Calcomp plotters (sometimes referred to as CalComp plotters) were the best known products of the California Computer Products company ( Calcomp or CalComp).

Overview

The Calcomp 565 drum plotter, introduced in 1959, was one of the first

computer graphics Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great de ...

output devices sold. The computer could control in increments the rotation of an 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. Later, Calcomp manufactured its model 563, which was very similar but had a wide drum. The paper rolls were 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, 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 for use with its low-end scientific computers, first the

IBM 1620 The IBM 1620 was announced by IBM on October 21, 1959, and marketed as an inexpensive scientific computer. After a total production of about two thousand machines, it was withdrawn on November 19, 1970. Modified versions of the 1620 were used as ...

, and, later, the

IBM 1130 The IBM 1130 Computing System, introduced in 1965, was IBM's least expensive computer at that time. A binary 16-bit machine, it was marketed to price-sensitive, computing-intensive technical markets, like education and engineering, succeeding th ...

. 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 The IBM 1401 is a variable-wordlength decimal computer that was announced by IBM on October 5, 1959. The first member of the highly successful IBM 1400 series, it was aimed at replacing unit record equipment for processing data stored on pu ...

was used to develop

Bresenham's line algorithm Bresenham's line algorithm is a line drawing algorithm that determines the points of an ''n''-dimensional raster that should be selected in order to form a close approximation to a straight line between two points. It is commonly used to draw li ...

in 1962.Paul E. Black. ''Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures,'' NIST. https://xlinux.nist.gov/dads/HTML/bresenham.html

References

{{reflist

External links

Programming Calcomp Electromechanical PlottersCalcomp 563 Incremental Plotter InformationA working Calcomp 565 on Youtube.com
Pen plotters Computer-related introductions in 1959