COMPUTER GRAPHICS

12

Refresh CRT
Random-Scan and Raster-Scan Monitor
Color CRT Monitors
Direct-View Storage Tubes (DVST)
Flat-Panel Displays
Light-emitting Diode (LED) and Liquid-crystal Displays (LCDs)
Hard Copy Devices

Unit 2
Display Devices

Learning Objectives
After reading this unit you should appreciate the following:
 Refresh CRT
 Random-Scan and Raster Scan Monitor
 Color CRT Monitors
 Direct-View Storage Tubes (DVST)
 Flat-Panel Displays
 Light-emitting Diode (LED) and Liquid-crystal Displays (LCDs)
 Hard Copy Devices

Refresh CRT
A video monitor is the primary output device in a graphics system (Fig 2.1). There are
several technologies that exist for solid-state monitors which eventually predominate,
but operation of most video monitors is based on the standard Cathode-ray tube
(CRT) design.
13 COMPUTER GRAPHICS

Figure 2.1: A computer Graphics Workstation

Let us illustrate the basic operation of a CRT (Fig. 2.2). An electron gun emits a beam
of electrons (cathode rays). The beam passes through focusing and deflection
systems. The focusing system directs the beam toward specific positions on the
phosphor-coated screen.

Figure 2.2: Design of a magnetic-deflection CRT

Each position on the screen, contacted by the electron beam, emits a small spot of
light due to phosphor coated on the screen. Since the light emitted by the phosphor
fades very rapidly, a method is required to maintain the screen picture for a long
duration. One way to maintain the screen picture is to redraw the picture repeatedly
by directing the electron beam back over the same points quickly i.e., refreshing the
screen again and again. This type of display is called a Refresh CRT.
The electron gun in a CRT is composed of a heated metal cathode and a control grid
(Fig. 2.3). A current is directed through a coil of wire, called the filament, inside the
cylindrical cathode structure to supply leaf to the cathode. This causes electrons to
DISPLAY DEVICES 14

be “boiled off” the hot cathode surface. The free, negatively charged electrons are
then accelerated in the vacuum inside the CRT envelope by a high positive voltage,
toward the phosphor coating. A positively charged metal coating on the inside of the
CRT envelope near the phosphor screen can generate the accelerating voltage. An
accelerating anode can also be used for the same as in Fig. 2.3. Sometimes the
accelerating anode and focusing system are contained within the same unit of
electron gun. Intensity of the electron beam is controlled by setting voltage levels on
the control grid, which is a metal cylinder that fits over the cathode. The beam will
shut off on applying a high negative voltage to the control grid by repelling electrons
and stopping them from passing through the small hole at the end of the control grid
structure. The number of electrons passing through will decrease on applying smaller
negative voltage to the control grid. Therefore, we can control the brightness of a
display by varying the voltage on the control grid, as the amount of light emitted by
the phosphor coating depends on the number of electrons striking the screen. The
intensity level for individual screen positions can be specified with graphics software
commands.

Figure 2.3: Operation of an electron gun with an acceleration anode

Focusing is accomplished with either electric or magnetic fields. Electrostatic focusing

is commonly used in television and computer graphics monitors. The focusing system
in a CRT is needed to force the electron beam to converge into a small spot as it
strikes the phosphor. With electrostatic focusing, the electron beam passes through a
positively charged metal cylinder that forms an electrostatic lens, as shown in Fig.
2.3. As an optical lens focuses a beam of light at a particular focal distance, similarly
the action of the electrostatic lens focuses the electron beam at the center of the
screen. A magnetic field set up by a coil mounted around the outside of the CRT
envelope accomplishes similar lens focusing effects. Magnetic lens focusing is used in
special – purpose devices as it produces the smallest spot size on the screen.
The beam can be kept in focus at all screen positions by using additional focusing
hardware in high-precision systems. The radius of curvature for most CRTs is greater
than the distance from the focusing system to the center of the screen due to which
the distance that the electron beam must travel to different points on the screen
varies. Therefore, the electron beam will be focused properly only at the center of the
screen. Displayed images become blurred as the beam moves to the outer edges of
the screen. To overcome this, the system can adjust the focusing according to the
screen position of the beam.
15 COMPUTER GRAPHICS

