COMPUTER SCIENCE ICS Part I 1

Q1: What is Printer? Explain Impact Printers.

Ans: Printers
Printers are used to show your output on the paper in the form of text or picture. Different
printers have different printing techniques. These are also used to produce output in the form of
graphics on the paper. The output on the paper is called hardcopy.
Types of Printers
There are two main kinds of the printers:
1) Impact Printers
2) Non-Impact Printers
Impact Printer
An impact printer produces images by striking. They use hammer or a set of pins, to press
ink from the ribbon onto a piece of paper. These printers work just like typewriters. They are
mostly used with personal computers.
Characteristics Impact Printers
 Provide low-cost printing
 Produce noise
 Provide low quality prints
 Impact printers are the oldest printer
Types of Impact Printers
There are three types of Impact Printer:
 Dot matrix printer
 Daisy-wheel printer
 Line printer
Dot Matrix Printer
Dot matrix printer is an impact printer. It prints one character at a time on the paper. These
printers use tiny pins to hit an inked ribbon and when the ribbon pressed the paper it created dots
to form the characters and graphics. The printed head contains 9, 18 or 24 pins. The number of
characters per second measures their speed. The pins in the printed head are arranged on a
matrix.
The dot matrix printers also print in color by using color ribbon. The quality of the printed
output increases with number of dots in the letter matrix.
Printer Speed
The printing speed of Dot Matrix Printer varies from 200 to 1000 or more character per
minutes.
Less Expensive
These printers are mostly used with personal computers because they are less expensive.
Ability

Prof. Arshad Mehmood Shah (M.Phil) Chapter no 01(Additional Questions/Answers)

