Beampenetrationmethod
Color pictures can be displayed with random scan monitors. Two layers of phosphors (Red and
Green) are coated on the inside of CRT screen.A beam of slow electrons excites only the outer
red color. A beam of very fast electrons penetrates through the red layer and excites the inner
green color.
At intermediate beam speeds, combinations of red and green are emitted which gives additional
two colors orange and yellow. Beam penetration is inexpensive wayto produce color in random-
scan monitors but only few colors are possible. Quality of picture is not as good as with other
methods

Fig1.11WorkingofCRTwithBeampenetrationmethod

ii) ShadowMaskmethod
They are used in Raster scan systems because they produce a wide range of colors than the beam
penetration method. It contains three phosphor color dots at each pixel position. One phosphor
dot emits a red light and another emits green light and the third emits a blue light
This type of CRT has three electron guns, one for each color dot and a shadow-mask grid just
behind the phosphor coated screen. The three electron beams are deflected and focused as agroup
onto the shadow mask, which contains a series of holes aligned with the phosphor-dot patterns.
When the three beams pass through a hole in the shadow mask, they activate a dot triangle
whichappears as a small color spot on the screen.The phosphordots are arrangedso that
eachelectronbeamcanactivateonlyitscorrespondingcolordotwhenitpassesthroughthe
 shadow mask. We obtaincolor variations in a shadow-mask CRT byvarying the intensitylevels of
the three electron beams.
R+ G+B Equalintensity White G +
R Yellow
B+R Magenta B
+G Cyan
ColordisplaysinGraphicsystemsaredesignedasRGBmonitors.Theyuseshadow-maskmethod and
take the intensity level for each electron gun (Red,Green and Blue).
HighQualityrastersystemshave24bits/pixelintheframebuffer.AnRGBcolorsystemwith 24 bits of
storage/pixel is referred to as full-color system / true-color system.

Fig1.12WorkingofCRTwithBeampenetrationmethod
DirectViewStorageTube
DVSTterminalsuserandomscanapproachto generatetheimageontheCRTscreen.Theterm
"storagetube" refers to the abilityofthe screen to retain the image once it is projected.

Functionofguns:TwogunsareusedinDVST
1. Primaryguns:Itisusedtostorethepicture pattern.
2. FloodgunorSecondarygun:It isusedtomaintainpicturedisplay.

Fig1.13StructureofCRTwithDirectViewStorageTube
Advantage:
• Norefreshingisneeded.
• HighResolution
• Costisveryless

Disadvantage:
• Itis notpossibletoerasetheselectedpartofapicture.
• Itisnotsuitablefordynamicgraphicsapplications.
• Theydonotdisplaycolorsandareavailablewithsingleleveloflineintensity
• Ifapartofpictureistomodify, thentimeisconsumed.
• Erasingofscreenproducesunpleasant flashovertheentirescreensurfacewhich
prevents its use of dynamic graphics applications.
• Ithaspoorcontrastasaresultofthecomparativelylowacceleratingpotentialapplied to the
flood electrons.

TheperformanceofDVSTisinferiortoRefreshCRT.

FLATPANELDISPLAYS
Flatpaneldisplaysreferto aclassofvideodevicesthathavereducedvolume,weightandpower
requirements in comparison with CRT
TVmonitors,Calculators,Laptop,Pocketvideogames,armrestviewingofmovieson
airlines,advertisement boards in elevators, etc.
Flatpaneldisplaysaredividedintotwocategories:
1. Emissivedisplay
2. Non-Emissivedisplay

Fig1.14ClassificationofFlat PanelDisplay

1. EMISSIVEDISPLAYS(E.G.,PLASMAPANELANDLED)

Thesedisplaysconvertelectricenergyintolight

i) PlasmaPanel
 Fig1.15StructureofPlasma Panel

Theyareconstructedbyfillingtheregionbetween twoglassplateswith amixtureofgasesthat

usuallyincludesneon. Aseriesofverticalconductingribbon is placedononeglasspaneland a series
of horizontal ribbon is built into the other glass panel.
Voltages applied to a pair of horizontal and vertical conductors cause the gas at theintersection of
the two conductors to break down into glowing plasma of electrons andicons.Picture definition is
stored in the refresh buffer and voltages are applied to refresh the pixel positions 60 times / sec.

