plotter - A device that uses one or more pens that can be raised, lowered and moved over the printing[printing?:printing cutting finishing solution] media to draw graphics[graphics?:graphics pattern] or text.
Color plots can be made by using more than one pen. Older plotter required a separate pen for each color and the pens had to be changed by hand. Modern colour plotters usually use only four pens (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, see CMYK) and need no human intervention to change them.
Monochromatic plotters have been largely phased out by laser printers except when large paper[paper?:paper sample maker cutting machine] size is needed.
