Editing Plotter (section)

=={{anchor|XY-writer}}Overview==
Digitally controlled plotters evolved from earlier fully analog '''XY-writers''' used as output devices for [[measurement instrument]]s and [[analog computer]]s.<!-- for example: Electronic Associates, Inc. 1110 VARIPLOTTER MODEL 99.600, manufactured in 1963 -->

Pen plotters print by moving a pen or other instrument across the surface of a piece of paper. This means that plotters are [[vector graphics]] devices, rather than [[raster graphics]] as with other [[computer printer|printers]]. Pen plotters can draw complex line art, including text, but do so slowly because of the mechanical movement of the pens. They are often incapable of efficiently creating a solid region of color, but can [[hatching|hatch]] an area by drawing a number of close, regular lines.

Plotters offered the fastest way to efficiently produce very large drawings or color high-resolution vector-based artwork when [[computer memory]] was very expensive and processor power was very limited, and other types of printers had limited graphic output capabilities.

Pen plotters have essentially become obsolete, and have been replaced by [[Wide-format printer|large-format]] [[inkjet printer]]s and LED [[toner (printing)|toner]]-based printers. Such devices may still understand vector languages originally designed for plotter use, because in many uses, they offer a more efficient alternative to raster data.