Deflection of the electron beam can be controlled either with electric fields or with
magnetic fields, as with focusing. Now, Cathode-ray tubes are commonly constructed
with magnetic deflection coils mounted on the outside of the CRT envelope, as shown
in Fig. 2.2. Two pairs of coils are used and the coils in each pair are mounted on
opposite sides of the neck of the CRT envelope. One pair is mounted on opposite
sides and the other pair is mounted on the top and bottom of the neck. The magnetic
field produced by each pair of coil results in a transverse deflection force that is
perpendicular both to the direction of travel of the electron beam and to the direction
of the magnetic field. Vertical deflection is accomplished with one pair of coils, and
horizontal deflection by the other pair. The current through the coils can be adjusted
to attain the proper deflection amounts. Two pairs of parallel plates are mounted
inside the CRT envelope when electrostatic deflection is used. One pair of plates is
mounted vertically to control horizontal deflection and the other pair is mounted
horizontally to control the vertical deflection (figure 2.4).

Figure 2.4: Electrostatic deflection of the electron beam in a CRT

The transfer of the CRT beam energy to the phosphor produces the sports of light on
the screen. When the electrons in the beam collide with the phosphor coating, they
are stopped and their kinetic energy is absorbed by the phosphor. Part of the beam
energy causes electrons in the phosphor atoms to move up to higher quantum-
energy levels, and the remainder is converted into heat energy by friction. The
“excited” phosphor electrons begin dropping back to their stable ground state after a
short time, giving up their extra energy as small quantums of light energy. What we
see on the screen is the combined effect of all the electron light emissions: a glowing
spot that quickly fades after all the excited phosphor electrons have returned to their
ground energy level. The frequency (or color) of the light emitted by the phosphor is
proportional to the energy difference between the excited quantum state and the
ground state.
There are different kinds of phosphors available for use in a CRT. Besides color, a
major difference between phosphors is their persistence: how long phosphors
continue to emit light (i.e., have excited electrons returning to the ground state) after
removal of CRT beam. Persistence is defined as the time taken by it to decay the
emitted light from the screen to one-tenth of its original intensity. Higher refresh rates
are required by lower persistence phosphors to maintain a picture of the screen
without flicker. A phosphor with high-persistence is useful for displaying highly
complex, static pictures; a low-persistence phosphor is useful for animation. Graphics
DISPLAY DEVICES 16

monitors are usually constructed with a persistence in the range from 10 to 60

microseconds, although some phosphors have a persistence greater than 1 second.
The intensity distribution of a spot on the screen is illustrated in Figure 2.5. The
intensity is greatest at the center of the spot, and decreases out to the edges of the
spot with a Gaussian distribution. This distribution corresponds to the cross-sectional
electron density distribution of the CRT beam.

Figure 2.5: Intensity distribution of an illuminated phosphor spot on a CRT screen

The maximum number of points that can be displayed without overlap on a CRT is
referred to as the resolution. The resolution can also be defined as the number of
points per centimeter that can be plotted vertically and horizontally. It is often simply
stated as the total number of points in each direction. Spot intensity, as shown in
figure 2.5, has a Gaussian distribution, so as long as the separation of two adjacent
points is greater than the diameter at which each spot has an intensity of about 60%
of that at the center of the spots, they will appear distinct. Figure 2.6 illustrates this
overlap position. Spot size also depends on intensity. The CRT beam diameter and the
illuminated spot increases with the increase in number of electrons accelerated
toward the phosphor per second. In addition, the spot diameter further increases as
the increased excitation energy tend to spread to neighbouring phosphor atoms not
directly in the path of the beam. Thus, the resolution of a CRT is dependent on:
 the type of phosphor,
 the intensity to be displayed, and
 the focusing and deflection systems
Typical resolution on high-quality systems is 1280 by 1024, with higher resolutions
available on many systems. High-resolution systems are also called high-definition
systems. The physical size of a graphics monitor varies from about 12 inches to 27
inches or more, and is given as the length of the screen diagonal. A CRT monitor can
be attached to a variety of computer systems, therefore, the number of screen points
that can be plotted actually depends on the capabilities of the system to which it is
attached.

