Input Devices

Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)

Optical Mark Recognition is the process of capturing human-marked data from document forms.
OMR scanners create images of forms and the OMR software detects and extracts the data from the
checkboxes and fill-in fields, etc.
OMR scanning solutions transform your forms and other documents into retrievable information.

Character Readers

Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)

Magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) is a technology used to verify the legitimacy or originality
of paper documents, especially cheques.
MICR readers are used to minimize exposure to cheque fraud, and to speed up the sorting of
documents.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

These devices scan documents and then use an OCR application to convert handwritten,
type-written or printed text into data that can be edited on any computer device.

Mouse
A mouse is a small handheld input device that controls a computer screen’s cursor or pointer in conjunction
with the way it is moved on a flat surface.

Joystick
The joystick is a handheld lever that pivots on one end and transmits its coordinates to a computer.
It is a cursor control device.

Barcode Reader

Barcode
A barcode is an optical and machine-readable form of data used to identify objects through a
unique visual code format created by drawing adjacent lines with variable widths and spaces.

Barcode Reader
A barcode reader is a handheld or stationary input device used to capture and read information
contained in a barcode.
A barcode reader consists of a scanner, a decoder (either built-in or external) and a cable or wireless
used to connect the reader to a computer.
A barcode reader merely captures and translates the barcode into numbers and/or letters, the data
must be sent to a computer so that a software application can make sense of the data.

Document / Image Scanner

An image scanner is a digital device used to scan images, pictures, printed text and objects and then
convert them to digital images.
When a document is placed inside a scanner, the image is first scanned and then the scanned data is
processed and sent to a computer system.
Touch Terminal / Screen
A touch terminal is a display screen that serves as an input device.
When a touch screen is touched by a finger or stylus, it registers the event and sends it to a controller for
processing.

Tablet
A tablet is a wireless touch screen personal computer (PC) that is smaller than a notebook but larger
than a smartphone.

Point of Sale (POS)

Point of sale (POS) refers to the physical location at which goods or services are purchased and transaction
data is captured through electronic cash registers or other electronic devices such as magnetic card
readers, optical and Barcode scanners or a combination of these.

Point of Sale Terminal

A POS terminal is an electronic device used to process card payments at retail locations.
Point of sale terminals are a combination of software and hardware that allows retail locations to
accept card payments without updating their cash registers to read cards directly.

Keyboard
A keyboard is a peripheral device that enables a user to input text into a computer or any other electronic
machinery.

Digital Camera
A digit camera uses an electronic image sensor to create still photographs and record video.

Biometric System
A biometric system is a technological system that uses information about a person to identify that person.
In general, biometrics is any use of biological data in technology.
Biometric systems that focus exclusively on the identification of humans have become the major kind of
biometric system in IT today.

Sensor
A sensor is a device that detects and responds to some type of input from the physical environment.
The specific input may be light, heat, motion, moisture, pressure, or any other environmental phenomena.

Remote Control
A remote control is a small, usually hand-held, electronic device for controlling another device.
They commonly operate via infrared signals but sometimes they operate by radio frequency signals.

Universal Remote Control

A universal remote control can be defined as a remote control that can be preset or programmed to
control a series of different brands of electronic devices.
Sound Capture Devices
Capturing can be defined as the process or means of obtaining and storing external data, particularly
images or sounds, for use at a later time.
Sound capturing is the process of obtaining and storing sound/audio.

Pointing Devices
Pointing Devices are any input interface (specifically a human interface device) that allows a user to input
spatial (i.e. continuous and multi-dimensional) data to a computer.
Software applications such as Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) allow the
user to control and provide data to the computer using physical gestures.
The three main functions of the pointing devices are to point somewhere on the monitor, click and drag.
The motion of the pointing device is mimicked by the movements on the screen.

Light Pen
A light pen is a pointing device shaped like a pen and is connected to a VDU.
The tip of the light pen contains a light-sensitive element which, when placed against the screen,
detects the light from the screen enabling the computer to identify the location of the pen on the
screen.

Voice Response Unit

A voice response system is a computer system that responds to voice commands, rather than input from a
keystroke or a mouse.

Webcam
A webcam is a video camera connected to a computer, allowing its images to be seen by internet users.
It is a video camera that feeds or streams an image or video in real time to or through a computer to a
computer network.
It is a camera that records moving pictures and sound and allows these to be broadcast on the internet as
they happen.
It can be connected directly or indirectly to a computer or a computer network.
Output Devices

Visual Output Devices

Resolution
Resolution is a measure used to describe the sharpness and clarity of an image or picture. It is often used as
a metric for judging the quality of monitors, printers, digital images and a variety of other hardware and
software technologies.

