Conference hydra::amiga_v1

    	Are you really certain that you need the printer "in-house"? There
    are no color laser printers that are notably better than the PaintJet
    that are not also VERY expensive. Have you thought about printing your
    PostScript files to disk (the correct terminology?) and sending them
    off to a printing service with a 1200DPI color laser printer for
    rendering ?  Save you some BIG $$$ that way.

    I have a LaserJet III with PacificPage cartridge.  This makes a fine
    PostScript printer.  The III's Resolution Enhancement feature produces
    very crisp output.
    
    I believe the PostScript printer driver I'm using is still in the
    upload directory on TAPE -
    	TAPE::AMIGA:[UPLOAD]PS_DRIVER.LZH and PS_DRIVER.README

    I don't have a postscript printer, but a friend of mine has the TI
    postscript printer.  From what I have seen it does an excellent job. He
    uses both ProPage and PageStream to generate postscript documents. As I
    recall it was one of the first printers with built-in postscript under
    $2000. 

    Re:  .1

    I am only looking for an ordinary (i.e. non-color) laser printer.  I
    rarely use the color capability of the PaintJet.

    Re:  .2

    Tom, how much was the Postscript cartridge for the LJIII?  Is this a
    different cartridge than the one for the LJIIP?  Did you have to add
    extra RAM?  If so, how much did that cost?  Is the LJIII significantly
    faster than the IIP?  Will it handle envelopes without a special feeder?

    How do you send an ordinary text file to your Postscript printer?

    Thanks,
    Sam

> How much was the Postscript cartridge for the LJIII?  Is this a
> different cartridge than the one for the LJIIP?  
	I paid about $350 for PacificPage.  I believe the LJ-III
    	and IIP both take the same cartridge, which differs from
    	the model II versions.

> Did you have to add extra RAM?  If so, how much did that cost?
    	Yes, PacificPage requires 2MB additional RAM.  I've seen
    	these expansions listed in recent ads for around $130.

> Is the LJIII significantly faster than the IIP?  
    	Yes, the III is rated at 8ppm.  I think the IIP is something
    	like 4 to 6ppm.

> Will it handle envelopes without a special feeder?
    	Yes, the standard input tray includes a single-feed slot
    	with adjustable guides to handle envelopes easily.  Paper
    	handling is generally more robust on the III.  Its standard
    	input cassette has capacity similar to the optional ($160)
    	tray for the IIP.  The IIP collects output in a shallow
    	depression on top of the printer.  Sheets tend to slide
    	around (and off) as others emerge.  The III has a very deep
    	collection tray, more like on an LN03.

> How do you send an ordinary text file to your Postscript printer?
    	The PostScript driver mentioned in .1 handles this.


    	- Bruce -

    You might want to have a look at the HP Deskjet (or +?). An aquaintance
    of mine has one and the output is very respectable at 300dpi. Same idea
    as the Paintjet but B&W. Pretty cheap these days, I believe I've seen
    them over here (UK) for less than 300 pounds.
    
    Tom.
    

I use the in-house printers for my occasional printing needs.

Very cheap!

;^))


Greg

This note seemed like the best place to tack on another request for comparisons
and/or general info about available PostScript printers.

There seem to be quite a number of laser printers out there claiming full
emulation of other printers, most typically the HP laserjet series; many are
made by reputable companies, but ones not known especially for their printers.
These often have a lower price tag for functionality equivalent to an HP. I've
seen some with specs comparable to LaserJet III, for instance, for under $1000.

Does anyone have any experience, positive or negative, with any of these? Any
info on which print engines are easy/hard to find replacements for? Price of
consumables? Frequency of repair/MTBF?

I'd like to get a PostScript-capable laser printer for my business, and I'm
tempted to spring for a "real" HP, but first I'd like to take a hard look at
the competition. One factor has to be HP's stellar reputation for rugged
equipment with high MTBF, but cost is another. I'd love to end up with something
like a LaserJet III for the price of a IIP, of course, but I'm not holding my
breath.

Thanks in advance for opinions and info.

Cheers,
	Bob

I've been scouting about, and thought I'd answer my own question for general
edification.

There's a publication called "COMPUTER - Buyer's Guide and Handbook" which
compares the features of various units and includes "street prices" and contact
information for both manufacturers and discount dealers. They've put out an
issue titled, of all things, "PRINTERS - Buyer's Guide and Handbook," which I
found to be chock-full of information.

To be brief, the current price-performance leaders (for my own purposes) come
up as (in no particular order):


NEC Silentwriter2 90 -

	Street price:	$1450
	6 ppm, 250-sheet tray, handles envelopes, 6000 page/month duty cycle,
	35 PS fonts, IIP emulation.
	Size: 8.1 x 18 x 13.6.
	(A friend has an older NEC which he say has been trouble-free and cheap
	to operate.)

TI MicroLaser PS17, MicroLaser PS35

	Street price:	$1250 for PS17, $1550 for PS35
	6 ppm, 250-sheet tray, handles envelopes (with optional tray),
	3000 page/month duty cycle, HPII emulation; switches automatically (!)
	between PS and HPII modes depending on file's content.
	Size: 14.2 x 13.4 x 10.5.