Advantages:
1. HighResolution
2. Largescreensizeisalso possible.
3. LessVolume
4. Lessweight
5. FlickerFreeDisplay
Disadvantage:
1. PoorResolution
2. Itsaddressingisalsocomplex.

ii) LED(LightEmittingDiode):
In an LED,amatrix ofdiodesisorganizedtoformthepixelpositionsinthedisplayandpicture
definition is stored in a refresh buffer. Data is read from the refresh buffer and converted to
voltage levels that are applied to the diodes to produce the light pattern in the display.
2. NON-EMISSIVEDISPLAY(E.G.,LCD)
Liquid Crystal Displays are the devices that produce a picture by passing polarized light through a
liquid-crystalmaterialthattransmitsthelight.LCDusestheliquid-crystalmaterialbetweentwo glass plates;
each plate is the right angle to each other between plates liquid is filled. One glass plate consists of
rows of conductors arranged in vertical direction. Another glass plate is consisting of a row of
conductors arranged in horizontal direction. The pixel position is determined by the intersection of
the vertical & horizontal conductor. This position is an active part of the screen.
Advantage:
1. Lowpowerconsumption.
2. SmallSize
3. LowCost

Disadvantage:

1. LCDsaretemperature-dependent(0-70°C)
2. Theresolutionis not asgoodasthatofa CRT.
INPUTDEVICES
TheInput Devicesarethehardwarethat isusedtotransfer inputtothecomputer.Thedatacanbe in
theform of text, graphics, sound, and text. Output devicedisplaydata from the memoryof the
computer. Output can be text, numeric data, line, polygon, and other objects.

Fig1.16Processingofinputtooutput

ThefollowingaresomeoftheexamplesofInputDevices :
1. Keyboard
2. Mouse
3. Trackball
4. Spaceball
5. Joystick
6. Lightpen
7. Digitizer
8. Touchpanels
9. ImageScanner
1. Keyboard:
Themost commonlyused input deviceisakeyboard.Thedataisenteredbypressingtheset of
keys. Allkeys are labeled. Akeyboard with 101 keys is called a QWERTY keyboard.
Thekeyboardhasalphabeticaswellasnumerickeys.Somespecialkeysarealsoavailable.
1. NumericKeys:0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
2. Alphabetickeys:atoz(lowercase),AtoZ(uppercase)
3. SpecialControlkeys:Ctrl,Shift,Alt
4. SpecialSymbolKeys:;,"?@~?:
5. CursorControlKeys:↑→←↓
6. FunctionKeys:F1F2F3...F9.
7. NumericKeyboard: It isontheright-handsideofthekeyboardandusedforfast entryof
numeric data.
FunctionsofKeyboard:
1. AlphanumericKeyboardsareusedinCAD.(ComputerAidedDrafting)
2. Keyboardsareavailablewithspecialfeatureslinescreenco-ordinatesentry,Menuselection or
graphics functions, etc.
3. Specialpurposekeyboardsareavailablehavingbuttons,dials,andswitches.
 Advantage:
1. Suitableforenteringnumericdata.
2. Functionkeysareafastandeffectivemethodofusingcommands,withfewererrors.
Disadvantage:
1. Keyboardisnotsuitableforgraphicsinput.

2. Mouse
A Mouse is a pointing device and used to position the pointer on the screen. There are two or
three depression switches on the top. The movement of the mouse along the x-axis helps in the
horizontal movement of the cursor and the movement along the y-axis helps in the vertical
movement of the cursor onthe screen. The mouse cannot be used to enter text.
Advantage:
• Easytouse
• Notveryexpensive

Fig1.17MovementofMouse

3. Trackball
It is a pointing device. It is similar to a mouse. This is mainlyused in notebook or laptop
computer,insteadofa mouse.Thisisaballwhichishalfinserted,andbychangingfingers on the
ball, the pointer can be moved.
Advantage:
1. Trackballisstationary,soitdoesnotrequiremuchspacetouseit.
2. CompactSize

Fig1.18Trackball
 4. Spaceball
It is similar to trackball, but it can move in six directions where trackball can move in two directions
only. The movement is recorded by the strain gauge. Strain gauge is applied with pressure. It can be
pushed and pulled in various directions. The ball has a diameter around 7.5 cm. The ball is mounted
in the base using rollers. One-third ofthe ball is an inside box, the rest is outside.
Applications:

• Itisusedforthree-dimensionalpositioningoftheobject.
• Itisusedtoselectvariousfunctionsinthefieldofvirtualreality.
• ItisapplicableinCADapplications.
• Animationisalsodoneusingspaceball.
• Itisusedintheareaofsimulationand modeling.

Fig1.19Space ball
5. Joystick
A Joystick is also a pointing device which is used to change cursor position on a monitor screen.
Joystick is a stick having a sphericalball as its both lower and upper ends as shown in Fig. 1.20.
The lower spherical ball moves in a socket. The joystick can be changed in all four directions. The
function of a joystick is similar to that of the mouse. It is mainlyused in Computer Aided Designing
(CAD) and playing computer games.

