Printers and Plotters

Printers
Printers produce a hard copy of the output on paper. There are three main types of printer: Dot matrix, Inkjet and Laser. The following table compares the three types.

Plotters
A plotter consists of a device that can move paper both backwards and forwards. On the top of the device one or more pens are able to move horizontally across the paper. The combined movement of the pens horizontally across the paper and the vertical movement of the paper allows complex continuous diagrams to be drawn.

Some plotters allow different colour pens to be used to create diagrams in multiple colours.

In other types of plotters, the paper lies on a flat bed. The mechanics of the plotter are so designed that the pens can move both across and down the paper to create the diagram.