a device in computer technology for recording on paper or a substitute the information issued by an electronic computer in the form of alphanumeric text, tables, graphs, and so on. Impact-type electromechanical printers are the most widespread—for example, the ATsPU-128–2 for the BESM-4 computer and the ATsPU-128–3 for the BESM-6. There are nonmechani-cal devices which do not use impact action but rather photographic, electrographic, electric-spark, electrothermal, and other recording methods. The speed of alphanumeric printers attains 1,000 characters a second as a result of parallel formation of the line (64 -256 characters) and of the design of the printing elements (rotating-wheel, drum, chain, and other types). Several alphanumeric printers can operate with a computer in a combined time-sharing mode. Alphanumeric printers are also used as independent remote terminals which receive information from the computer over communications channels.
V. M. STASHEVSKII