Figure 2.6: Two distinguishable illuminated phosphor spots

One more propert of video monitors is aspect ratio. It gives the ratio of vertical points
to horizontal points necessary to produce equal-length lines in both directions on the
screen. An aspect ratio of 5/7 means that a vertical line plotted with five points has
17 COMPUTER GRAPHICS

the same length as that of a horizontal line plotted with seven points. (Sometimes
aspect ratio is described in terms of the ratio of horizontal points to vertical points).

Random-Scan and Raster-Scan Monitor

Random-Scan Displays
In a random-scan display unit, a CART has the electron beam directed only to the
parts of the screen where a picture is to be drawn. Random-scan monitors draw one
line of picture at a time due to which they are also called vector displays (or stroke-
writing or calligraphic displays). The random-scan display can draw and refresh the
component lines of a picture in any specified order (figure 2.7). An example of
random-scan, hard-copy device is a pen plotter which operates in a similar way.

Figure 2.7: A random-scan display system draws the component lines of an object in any
specified order

Refresh rate on a random-scan system depends on the number of lines to be

displayed. An area of memory, referred to as the refresh display file, stores the
picture definition as a set of line-drawing commands. Sometimes this refresh display
file is also called the display list, display program, or simply the refresh buffer. The
system cycles through the set of commands in the display file, drawing each
component line in turn, to display a specific picture. After processing all line-drawing
commands, the system cycles back to the first line command in the list. Random-
scan displays are designed to draw all the component lines of a picture 30 to 60
times per second. High-quality vector systems can handle approximately 100,000
“short” lines at this refresh rate. When a small set of lines is to be displayed, each
refresh cycle is delayed to avoid refresh rates greater than 60 frames per second.
Otherwise, faster refreshing of the set of lines could burn out the phosphor.
DISPLAY DEVICES 18

Random-scan systems cannot display realistic shaded scenes as they are designed
for only line-drawing applications. Vector displays generally have higher resolution
than raster systems because the picture definition in a vector display is stored as a
set of line-drawing instructions and not as a set of intensity values for all screen
points. Since the CRT beam directly follows the line path, vector displays produce
smooth line drawings. In contrast, a raster system produces jagged lines that are
plotted as discrete point sets.

Raster-Scan Displays
The raster-scan display is the most common type of graphics monitor employing a
CRT. It is based on television technology. In a raster-scan display system, the electron
beam is swept across the screen, one row at a time from top to bottom. As the
electron beam moves across each row, a pattern of illuminated spots is created by
turning the beam intensity on and off. A memory area called the refresh buffer or
frame buffer is used to store the picture definition. The set of intensity values for all
the screen points is stored in this memory area. Stored intensity values are then
retrieved from the refresh buffer and “painted” on the screen one scan line (row) at a
time (Figure 2.8). Each screen point is referred to as a pixel or pel (shortened forms of
picture elements). The raster scan-system is well suited for the realistic display of
scenes containing subtle shading and color patterns due to its capability to store
intensity information for each screen point. Some examples of systems using raster-
scan methods are home television sets and printers.

Figure 2.8: A raster-scan display system draws an object as a set of discrete points across
each scan line

Intensity range for pixel positions depends on the capability of the raster system. In a
simple black-and-white system, each screen point is either on or off. So, to control
the intensity of screen positions, only one bit per pixel is needed. A bit value of 1
indicates that the electron beam is to be turned on at that position, for a bilevel
19 COMPUTER GRAPHICS

