Task 11.

You are working in an on-line support service. You got an inquiry from a housewife who is asking for advice about the monitor. She would like to buy a monitor for her son who is a schoolboy and loves playing computer games. What monitor would you recommend and why? Write an e-mail to answer her question.

Printers

Task 12.

Read the text and give a short description of each type of printer in terms of a) speed, b) cost, c) print quality, d) noise level, e) purposes they are suitable for. Write out all the terms connected with printers.

Printing is the final stage in creating a document. Since the results you can obtain with different types of printers will vary substantially, here is a guide to help you decide which one is the most suitable for your needs.

To begin with, you should take into account that printers vary in cost, speed, print quality and other factors such as noise or printing method. In fact, printing technology is evolving so quickly that you may find a printer for any need.

Dot-matrix printers use pins to print the dots required to shape a character. They can print text and graphics; however, they produce relatively low resolution output – 72 to 180 dots per inch (dpi). They are used to print preliminary drafts, multi-part forms, self-copying paper and continuous-form labels. They are slower than laser printers but much cheaper.

Ink-jet printers operate by projecting small ink droplets onto paper to form the required image. Colour and hues are created by mixing cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks. Ink-jets are quite fast, quiet and not as expensive as laser printers. Nevertheless, you can expect high quality result because there are some ink-jet printers on the market with a resolution of 2400 dpi.

Laser printers produce output at great speed and with a very high resolution of 1200-2400 dpi. They scan the image with a laser beam and transfer it to paper with a special ink powder called toner. They are constantly being improved. In terms of speed and image quality laser printers are preferred by experts for different reasons. For instance, they have a wider range of scalable fonts than inkjets, they can emulate different language systems, and they can produce high-quality graphics. However, they are still expensive for home users.

Thermal transfer printers are used to produce colour images by transferring a wax-based ink onto the paper. They use heat and a special kind of paper. They are popular for printing bar codes, labels and medium-resolution graphics. They are silent and considered to be inexpensive. However, some colour models cost too much to be included in the same category.

Imagesetters produce very high-resolution output (up to 3540 dpi) on paper or on film. In addition, they are extremely fast. Imagesetters are most often used in desktop publishing (DTP). Although they produce the highest quality output, they have one important drawback: they are too expensive for homes or small offices.

Finally, we have plotters. Plotters use ink and fine pens held in a carriage to draw very detailed designs on paper. They are used for construction plans, engineering drawings and other technical illustrations. Nowadays, traditional plotters are being replaced with wide-format inkjets.