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Any device used to draw charts, diagrams, and other line-based graphics. Plotters use either pens or electrostatic charges and toner. Pen plotters draw on paper or transparencies with one or more colored pens. Electrostatic plotters "draw" a pattern on electrostatically charged dots on the paper and then apply toner and fuse it in place. Plotters use three basic types of paper handling: flatbed, drum, and pinch roller. Flatbed plotters hold the paper still and move the pen along both x and y axes. Drum plotters roll the paper over a cylinder. The pen moves along one axis while the drum, with the paper attached, moves along the other. Pinch-roller plotters are a hybrid of the two, in which the pen moves only along one axis while the paper is moved back and forth by small rollers.
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