system, and a value of (.) indicates that the beam intensity is to be off. To display the
color and intensity variations, additional bits are needed. A high-quality system
includes upto 24 bits per pixel, which can require several megabytes of storage area
for the frame buffer, depending on the resolution of the system. A system with a
screen resolution of 1024 by 1024 and 24 bits per pixel requires 3 megabytes of
storage for the frame buffer. The frame buffer is commonly called a bitmap for a
black-and-white system with one bit per pixel. The frame buffer is often referred to as
a pixmap for systems with multiple bits per pixel.
Refreshing on raster-scan displays is carried out at the rate of 60 to 80 frames per
second, although some systems are designed for higher refresh rates. Refresh rates
are described in units of cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz), where a cycle corresponds
to one frame. So refresh rate of 60 frames per second would be described as simply
60Hz using these units. The electron beam returns to the left side of the screen at the
end of each scan line to begin displaying the next scan line. This is also called
horizontal retrace of the electron beam. The electron beam returns to the top left
corner of the screen (vertical trace) at the end of each frame (displayed in 1/80 th
1/60th of a second) to begin the next frame.
On some raster-scan systems (and in TV sets), each frame is displayed in two passes
using an interlaced refresh procedure. In the first pass, the beam sweeps from top to
bottom across every other scan line. Then after the vertical re-trace, the beam
sweeps out the remaining scan lines (Figure 2.9). Interlacing of the scan lines in this
way allows us to see the whole screen displayed in one-half the time it would have
taken to sweep across all the lines at once from top to bottom. Interlacing is primarily
used with slower refreshing rates. For instance, some flicker is noticeable on an older,
30 frame-per-second, non-interlaced display. But with interlacing, each of the two
passes can be accomplished in 1/60 th of a second which brings the refresh rate close
to 60 frames per second. If the adjacent scan lines contain similar display
information, this is an effective technique for avoiding flicker.

Figure 2.9: Interlacing Scan lines on a raster-scan display

First, all points on the even-numbered (solid) scan lines are displayed, then all points
along the odd-numbered (dashed) lines are displayed.

Student Activity 2.1

Before reading the next section, answer the following questions.
1. Explain the working of CRT.
2. What are the primary components of CRT.
DISPLAY DEVICES 20

3. Explain the difference between Random Scan and Raster Scan CRT.
4. What are the needs of CRT refreshing?
If your answers are correct, then proceed to the next section.

Color CRT Monitors

A CRT monitor displays color pictures by using a combination of phosphors that emit
different colored light. A range of colors can be generated by combining the emitted
light from the different phosphors. The two basic techniques for producing color
displays with a CRT are:
 the beam-penetration method
 the shadow-mask method
The beam-penetration method has been used with random-scan monitors for
displaying color pictures. Two layers of phosphor, usually red and green, are coated
onto the inside of the CRT screen. The displayed color depends on how far the
electron beam penetrates into the phosphor layers. A beam of very fast electrons
penetrates through the red layer and excites the inner green layer. A beam of slow
electrons excites only the outer red layer. At intermediate beam speeds,
combinations of red and green light are emitted to show two additional colors, orange
and yellow. The beam acceleration voltage controls the speed of electrons, and hence
the screen color at any point. Beam penetration has been an inexpensive way to
produce four colors in random-scan monitors, but the quality of pictures is not as
good as with other methods.
Shadow-mask methods produce a much wider range of colors than the beam-
penetration system and are commonly used in raster-scan systems (including color
TV). A shadow-mask CRT has three phosphor color dots at each pixel position. One
phosphor dot emits a red light, another emits a green light, and the third emits a blue
light. This type of CRT has three electron guns, one for each color dot, and a shadow-
mask grid just behind the phosphor-coated screen. The delta-delta shadow-mask
method is illustrated in figure 2.10. It is commonly used in color CRT systems. The
three electron beams are deflected and focused as a group onto the shadow mask,
which contains a series of holes aligned with the phosphor-dot patterns. The three
beams activate a dot triangle, when they pass through a hole in the shadow-mask,
which appears as a small color spot on the screen. The phosphor dots in the triangles
are arranged so that each electron beam can activate only its corresponding color dot
when it passes through the shadow mask. An in-line arrangement is the another
configuration for the three electron guns. In this arrangement, the three electron
guns, and the corresponding red-green-blue (r-g-b) color dots are aligned on the
screen along one scan line instead of in a triangular pattern. This in-line arrangement
of electron guns is commonly used in high-resolution color CRTs, as it is easier to keep
in alignment.
21 COMPUTER GRAPHICS

Figure 2.10: Operation of a delta–delta, shadow-mask CRT. Three electron guns, aligned with
the triangular color-dot patterns on the screen, are directed to each dot triangle by a shadow
mask.

