Type of Screens

Monochrome	one color text on single color background, i.e. white letters on blue, or green characters on black
Color	various colors can be displayed. (This one is easy!)
CRT	The most common type of monitor, which uses a cathode ray tube.

Liquid Crystal Display  (LCD)	Used in laptops esp. Large flat monitors are becoming affordable, especially if you do not have desk space for a large CRT monitor.
Plasma Screens	Used for very large screens and some laptops. Flat, good color, but quite expensive.

Other Output Devices

Special tasks require special equipment. There are a number of special-use output devices. More are announced every day. From recording earthquake tremors to displaying CAT scans, from recording analysis in a sound studio to displaying metal fatigue in aircraft structures, we have more and more special tasks that use computers and thus require print or screen display.

Data projectors	Projects the image onto a wall screen	Microfilm (COM)	Computer Output Microfilm The computer directly generates the microfilm images.
Large Format Printers	Used especially for building plans and engineering drawing and really large pictures. Plotters use a pen to draw continuous lines and are favored for engineering drawings, which require both large sheets of paper and precise lines.	Sound   Computers can output voice messages, music, data as sound. Of course you have to have speakers and a sound card.

Comprehension Tasks

1. Complete the sentences with the word from the list below.

1. When a computer prints a report, this output is called_____.

a) hard copy

b) soft copy

c) COM

d) none of the above

2. Output which is made up of pictures, sounds, and video is called_____.

a) COM

b) hard copy

c) graphics

d) multimedia

3. An impact printer _____.

a) is loud

b) has a mechanism somewhat similar to a typewriter

c) can use multipart paper

d) all of the above

4. A dot-matrix printer uses ____ to form the letters.

a) bars

b) codes

c) pins

d) daisy wheels

5. For a test print of a newly created document, you should use____ quality print.

a) letter

b) near letter

c) draft

d) outline

6. A laser printer is an example of a _____ printer.

a) dot-matrix

b) daisy wheel

c) chain

d) nonimpact

7. An individual dot on a computer screen is called a(n)_____.

a) character

b) screen point

c) font

d) pixel

8. A screen which can only display white letters on a blue background is a _____ monitor.

a) monochrome

b) CGA

c) EGA

d) VGA

9. Which of the following is not an output device?

a) pen plotter

b) data projector

c) dot-matrix printer

d) keyboard

10. The speed of a printer can be measured in_____.

a) cps

b) lps

c) pps

d) none of the above