 They have ability to print graphics such as charts and pictures.
Usage
They are used in educational institute and departmental stores.
Advantages of Dot-Matrix Printer
 These printers can print multiple copies of a page at a time.
Disadvantages of Dot-Matrix Printer
 These printers are slow and produce noise.
 These printers provide low quality output.
Daisy-Wheel Printer
This printer uses a mechanism in the shape of a series of petals arranged on a petal wheel,
having a character at the end of each petal. A character comes into a print position by wheel
rotation and an image is formed by the hammer strike on the desired character.
Advantages of Daisy-Wheel Printer
 Daisy wheel printers are better in quality as compare to dot matrix printers.
Disadvantages of Daisy-Wheel Printer
 Daisy wheel printers are slower.
 These printers cannot produce graphics.
Line Printer
A line printer is a high-speed impact printer that prints an entire line at a time. The speed of a
line printer is measured by the number of lines per minute it can print. Some line printer cans
print as many as 3,000 lines per minute.
Advantages of Line Printer
 These printers are much faster than dot matrix or daisy wheel printer.
Disadvantages of Line Printer
 Line printers are noisy
 These printers produce low quality output
 These printers have limited font capability
Non-Impact Printer
These printers produce output on paper without striking on a piece of paper. These printers
are faster than the impact printers. These printers use LASER and INKJET technologies for
printing.
Types of Non-Impact Printers
Different types on non-impact printers are as follows:
 Laser Printer
 Inkjet Printer
 Thermal Printer
Laser Printer
 It is a non-impact printer. It is also called a page printer. A laser printer prints one page at a
time. This type of printer used a special beam of light called “LASER”.
LASER stands for “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation”
Laser printer creates images on the paper by laser beam. Laser printer has very fast printing
speed. They can print 4 to 12 pages in a minute. Laser printer produces a very high quality text
and graphics. Color laser printer are also available to print, text and graphics in different colors.
Printing Speed
Printing speed of these printer 4-12 pages per minute.
Expensive
These printers are very much expensive than other printers.
Ability
These printers are also used for black and color printing.
Usage
They are used in Offices and Banks.
Advantages of Laser Printer
 The printing speed of laser printer is ranging from 4 to 12 PPM.
 These printers are much faster.
 They produce high quality output.
Disadvantages of Laser Printer
 Laser printers are expensive.
Ink Jet Printer
It is non-impact printer. It is also called character printer. It prints only one character at a
time. It creates output on paper by a spray of ink from a fine jet.
Like dot-matrix printers they also have a print head that moves back and forth across paper
to write text and create image. When the ink is sprayed on the paper, it is absorbed into paper
and dries instantly.
Printing speed
Printing speed of these printers are 1-8 pages per minute.
Expensive
These printers are less expensive than laser printers.
Ability
Color inkjet printers are also available that produce sharp images in different color.
Usage
They are used in Offices, Banks and Small Business.
Advantages of Inkjet Printer
 These printers can produce color and black and white output.
 They are quite light is weight.
  These are inexpensive.
Disadvantages of Inkjet Printer
 These printers are slower than laser printer.
 These printers required special type of ink.
Thermal Printer
A thermal printer generates images by pushing electrically heated pins against heat-sensitive
paper. Basic thermal printers are inexpensive, but the image quality is low.
Advantages of Thermal Printer
 The printing speed of laser printer is ranging from 4 PPM to 12 PPM.
 These printers are fast.
 They produce high quality output.
Disadvantages of Thermal Printer
 These printers produce low resolution print.
Q2: What is the difference between Hardware and Software?
Ans: Difference Between Hardware and Software
Hardware Software
 These are physical components of a  These are logical components of a
computer. computer.
 Hardware can be touch.  Software can not be touched.
 Hardware can not perform any task without  Software can not be executed without
software. software.
 Hardware is repaired in case of problem.  Software is debugged in case of problem.
 Hardware is replaced if the problem is not  Software is reinstall if the problem is not
solved. solved.
 These parts of a computer allow us to work  These parts of a computer control the
and communicate with computer. hardware devices of a computer.
Q3: What are Peripheral devices?
Ans: Peripheral Devices
The devices which are attached with the system externally. These are called peripheral
devices. Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor are example of peripheral devices.
Q4: What is the difference between System Software and Application
Software?
Ans: Difference Between System Software and Application Software
System Software Application Software
 It is general purpose software.  It is specific purpose software.
 It is used to manage computer resources.  It is used to solve particular problems.
 It executes all the time in computer.  It executes as and when required.
 The number of system software is less than  The number of application software is
application software. much more than.
 System software is essential for a computer  Application software is not essential for a
to work. computer to.
Q5: What is the difference between Input and Output?
Ans: Difference Between Input and Output
Input Output
 Input devices give data and instructions to  Output devices get information from the
the computer. computer.
 Input devices take data and instructions  Output devices take information from the
from the user and convert it in a form that computer and convert it in a form that is
is understandable by the computer. understandable by the user.
 Examples of input devices are keyboard  Examples of output devices are monitor
and mouse. and printer.
Q6: What is the difference between Delete and Backspace Keys?
Ans: Difference Between Delete and Backspace Keys
Delete Key Backspace Key
 Delete key is used to remove the characters  Backspace key is used to remove the
from the right side of the cursor. characters from the left side of the cursor.
 Delete key does not change the cursor  Cursor key also change the cursor position.
position.
Q7: What is Disk Drive?
Ans: Disk Drive
A disk drive is a machine that read and writes data onto a disk. Disk drive rotates the disk
with precise timing and has one or more read/write heads that read and write data.
Q8: What is the difference between CRT and LCD?
Ans: Difference Between CRT and LCD
CRT LCD
 CRT stands for Cathode Ray Tube.  LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display.
 It is less expensive than LCD.  It is more expensive than CRT.
 It takes more desk space.  It takes less desk space.
 It consume more electricity.  It consume less electricity.
 It uses picture tube technology.  It uses Liquid Crystal Technology.
 Its weight is more than LCD.  Its weight is less than CRT.
 It is used for personal computers.  It is used for laptop computers.
 It produce harmful radiation.  It does not produce harmful radiation.
Q9: What is the difference between Hardcopy and Softcopy?
Ans: Difference Between Hardcopy and Softcopy
Hardcopy Softcopy
 The output which is taken on the piece of  The output which is taken on the monitor
paper with the help of printer is called screen is called softcopy.
hardcopy.
 We can touch the hardcopy.  We cannot touch the softcopy.
 We can not modify the hardcopy.  We can modify the softcopy.
Q10: What is the difference between Dot-Matrix and Laser Printer?
Ans: Difference Between Dot-Matrix and Laser Printer
Dot-Matrix Printer Laser Printer
 Dot-Matrix is an impact printer.  Laser printer is a non-impact printer.
 It produce images by striking on a piece of  It produce images by using laser
papers. technology.
 Its speed is slow.  Its speed is fast.
 Its printing quality is low.  Its printing quality is high.
 It normally uses continuous paper sheet.  It normally uses individual paper sheet.
 Its speed is measured in characters per  Its speed is measured in pages per minute.
second.
 It uses ink ribbon for printing.  It uses toner for printing.
Q11: What is the difference between Monochrome and Color Monitor?
Ans: Difference Between Dot-Matrix and Laser Printer
Monochrome Monitor Color Monitor
 These monitors can display information in  These monitors can display information in
only one color. different colors.
 These monitors can display information in  These monitors can display output with the
green, amber or white with black combination of red, green and blue color.
background.
 These monitors can not display graphics.  These monitors can display text and
graphics.