By varying the intensity levels of the three electron beams, we can contain color
variations in a shadow-mask CRT. By turning off the blue and red guns, we get only
the color coming from the green phosphor. Other combinations of beam intensities
produce a small spot of light for each pixel position, since our eyes tend to merge the
three colors into one composite. The color we see depends on the amount of
excitation of the red, green, and blue phosphors. On activating all three dots with
equal intensity, we will get a white (or gray) area. The green and red dots only
produce a yellow, the blue and red dots produce a magenta and cyan shows up when
blue and green dots are activated equally. In some low-cost systems, the display can
be limited to eight colors by setting the electron beam to on or off. More
sophisticated systems allow to generate several million different colors by setting
intermediate intensity levels for the electron beams.
Several types of CRT display devices are used to design color graphics systems.
Some inexpensive video games and home-computer systems are designed for use
with an RF (radio-frequency) modulator and a color TV set. The RF modulator
simulates the signal from a broadcast TV station. This means that the color and
intensity information of the picture must be combined and superimposed on the
broadcast-frequency carrier signal that the TV needs to have as input. Then the
circuitry in the TV takes this signal from the RF modulator, extracts the picture
information, and paints it on the screen. This extra handling of the picture information
by the RF modulator and TV circuitry decreases the quality of displayed images.
Composite monitors are adaptations of TV sets that allow bypass of broadcast
circuitry. These display devices still require that the picture information be combined,
without any carrier signal is needed. Picture information is combined into a composite
signal and then separated by the monitor, so the resulting picture quality is still not
the best attainable.
In graphics system, color CRT, are designed as RGB monitors. These monitors use
shadow-mask methods and take the intensity level for each electron gun (r-g-b)
directly from the computer system without any intermediate processing. High-quality
DISPLAY DEVICES 22

raster-graphics systems have 24 bits per pixel in the frame buffer, allowing 256
voltage settings for each electron gun and about 17 million color choices for each
pixel. An RGB color system with 24 bits of storage per pixel is generally referred to as
a full-color system or a true-color system.

Student Activity 2.2

Before reading the next section, answer the following questions.
1. How are the colors images formed?
2. Explain the working of colour CRT.
3. Explain the various methods used for colour image formation.
If your answers are correct, then proceed to the next section.

Direct-View Storage Tubes (DVST)

Alternatively, a screen image can be maintained by storing-the picture information
inside the CRT instead of refreshing the screen. The picture information can be stored
in a direct-view storage tube (DVST) as a charge distribution just behind the phosphor
– coated screen. In a DVST, two electron guns are used. One, the primary gun, is used
to store the picture pattern and the other, the flood gun, maintains the picture
display.
A DVST monitor has both advantages and disadvantages over a refresh CRT. Since no
refreshing is needed, very high resolution complex pictures can be displayed without
flicker. The DVST systems ordinarily do not display color and selected parts of a
picture cannot be erased. The entire screen must be erased to eliminate a picture
section and the modified picture redrawn. For a complex picture, erasing and
redrawing process can take several seconds. Due to these reasons, storage displays
have been largely replaced by raster systems.

Flat-Panel Displays
The term flat-panel display refers to a class of video devices that have reduced
volume, weight and power requirements compared to a CRT. Although most graphics
monitors are still constructed with CRTs, this emerging technology may soon replace
CRT monitors. A significant feature of flat-panel displays is that they are thinner than
CRTs, and we can hang them on walls or wear them on our wrists. Since it is possible
to write on some flat-panel displays, they will soon be available as pocket notepads.
Flat-panel displays are currently used in small TV monitors, calculators, pocket video
games, laptop computers, armrest viewing of movies on airlines, as advertisement
boards in elevators, and as graphics displays in applications requiring rugged-
portable monitors. Flat-panel displays can be divided into two categories:
 emissive displays
 non-emissive displays
The emissive displays (or emitters) are devices that convert electrical energy into
light. Some examples of emissive displays are Plasma panels, thin-film electro
luminescent displays, and light-emitting diodes. Flat CRTs have also been devised, in
23 COMPUTER GRAPHICS

