That was then… This is now!

How technology has changed

ZX Printer What was it? Sinclair’s ZX81 was the first popular home computer in the UK, and one of its most exciting options was the ZX Printer (pictured). At £49.95 (about £200 in today’s money), it was only £20 cheaper than the Spectrum itself. No inkjet or laser printers were available to the general public yet, and even dot-matrix impact printers were expensive, so the ability to print at home was unique. It worked by passing a current through a layer of aluminium painted on four-inch wide paper, supplied on a roll. Where the silvery top layer burned off, a black surface was revealed, forming characters or graphics. The horizontal resolution was 256 pixels or 32 characters, working out at 70 dots per inch (dpi). How have things changed? Today,…

You're reading a preview of

Computeractive (Digital) - 1 Issue, 533

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.