Monitors / Visual Display Unit (VDU)

A monitor is an electronic visual computer display that includes a screen, circuitry and the case in which
that circuitry is enclosed.
It creates a visual display by the use of which users can view processed data.
A monitor is an output device that displays video and text.
The output of the monitor is considered softcopy.
There are two categories of monitors:
● Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Monitors
○ A cathode-ray tube is a display device used in television sets and computer monitors.
○ Cathode Ray Tube monitors use phosphorescent dots to generate the pixels that constitute/
form displayed images.
● Flat Panel Display Monitors
○ Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)
■ A liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor is a computer monitor or display that uses LCD
technology to show clear images.
■ It is a flat panel display that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals.
■ LCD monitors use cold cathode fluorescent lamps as backlight.
■ They are more energy efficient, as it does not use phosphorus and can be disp
○ Light-Emitting Diode (LED)
■ It is an improved version of the LCD monitor.
■ The technology used in both the monitors is the same except the backlighting.
■ A LED monitor is a flat-screen monitor that uses light-emitting diodes as backlight.
■ The LED monitors are lighter, thinner and less expensive.

Printers
A printer is an output device that prints characters, symbols, and perhaps graphics on paper.
This device is used to generate a hardcopy version of processed data, like documents and photographs.
The computer transmits the image data to the printer, which then physically recreates the image, typically
on paper.
Printers can be categorized into two main groups:
● Impact Printers
An impact printer forms characters or images by striking mechanisms such as a print hammer or
wheel against an inked ribbon, leaving an image on paper.
○ Dot Matrix Printer
■ Dot matrix printers are so named because the printed characters are formed by a
matrix of dots. Each dot is produced by a moving wire striking a ribbon against paper.
■ They are comparatively noisy and low quality but are cheap to run and are used when
carbon copies or duplicates need to be made, such as for wage/pay slips.
 ○ Thermal Printer
■ A thermal printer is a printer that uses heated pins to “burn” images onto
heat-sensitive paper.
■ Thermal printers are dot-matrix printers that operate by driving heated pins against
special heat-sensitive paper to “burn” the image onto the paper.
■ These printers are commonly used in calculators and fax machines.
■ Although they are inexpensive and print relatively fast, they produce low resolution
print jobs.
■ Thermal printers do not make use of ink or toner unlike many other printers but use
thermal papers for producing the images.
■ Due to quality of print, speed, and technological advances it has become increasingly
popular and is mostly used in airline, banking, entertainment, retail, grocery, and
healthcare industries.
● Non-Impact Printers
Non-impact printers are designed to have no direct contact between the printer head and the
paper.
○ Ink-jet Printer
■ Inkjet printers spray small drops of ink onto each page.
■ Inkjet printers spray tiny dots of ink onto a surface to form an image.
■ Inkjet printers are cheaper to buy than laser printers.
○ Laser Printer
■ Laser printers roll toner (powder) onto the paper using a cylindrical drum.
■ Laser printers are quite expensive to buy and run but produce a high quality output
and are quiet and fast.
■ Laser printers utilise toner drums that roll through a magnetized pigment, then
transfers the pigment onto a surface.
● Plotter Printers
● A plotter is a type of printing device that draws pictures on paper based on commands from a
computer.
○ Plotters differ from common printers in that they draw lines using a pen.
■ They can produce continuous lines by printing a closely spaced series of dots.
○ They are used in engineering applications where precision is mandatory.
○ They are also used for Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing
(CAM) applications.
● 3D Printers
● The 3D printer is a device that creates a physical object from a digital model by layering materials.
○ 3D printers use materials, such as metal alloys, polymers, plastics or even food ingredients.
○ 3D printers are used in many industries, like aerospace engineering, dentistry, archaeology,
biotechnology, and information systems.
■ An object’s design usually begins in a CAD (computer aided design) software system,
where its blueprint is created. The blueprint is then sent from the CAD system to the
printer in a file format known as STL (Stereolithography). The printer then reads the
blueprint in cross sections and begins recreating the object layer-by-layer, as it
appears in the computer aided design.
Microfilm
● The microfilm machine creates permanent file copies of bank documents by using a special camera,
which takes pictures of documents with black and white film.
○ The film records were able to resist deterioration and help save storage space.
○ They are used to store data for long periods of time and for archival purposes.
 ○ The images could be used later through a special machine.
○ There is microfilm which is a roll film and there is microfiche which is a square cutout of film.

Audio Output Devices

An audio output device is any piece of computer hardware equipment used to output sounds that are
processed by converting electrical signals to information that are in human-readable form (hearing the
sound).

Speaker
A speaker is a hardware device connected to a computer’s sound card that outputs sounds generated by
the computer.
● A computer speaker is an output hardware device that connects to a computer to generate sound.
The signal used to produce the sound that comes from a computer speaker is created by the
computer’s sound card.

Earphones
An earphone is an output device that converts electrical signals to audible sound and fits in the ear.

Headphones
A headphone is an output device that has the same characteristics as the earphone. The headphones tend
to have large ear muffs, in order to seclude sound to the listener only. Headphones sit outside the ears,
resting on or covering the pinna (auricle).