which electron beams are accelerated parallel to the screen, then deflected 90° to
the screen. But flat CRTs have not proved to be as successful as other emissive
devices. Nonemissive displays (or nonemitters) use optical effects to convert sunlight
or light from some other source into graphics patterns. The most important example
of a nonemissive flat-panel display is a liquid-crystal device.
Plasma panels, also called gas-discharge displays, are constructed by filling the
region between two glass plates with a mixture of gases that usually includes neon. A
series of vertical conducting ribbons is placed on one glass panel (Fig. 2.11). Firing
voltages applied to a pair of vertical and horizontal conductors cause the gas at the
intersection of the two conductors to break down into a glowing plasma of electrons
and ions. A refresh buffer stores picture definition and the firing voltages are applied
to refresh the pixel positions (at the intersections of the conductors) 60 times per
second. Alternating-current methods are used to provide faster application of the
firing voltages, and thus brighter displays. The electric field of the conductors
provides the separation between pixels. One disadvantage of plasma panels is that
they were strictly monochromatic devices, but systems have been developed that are
now capable to display color and grayscale.

Figure 2.11: Basic design of a plasma-panel display device

Construction of thin-film electro luminescent displays are similar to a plasma panel.

The difference is that the region between the glass plates is filled with a phosphor,
such as zinc sulfide dipped with manganese instead of a gas (Figure 2.12a). The
phosphor becomes a conductor in the area of the inter section of the two electrodes
when a sufficiently high voltage is applied to a paid of crossing electrodes. The
manganese atoms then absorbs the electrical energy, which then release the energy
as a spot of light similar to the glowing plasma effect in a plasma panel. More power
is required by electro luminescent displays than plasma panels and it is hard to
achieve good color and gray scale displays.
DISPLAY DEVICES 24

Figure 2.12: Basic design

Light-emitting Diode (LED) and Liquid-crystal Displays (LCDs)

Light-emitting Diode (LED)
Another type of emissive device is the light-emitting diode (LED). A matrix of diodes
is arranged to form the pixel positions in the display, and picture definition is stored
in a refresh buffer. Information is read from the refresh buffer and converted to
voltage levels that are applied to the diodes to produce the light patterns in the
display, as in scan-line refreshing of a CRT.

Liquid-crystal Displays (LCDs)

Liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) are commonly used in small systems, such as
calculators (Fig. 2.13) and portable, laptop computers. These non-emissive devices
produce a picture by passing polarized light from an internal light source through a
liquid-crystal material that can be aligned to either block or from the surroundings or
transmit the light.

Figure 2.13: A hand calculator with an LCD screen

25 COMPUTER GRAPHICS

The term liquid crystal refers to the fact that these compounds have a crystalline
arrangement of molecules, yet they flow like a liquid. A flat-panel displays can be
constructed with a nematic liquid crystal, as illustrated in Figure 2.16. It commonly
use nematic (thread like) liquid crystal compounds that tend to keep the long axes of
the rod-shaped molecules aligned. Two glass plates, each containing a light polarizer
at right angles to the other plate, enclose the liquid-crystal material. Columns of
vertical conductors are put into one glass plate, and rows of horizontal transparent
conductors are built into the other plate. The intersection of two conductors defines a
pixel position. Normally, the molecules are aligned as shown in the “on state” of
Figure 2.14. Polarized light passing through the material is twisted so that it will pass
through the opposite polarizer. The light is then reflected back to the viewer. We
apply a voltage to the two intersecting conductors to align the molecutes so that the
light is not twisted, to turn off the pixel. This type of flat-pannel device is known as a
passive-matrix LCD. A refresh buffers stores the picture definition, and the refreshing
rate of screen is 60 frames per second, as in the emissive devices. To avoid complete
dependency of system on outside light sources, back lighting is commonly applied
using solid-state electronic devices. Colors can be displayed by placing a trial of color
pixels at each screen location and by using different materials or dyes. LCDs can also
be constructed by placing a transistor at each pixel location, using thin-film transistor
technology. The transistors are used to prevent charge from gradually leaking out of
the liquid-crystal cells and to control the voltage at pixel locations. These devices are
called active-matrix displays.

