
9 Printers
The printer is an example of an output device, which the
computer drives to provide the user with hard copy from
his program. A familiar application of this type is word
processing. There is little point in writing and manipu-
lating text on-screen if a permanent copy of this cannot
afterwards be obtained. Word processing uses may in-
clude anything from a short letter, to a block-busting
novel. Other software packages that require a printer at
the final stage include spreadsheets (for accounting),
databases (for record keeping), desk-top publishing or
DTP for short (creating a mix of text and graphics for
handbills, newsletters, magazine ...