Fig1.20Joystick

6. Light Pen
Light Pen (similar to the pen) is a pointing device which is used to select a displayed menu item or
drawpicturesonthe monitorscreen. It consistsofaphotocelland anopticalsystemplacedina small
tube. When its tip is moved overthe monitor screen, and penbutton is pressed, its photocellsensing
element detects the screen location and sends the corresponding signals to the CPU.
Uses:
1. LightPenscanbeusedasinputcoordinatepositions
2. Ifbackgroundcolororintensity,alightpencanbeusedasalocator.
3. Itisusedasastandardpickdevicewithmanygraphicssystem.
4. Itcanbeusedasstrokeinputdevices.
5. Itcanbeusedasvaluators

Fig1.21Joystick

7. Digitizers

Thedigitizeris anoperatorinputdevice,whichcontainsalarge, smoothboard(the appearanceis similar

to the mechanical drawing board) & an electronic tracking device
The electronic tracking device contains a switch for the user to record the desire x &y coordinate
positions. The coordinates can be entered into the computer memory or stored or an off-line
storage medium such as magnetic tape.
Advantages:

• Drawingcaneasilybechanged.
• Itprovidesthecapabilityofinteractivegraphics.
Disadvantages:
• Costly
• Suitableonlyforapplicationswhichrequiredhigh-resolutiongraphics.

Fig1.22Digitizer Fig1.23DigitalCamera
 8. TouchPanels
TouchPanelsisatypeofdisplayscreenthathasatouch-sensitivetransparent panelcoveringthe screen.
A touch screen registers input when a finger or other object comes in contact with the screen.
When the wave signals are interrupted by some contact with the screen, that located is recorded.
Touch screens have long been used in militaryapplications.
9. VoiceRecognition
Voice Recognition is one of the newest, most complex input techniques used to interact with the
computer. The user inputs data by speaking into a microphone. The simplest form of voice
recognition is a one-word command spoken by one person.Each command is isolated with pauses
between the words. Voice Recognition is used in some graphics workstations as input devices to
accept voice commands. The voice-system input can be used to initiate graphics operations or to
enter data. These systems operate by matching an input against a predefined dictionary of words
and phrases.
Advantage:
1. Moreefficientdevice.
2. Easytouse
3. Unauthorizedspeakerscanbeidentified
Disadvantages:
1. Verylimitedvocabulary
2. Voiceofdifferentoperatorscan'tbedistinguished.

10. ImageScanner
It is an input device. The data or text is written on paper. The paper is feeded to scanner. The
paper written information is converted into electronic format; this format is stored in the
computer.The input documents can contain text, handwritten material, picture extra.
By storing the document in a computer document became safe for longer period of time. The
document will bepermanentlystored for thefuture. We can changethedocument when weneed.
The document can be printed when needed. Scanning can be of the black and white or colored
picture. On stored picture 2Dor 3D rotations, scaling and other operations can be applied.
TypesofimageScanners:
1. FlatBedScanner:
It resembles aphotocopymachine.It hasa glasstoponitstop.Glass topinfurthercoveredusing a lid.
The document to be scanned is kept on glass plate. The light is passed underneath side of glass
plate. The light is moved left to right. The scanning is done the line by line. The process is
repeated until the complete line is scanned. Within 20-25 seconds a document of 4" * 6" can be
scanned.
 Fig1.24Flatbed Scanner

2. HandHeldScanner:
It has a number of LED's (Light Emitting Diodes). The LED's are arranged in the small case. It is
called a Hand held Scanner because it can be kept in hand which performs scanning. For scanningthe
scanner is moved over document from the top towards the bottom. Its light is on, while we move it
on document. It is dragged very slowly over document. If dragging of the scanner over the document
is not proper, the conversion will not correct.

Fig1.25HandheldScanner
HARDCOPYDEVICES

Fig1.26ClassificationofPrinters
Typesofprinters
1. ImpactPrinters: Theprintersthatprintthecharactersbystrikingagainsttheribbonandontothe papers
are known as Impact Printers.
ThesePrintersareoftwotypes:
1. CharacterPrinters
2. LinePrinters

2. Non-ImpactPrinters:Theprintersthatprintthecharacterswithoutstrikingagainsttheribbonand onto
the papers are called Non-Impact Printers. These printers print a complete page at a time,
therefore, also knownas Page Printers.
PagePrintersareoftwotypes:
1. LaserPrinters
2. InkjetPrinters
ImpactPrinters
1. Dotmatrixprinters
Dotmatrixhasprintedintheformofdots.Aprinterhasaheadwhichcontainsninepins.The nine pins
are arranged one below other. Each pin can be activated independently.
Alloronlythesameneedlesareactivatedat atime.Whenneedless isnotactivated,andthenthe tip
ofneedle stayin the head. When pin work, it comes out of the print head.
Inninepinprinter,pinsarearrangedin5*7matrixes.