Polarizer

Polarizer
DISPLAY DEVICES 26

Figure 2.14: The light-twisting, shutter effect used in the design of most liquid-crystal display
devices

Student Activity 2.3

Before reading the next section, answer the following questions.
1. Explain the advantage and disadvantage of DVST over refresh CRT.
2. Explain the working of flat-panel display techniques.
3. What are the basic techniques of design of Flat-panel display.
If your answers are correct, then proceed to the next section.

Hard Copy Devices

Hard-copy output for our images can be obtained in several formats. We can send
image files to devices or service bureaus that will produce 35-mm slides or overhead
transparencies for presentations or archiving. To put images on film, we can simply
photograph a scene displayed on a video monitor. We can also put our pictures on
paper by directing graphics output to a printer or plotter.
The quality of the pictures obtained from a device depends on dot size and the
number of dots per inch, or lines per inch, that can be displayed. Higher-quality
printers shift dot positions so that adjacent dots overlap to produce smooth
characters in printed text strings,.
Printers produce output by either impact or nonimpact methods. Impact printers
press formed character faces against an inked ribbon onto the paper. An example of
an impact device is a line printer, with the typefaces mounted on bands, chains,
drums, or wheels. Nonimpact printers and plotters use laser techniques, ink-jet
sprays, xerographic processes (as used in photocopying machines), electrostatic
methods, and electrothermal methods to get images onto paper.
Character impact printers often have a dot-matrix print head containing a rectangular
array of protruding wire pins. The number of pins depends on the quality of the
printer. Individual characters or graphics patterns are obtained by retracting certain
pins so that the remaining pins form the pattern to be printed. Figure 2.15 illustrates
a picture printed on a dot-matrix printer.
27 COMPUTER GRAPHICS

Figure 2.15: A picture generated on a dot-matrix printer showing how the density of the dot
patterns can be varied to produced light and dark areas

Ink-jet methods produce output by squirting ink in horizontal rows across a roll of
paper wrapped on a drum. An electric field deflects the electrically charged ink
stream to produce dot-matrix patterns. A desktop ink-jet plotter with a resolution of
360 dots per inch is shown in Figure 2.16, and examples of large high-resolution ink-
jet printer/plotters are shown in Figure 2.17.

Figure 2.16: A 360-dot-per-inch desktop ink-jet plotter

(a) (b)
DISPLAY DEVICES 28

Figure 2.17: Floor-model, ink-jet color printers that use variable dot size to achieve an
equivalent resolution of 1500 to 1800 dots per inch

A laser beam creates a charge distribution on a rotating drum coated with a

photoelectric material, such as selenium in a laser device. Toner is applied to the
drum and then transferred to paper. Figure 2.18 shows examples of desktop laser
printers with a resolution of 360 dots per inch.

Figure 2.18: Small-footprint laser printers

An electrostatic device places- a negative charge on the paper, one complete row at
a time along the length of the paper. Then the paper is exposed to a toner. The toner
is positively charged and where it adheres to produce the specified output, attracted
to the negatively charged areas. A color electrostatic printer/plotter is shown in Figure
2.19. In a dot- matrix print head electrothermal methods use heat to output patterns
on heat-sensitive paper.

Figure 2.19: An electrostatic printer that can display 400 dots

29 COMPUTER GRAPHICS

An impact printer can provide limited color output by using different colored ribbons.
Nonimpact devices use various techniques to combine three color pigments (cyan,
magenta, and yellow) to produce a range of color patterns. Ink-jet methods shoot the
three colors simultaneously along each print line on the paper on a single pass. Laser
and xerographic devices deposit the three pigments on separate passes.
Ink-jet or pen plotters can typically generate drafting layouts and other drawings. A
pen plotter uses pens with varying colors and widths to produce a variety of shadings
and line styles. One or more pens are mounted on a carriage, or crossbar, that spans
a sheet of paper. Wet-ink, felt-tip, and ball-point pens are all possible choices for use
with a pen plotter. Plotter paper can be rolled onto a drum or belt, or lie flat.
Crossbars can be either stationary or moveable, while the pen moves back and forth
along the bar. Either an electrostatic charge, clamps, or a vacuum hold the paper in
position. Figure 2.20 illustrates an example of a table-top flatbed pen plotter and
Figure 2.21 illustrates a roll feed pen plotter.

