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Difference between plotter and printer
- A plotter is a device needed to draw pictures on the page with the support of commands provided through a computer. On the other hand, a printer is known as a device that prints images and texts on the page with the help of commands provided through a network.
- A plotter takes out the output in a format close to a vector graphic, whereas in a printer, the output file data in the case of a printer is usually stored as bitmap or pixels.
- The major advantage of the plotter is that they draw lines and figures on the page with the help of a pen, and it leads to the production of continuous lines. However, this is a disadvantage for printers as the lines are not continuous.
- Printers provide the benefit that people can get the document in hard copy format at a faster speed as compared to plotters.
- The primary type of printers is impact and non-impact printers. On the other hand, the main type of plotters is when the colours differ.
|
Basis |
Printers |
Plotters |
|---|---|---|
|
Meaning |
A printer is a device that helps in drawing pictures on a page |
The plotter is a device used to draw images on a paper page |
|
Output |
Provides an output close to that of vector graphics. |
Printers usually store output file data as bitmap or pixels |
|
Advantage |
Draws continuous lines |
Works at a faster pace |
|
Instrument used |
Pen |
Needle or laser |
Printer
A printer is defined as a device used to draw images and texts on the page by giving commands to a computer. A printer is known to accept the text and the graphic output from the computer. Also, a printer takes all the information and prints it out on paper. There are two major types of printers, namely impact printers and non-impact printers.
Major characteristics of a printer are mentioned below:
- The output produced by printers comes out to be either letter quality, draft quality or the near letter quality, which means that printers print as better as a typewriter
- The speed of printers is faster than other devices, especially in the case of laser printers and gets calculated as characters per second
- Printers consume more ink than other devices, and they are costlier when compared
Plotter
A plotter is defined as a device that is required to draw pictures on the page with the help of commands provided by a computer. The main advantage of a plotter is that a plotter draws lines and figures on the page with the help of a pen. This leads to the production of continuous lines.
The plotter can also be defined as the systems, which are vector graphic printers that provide the exact hardcopy of the output based on the information given to the softcopy on the computer. Since plotters produce continuous lines, the plotters are present in numerous forms. The latest variety among the plotters is the 3D plotter that does not utilize a pen but consists of numerous knives arranged together and cut out the piece of material based on the instructions provided from the computer. Also, a plotter can draw multiple copies of the same drawing repeatedly without the requirement of new commands.
Conclusion
A printer is known as a device that is used to draw images along with texts on a piece of paper. Printers are divided into two categories, namely Impact printers and Non-impact printers. A printer takes out the information and prints it on paper. On the other hand, a plotter is a device that is needed to draw pictures on the page through the commands given to a computer. A plotter does this with the help of a pen. This results in the continuous production of lines. Along with this, a plotter can draw numerous copies of the same drawing repeatedly without needing new commands.
