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Low-cost Atari Laser Printer Promises "Revolution" in 
Desktop Publishing

Las Vegas, NV Jan. 8 -- A prototype laser printer, being 
demonstrated by Atari here at CES, will form the basis for a full-
featured desktop publishing system costing less than half the 
price of systems built around competing architectures. Designed to 
interface with Atari's ST line of high-performance personal 
computers, the new laser printer will be taken to market later 
this year at the astoundingly low price of around $1500.
     "Desktop publishing" -- the use of personal computers to 
produce high-quality printed matter -- has become a burgeoning 
industry over the past two years. Powerful, graphics-oriented 
personal computers such as the Atari ST are now routinely used in 
typesetting, page design, paste-up, and -- in combination with 
high-resolution laser printers -- for producing high-quality, 
"camera ready" output. However, largely because the price of laser 
printers has remained high, the cost of a desktop publishing 
system is still out of reach for many.
     By redesigning the standard laser printer to take advantage 
of the power latent in the ST line -- particularly the new Mega 
STs -- Atari hopes to make full-featured desktop publishing a 
reality at less than $3000 for a complete system; about what a 
conventional laser printer costs today. Designed to interface with 
the ST's high-speed DMA (Direct Memory Access) port and 
incorporating a standard laser "engine," the Atari laser printer 
will produce rapid throughput at 300 dots-per-inch resolution. 
Though technical details have not yet been revealed, Shiraz 
Shivji, head of Atari's hardware engineering division, states that 
Atari "has designed an admirably flexible system that includes all 
the advantages and few of the disadvantages of present laser 
printer architectures. The printer will be able to handle multiple 
fonts and standard page-description languages at the discretion of 
software. Moreover, adapting present software to use the laser 
printer's full capabilities should be fairly simple, providing 
such software has been written in conformance with GEM standards."
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