Fig1.27Dotmatrixprinter

AdvantagesofDotmatrixprinters
1. DotMatrixPrintersprintsoutput asdots,soit canprint anyshapeofthecharacter.This allows
the printer to print special character, charts, graphs, etc.
2. DotMatrixPrinterscomeunderthecategoryofimpactprinters.Theprintingisdonewhen
thehammerpin strikestheinkedribbon.Theimpressionsareprintedonpaper.Byplacing
multiple copies of carbon, multiple copies of output can be produced.
3. Itissuitableforprintingofinvoicesofcompanies.
2. DaisyWheelPrinters
Head islyingonawheelandPinscorrespondingtocharactersarelikepetalsofDaisy,that's why
called Daisy wheel printer.
Advantage:
1. MorereliablethanDotMatrixPrinters
2. BetterQuality
Disadvantage:
SlowerthanDotMatrixPrinters

Fig1.28Daisywheel Printer
 3. DrumPrinters
Theseare lineprinters, whichprintsonelineat atime.Itconsistsofadrum.Theshapeofthe drum is
cylindrical. The drum is solid and has characters embossed on it in the form of verticalbands.
The characters are in circular form. Each band consists of some characters.
Eachlineondrumconsistsof132characters.Becausethereare96linessototalcharacters are (132
* 95) = 12, 672.
ChainPrinters:
These are called as line printers. These are used to print one line at a line. Basically, chain
consistsoflinks.Eachlinkcontainsonecharacter.Printerscanfollowanycharactersetstyle, i.e., 48,
64 or 96 characters. Printer consists of a number of hammers also.
Advantages:
1. ChainorBandifdamagedcanbechangedeasily.
2. Itallowsprintingofdifferent form.
3. DifferentScriptscanbeprintedusingthisprinter.
Disadvantages:
1. Itcannotprintchartsandgraphs.
2. Itcannotprintcharactersofanyshape.
3. ChainPrintersisimpactprinter,hammerstrikessoit isnoisy.

Non-ImpactPrinters–Inkjetprinters

These printers use a special link called electrostatic ink. The printer headhas a special nozzle. Nozzle
drops ink on paper. Head contains up to 64 nozzles. The ink dropped is deflected by the electrostatic
plate. The plate is fixed outside the nozzle. The deflected ink settles on paper.
Advantages:
1. Theseproducehighqualityofoutputascomparedtothedotmatrix.
2. Ahigh-qualityoutputcanbeproducedusing64nozzlesprinted.
3. Inkjetcanprintcharactersinavarietyofshapes.
4. Inkjetcanprintspecialcharacters.
5. Theprintercanprintgraphsandcharts.
Disadvantages:
1. InkjetPrintersareslowerthandotmatrixprinters.
2. Thecostofinkjetismorethanadotmatrixprinter.

Fig1.29Inkjet Printer

Non-ImpactPrinters–Laserprinters

Theseprintersuseslaser lightstoproducesthedotsneededto formthecharacterstobeprintedona page &

hence the name laser printers.

Theoutputisgeneratedinthefollowingsteps:
Step1:Thebitsofdatasent byprocessingunitactastriggerstoturnthelaserbeamon&off.
Step2:Theoutputdevicehasadrumwhichiscleared&isgivenapositiveelectriccharge.
Toprint apagethelaserbeampassingfromthelaserscans back&forththesurfaceofthedrum.
Step3:Thelaserexposedpartsofthedrumattractaninkpowderknownastoner.
Step4:Theattractedinkpowderistransferredtopaper.
Step5:Theinkparticlesarepermanentlyfixedtothepaperbyusingeither heatorpressure technique.
Step6:Thedrumrotatesbacktothecleanerwherearubberbladecleansofftheexcessink& prepares the
drum to print the next page.
PLOTTERS
Plottersareaspecialtypeofoutputdevice.Itissuitableforapplications:
1. Architecturalplanofthebuilding.
2. CADapplicationslikethedesignofmechanicalcomponentsofaircraft.
3. Manyengineeringapplications.
Advantage:
• Itcanproducehigh-qualityoutputonlargesheets.
• Itisusedtoprovidethehighprecisiondrawing.
• Itcanproducegraphicsofvarioussizes.
• Thespeedofproducingoutputishigh.
Fig1.30Plotter

GRAPHICSSOFTWARE
TherearetwotypesofGraphicsSoftware.
1. General Purpose Packages: Basic Functions in a general package include those for generating
picture components (straight lines, polygons, circles and other figures), setting color and intensity
values,selectingviews,andapplyingtransformations.Exampleofgeneral-purposepackageistheGL
(Graphics Library), GKS, PHIGS, PHIGS+ etc.
2. SpecialPurposePackages: Thesepackagesaredesignedfornonprogrammers,sothatthese users
can use the graphics packages, without knowing the inner details.
Exampleofspecialpurposepackageis:
• Paintingprograms
• Packageusedforbusinesspurpose
• Packageusedformedicalsystems.
• CADpackages