Pen Input

With pen input, users write, draw, and tap on a flat surface to enter input. The surface may be a monitor, a screen, a special type of paper, or a graphics tablet. 

A light pen is handheld input device that can detect the presence of light. To select objects on the screen, a user presses the light pen against the surface of the screen or points the light at the screen and then presses a button on the pen. 

A stylus is a small metal or plastic device that looks like a tiny ink pen but uses pressure instead of ink.

 

Some mobile computers and nearly all mobile devices have touch screens that recognize pen input. Most of these devices include a pressuresensitive digital pen or stylus. Pressure-sensitive digital pens typically provide more functionality than a stylus, featuring electronic erasers and programmable buttons. Computers and mobile devices often use handwriting recognition software that translates the handwritten letters and symbols created on the screen with the digital pen into characters that the computer or device can process.

 

If you want to use pen input on a computer that does not have a touch screen, you can attach a graphic tablet to the computer.

A graphics tablet is a flat, rectangular, electronic, plastic board. Architects, mapmakers, designers, artists, and home users create drawings and sketches by using a pressure-sensitive pen or a cursor on a graphics tablet. A cursor looks similar to a mouse, except it has a window with crosshairs, so that the user can see through to the tablet. 

Each location on the graphics tablet corresponds to a specific location on the screen. When drawing on the tablet with a pen or cursor, the tablet detects and converts the movements into digital signals that are sent in the computer.

Some digital pans have built-in digital cameras, that work differently from pressure-sensitive digital pens. These pens look much like a ballpoint pen. In addition to the tiny digital camera, these pens contain a processor, memory, and an ink cartridge.

 

As you write or draw on special digital paper with the pen, it captures every handwritten mark by taking more than 100 pictures per second and them stores the images in the pen’s memory. You transfer the images from the pen to a computer or mobile device.

Light Pen

This is a device the size of a normal pen with a light at its end. The light pen is connected to the computer by a cord.

 

The user touches the point of the light pen on the screen of a special pad then makes writing or drawing motions. This is mostly used by Artists and Designers.