Figure 2.20: A desktop pen plotter with a resolution of 0.025

Figure 2.21: A large, rollfeed pen plotter with automatic multicolor

8-pen changer and a resolution of 0.0127 mm
DISPLAY DEVICES 30

Student Activity 2.4

Answer the following questions.
1. Explain the application of LCD’s.
2. What are the basic method of working of LCD.
3. Differentiate between impact and non-impact printer.

Summary
 In this unit, we have surveyed the major software and hardware features of
computer graphics systems. Graphics software includes special applications
packages and general programming packages. Hardware components include
video monitors, hard-copy devices, keyboards, and other devices for graphics
input or output.
 The raster refresh monitor based on television technology, is the predominant
graphics display device. A raster system uses a frame buffer to store intensity
information for each screen position (pixel). Pictures are then painted on the
screen by retrieving this information from the frame buffer as the electron beam
in the CRT sweeps across each scan line, from top to bottom. Older vector
displays constructs pictures by drawing lines between specified line endpoints.
Picture information is then stored as a set of line-drawing instructions.
 Many other video display devices available. Flat-panel display technology is
developing at a rapid rate, and these devices may largely replace raster displays
in the near future. At present, flat-panel displays are commonly used in the small
systems and in special-purpose systems. Flat-panel displays include plasma
panels and liquid-crystal devices. Although vector monitors can be used to
display high-quality line drawings, improvements in raster display technology
have caused vector monitors to be largely replaced with raster systems.
 Hard-copy devices for graphics workstations include standard printers and
plotters, in addition to devices for producing slides, transparencies, and film
output. Printing methods include dot matrix, laser, ink jet, electrostatic, and
electrothermal. Plotter methods include pen plotting and combination printer-
plotter devices.

Self-assessment Questions

Solved Example
I. True/False
1. High resolution systems are often referred to as high defection system.
(true)
2. Spot light are produced on the screen by the transfer of CRT beam energy.
(True)
3. Phosphorus is used to emits a beam of electrons.(False)
4. The potential energy is absorbed by the phosphor.(False)
31 COMPUTER GRAPHICS

5. The beam energy is converted by friction into heat energy.(True)

II. Fill in the blanks
1. Acronyms for CRT___________.
2. Refreshing of Raster-Scan displays is carried out at the rate of
___________frame per second.
3. Electron gun is used to emits a beam of___________.
4. Primary components of an electron gun are___________and___________
5. A______________potential is applied to control grid will shut of the beam.

Answers

I. True and False

1. true
2. True
3. False
4. False
5. True
II. Fill in the blanks
1. Cathode Ray Tube
2. 60 to 80
3. electron
4. Cathode, Control grid
5. high negative

Unsolved Exercise

I. Fill in the blanks

1. Deflection plates are used to control…..…….the deflection of electrons
2. The ………….method is used for displaying colour pictures with Random Scan
monitors.
3. ……………..method is used to produce a wide range of colours.
4. One phosphorus dot emits…………,………..,………..lights.
5. High quality raster graphics uses……bits per pixel.
6. …..electron guns are used in DVST.
DISPLAY DEVICES 32

7. Thin film electroluminescent displays are similar in construction to

a……………………
II. True or False
1. Raster Scan CRT is based on Television Technology.
2. In color monitor phosphorus contain three layers of pixels.
3. Beam penetration method is better than shadow-mask method.
4. Yellow is produced with green and red only.
5. RGB stands for red, green, black.

Detailed Questions
1. Write a short note on hard copy devices.
2. How the colours are focused in coloured CRT? Discuss
3. Is the refreshing necessary? Explain.
4. Discuss the detailed of DVST.