Editing Computer art (section)

==Output devices==
Formerly, technology restricted output and print results. Early machines used pen-and-ink plotters to produce basic hard copy.

In the early 1960s, the Stromberg Carlson SC-4020 microfilm printer was used at Bell Telephone Laboratories as a plotter to produce digital computer art and animation on 35-mm microfilm. Still images were drawn on the face plate of the cathode ray tube and automatically photographed. A series of still images were drawn to create a computer-animated movie, early on a roll of 35-mm film and then on 16-mm film as a 16-mm camera was later added to the SC-4020 printer.

In the 1970s, the [[dot matrix printer]] (which uses a print head hitting an ink ribbon somewhat like a [[typewriter]]) was used to reproduce varied fonts and arbitrary graphics. The first animations were created by plotting all still frames sequentially on a stack of paper, with motion transfer to 16-mm film for projection.  During the 1970s and 1980s, dot matrix printers were used to produce most visual output while microfilm plotters were used for most early animation.<ref name="design.osu.edu"/>

In 1976, the [[inkjet printer]] was invented with the increase in the use of personal computers.  The inkjet printer is now the cheapest and most versatile option for everyday digital color output. Raster Image Processing (RIP) is typically built into the printer or supplied as a software package for the computer; it is required to achieve the highest quality output.  Basic inkjet devices do not feature RIP.  Instead, they rely on graphic software to rasterize images.  The [[laser printer]], though more expensive than the inkjet, is another affordable output device available today.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>