Star LaserPrinter 4 StarScript

	Street price unknown so far; list price $1995. Other street prices
	would indicate something like 40% less than list, which would be around
	$1200. Still waiting to find out if this is Adobe PS or an emulation
	(like Pacific Page); I think it's an emulation.
	4 ppm, 50-page tray (250 optional) 3500 page duty cycle.
	Size: 7.3 x 16.4 x 15.2.
	(I have a Star Gemini 10X which has served me well and cheaply for 5+
	years, BTW. The review seemed somewhat offhand and vague, so I don't
	know whether to trust its accuracy. I have literature on the way,
	though.)

Panasonic KX-P4455

	Street price $2049.
	11 ppm, two 250-page trays, HPII, Diablo 630 emulation, handles
	envelopes (with optional tray). Duty cycle 5000 pp. for toner, higher
	for (separate) drum, developer.
	Size: 14.3 x 28 x 17.

HP LaserJet III

	Street price $1520 (memory, Adobe cartridge street prices unknown)
	8 ppm, Resolution Enhancement, 200-age tray, handles envelopes (with
	optional tray), duty cycle 4000 pp.
	Size: 12.3 x 18 x 25.


There are many others evaluated, but these are what I've been looking at
seriously. Note that a lot of these "reviews" stated specifically whether
envelopes could be *hand*-fed, but many didn't, so I'm not really clear on
that point.

The TI has a lot going for it- the automatic switchover between PS and HP input,
a really small footprint (the paper tray is an internal drawer), and the
low price, especially of the 17-font unit. The NEC comes with a strong "user
recommendation, plus a significantly higher duty cycle. The Panasonic is a huge
sucker, but has an amazing engine speed at 11 ppm; I don't know to what extent
whis would be realized on single copies of PS documents, though- the controller
could easily be the bottleneck.

I included the LaserJet III as the "accepted standard of choice." With a street
price of $1520 *exclusive* of extra memory and PS, it comes in at a higher
price, but then it has the tremendous reputation of HP printers and doesn't need
HP *emulation,* and it provides the superior output of HP's "Resolution
Enhancement."

The TI seems to be the price-performance choice for me, but the NEC competes
with it for that title. (The Star may be in the runnning in this race, but I
need more definite info to tell.) If you want *more* performance (in one way or
another) the HP and the Panasonic surge to the forefront. (All IMHO, of course!)
I, for instance, don't currently need 11 ppm, but the output quality of the HP
is a tempting factor.

Hope this info is useful for others considering a PS printer; I'll update it
if and when I have more (or different) information. Oh, if anyone has recent
"street prices" for either the Star or HP's memory and Adobe cartridges, please
post a reply!

Cheers,
	Bob

I have some more feedback on laser printer options for the Amiga, plus some
questions.

My own choice has narrowed to two alternatives: the TI MicroLaser PS 35 and the
NEC Silentwriter2 model 90. Each has things going for it, and I go back and
forth depending on the time of day, phase of the moon, etcetera.

One factor which I'm just beginning to explore is the availability of printer
drivers for either machine. Any PS driver (and I do have the PD one which is on
the net) should theoretically suffice, but the TI, for instance, supports an
escape sequence which switches it from HPCL to PostScript programmatically-
that won't be in a vanilla PS driver! (BTW, it turns out that the "autoswitch"
capability of the TI, described in .8, was never implemented. Must have been
advance info to the reviewer.) Has anyone seen drivers specific to either of
these printers? I have written my own driver before (for my trusty old Gemini
10X), and may do so again if I don't find what I need, but I *do* have better
things to do!

Another factor is screen fonts for all 35 "basic" Postscript fonts. The NEC
provides disks with screen fonts for Mac and I*M, and I've seen a utility, ATCP,
described which apparently converts Mac screen fonts to Amiga font format. Has
anyone seen any Amiga versions of these fonts available from another source,
preferably without charge? If not, this would seem to be a big plus for the NEC.

Currently, the TI has the advantage of an *extremely* small footprint (13 x 14,
*with* paper tray) and the ability to add a second paper tray and/or a
relatively inexpensive tray for envelopes. It also provides optional face-up
delivery out of the box. The ability to pop into HP mode without switching
drivers would be a real plus, I think; until I work with it, I have to guess at
how useful I'd *really* find it.

The NEC has a higher duty cycle (6000 pp/mo. vs. 3000), and uses a single
cartridge (vs. separate toner, developer, and OPC) without any increase in the
overall cost of consumables. The NEC also provides the screen fonts mentioned
above, as well as multiple interfaces (Appletalk, parallel, serial). Its
footprint is larger: 13.8 x 18 without paper tray, 18 x 24.6 with.

The print speed of each is 6 ppm nominal. Both achieve very close to that with
PS text output, and both are comparable in "gppm" (graphic pages per minute)
at .7 and .8 (can't remember which was which).

Although I get the feeling that I'm talking to myself, I'll continue this thread
as I get further along. It's got to end up being useful for someone eventually,
even if it's after I've moved on!

Cheers,
	Bob

For anyone interested, TI is about to announce (at MacWorld next week) the
MicroLaser Turbo. It will use the same engine and outer case as the PS35, but
uses a RISC controller and outputs 9 ppm (as opposed to 6); it will also use
PostScript Level II. Its list price will be $2249, as opposed to $2499 for the
current PS35.

Since the lowest price I've gotten on the PS35 is around $1500, I'd expect to
see the Turbo going for something under that. I'd also expect to see rapid
liquidation of the PS35 model at a sharply reduced price.

FWIW,
	Bob