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{{short description|Computer graphics output device}}
[[File:Calcomp 565 drum plotter.jpg|thumb|A Calcomp 565 drum plotter
[[File:IBM 1627 plotter detail.mw.jpg|thumb|upright|Closeup of Calcomp plotter right side, showing controls for manually moving the drum. Similar controls on the left move the pen carriage.]]
'''Calcomp plotters''' (sometimes referred to as '''CalComp plotters''') were the best known products of
==Overview==
The [[Calcomp]] 565 drum [[plotter]],<ref>{{cite web |website=BitSavers |url=http://bitsavers.org/magazines/Computers_And_Automation/196208.pdf |title=computers and automation}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |website=BitSavers |url=http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/magazines/Computers_And_Automation/196808.pdf |title=August 1968 |quote=Programmed in Fortran, and plotted off line on a CalComp 565 digital plotter}}</ref> introduced in 1959, was one of the first [[computer graphics]] output devices sold. The
▲|title=August 1968 |quote=Programmed in Fortran, and plotted off line on a CalComp 565 digital plotter}}</ref> introduced in 1959, was one of the first [[computer graphics]] output devices sold. The [[computer]] could control in 0.01 inch increments the rotation of an 11 inch (280 mm) wide drum and the horizontal movement of a pen holder over the drum. The pen was pressed by a spring against paper scrolling across the drum. A [[solenoid]] could lift the pen off the paper. This arrangement allowed line drawings to be made under computer control. Years later Calcomp made model 563 which used a 30" wide drum.
The paper rolls were {{convert|120|ft|m}} long. A metal bar above the take-up reel allowed a finished plot to be torn off and removed. The drum would then be advanced using the manual controls and the fresh paper end taped to the take-up reel. The standard pen was a [[ball-point pen|ball-point]], but liquid ink pens were available, and typically were used for higher quality plots intended for publication. Other paper stock could be taped to the drum if desired. A chart drive switch was provided to turn off the motorized paper supply and take-up reels for this purpose.
===IBM===
[[IBM]] marketed the Calcomp 565 as its [[IBM 1627]]<ref>{{cite web |website=BitSavers |url=http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/ibm/common/Proceedings_of_the_Meeting_of_the_Western_Region_of_COMMON_196512.pdf |title=The International Hotel Los Angeles, California. December 6 |quote=our CalComp 565 graph plotter (alias IBM 1627)}}</ref> for use with its low-end scientific computers, first the [[IBM 1620]], and, later, the [[IBM 1130]]. It was perhaps the first non-IBM peripheral that IBM allowed to be attached to one of its computers.▼
▲ |quote=our CalComp 565 graph plotter (alias IBM 1627)}}</ref> for use with its low-end scientific computers, first the [[IBM 1620]], and, later, the [[IBM 1130]]. It was perhaps the first non-IBM peripheral that IBM allowed to be attached to one of its computers.
A Calcomp plotter attached to an [[IBM 1401]] was used to develop [[Bresenham's line algorithm]] in 1962.<ref name = DADS>Paul E. Black. ''Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures,'' [[National Institute of Standards and Technology|NIST]]. https://xlinux.nist.gov/dads/HTML/bresenham.html</ref>
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