🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <8451@portia.Stanford.EDU> schou@portia.Stanford.EDU (Scott Chou) writes:
> I've heard in the past that the only real difference between the Deskwriter
> and Deskjet is the software driver and outline fonts made especially for the
> Mac.

This is not really an accurate comparison.  The DeskWriter and DeskJet Plus
use the same printer mechanism.  I believe that they use the same CPU
chip.  They have _very_ different firmware, though, and their software
(bits-over-the-serial-line) protocols are not compatible.

The DeskJet Plus (and the DeskJet) support a version of HP's Printer
Control Language (PCL), have both a parallel and a serial interface, and
are really optimized for using fonts which are either built in, installed
via a ROM cartridge, or downloaded into a RAM cartridge.

The DeskWriter is designed to gobble high-resolution, highly-compressed
rasterized bitmaps, and dump them out to the print-head _quickly_.
It does not support PCL.  It does support (and use) a 2-dimensional
raster-graphic compression algorithm which is not supported by the
DeskJet family.  It accepts serial-port input at 56 kbits/second, three
times faster than the top serial-port speed of the DeskJet Plus.

>        On the other hand, I understand that many people are choosing to use
> Adobe Type Manager and its nice/growing collection of well maintained outline
> fonts instead of those provided by HP.  Achieving greater consistency between
> screen display to printer as well as across different printer makes.

You can use ATM with either a DeskWriter or with a DeskJet-plus-third-
party-driver.

> If this is the case, then wouldn't it be financially advantageous to just get
> a Deskjet and ATM?  Plus whatever choose document (MacPrint, Grappler, PD, ?).

It depends what you want.  The least-cost approach is a DeskJet (original
model), plus ATM, plus a third-party driver.  This approach works quite
nicely... its biggest disadvantage is that the original DeskJet is
CPU-limited.  Printing a full page of high-resolution text will take
between 5 and 6 minutes, in typical cases.

The same setup with a DeskJet Plus is substantially faster... single-page
print time will go down to between 2 and 3 minutes, I believe.  However,
you still won't get the same speed as a DeskWriter, because the DeskJet
Plus has only a 1-dimensional raster compression algorithm, and doesn't
support serial-port speeds of > 19200 bits/second.  You won't save
much money, though... the cost of ATM plus a good third-party driver
is roughly equal to the price difference between the DeskJet Plus
and the DeskWriter.

The DeskWriter will give you a print-speed of roughly one minute per
page... significantly faster than the DeskJet Plus.  You can, if you
wish, use ATM fonts in place of, or in addition to the HP-supplied
outline fonts.

> If anyone has such a set up, I'd like to hear from you.  If someone knows
> why the above won't work perfectly, I'd also like to hear from you.

It will certainly work.  I'm running a DeskJet (original) with a driver
from DataPak, using oversized bitmap fonts;  I might buy ATM one of these
days.  It's slow, in 300 dpi mode, but is entirely workable.

My current prescription is:  if you need a printer which is compatible
with both the PC and the Mac, go with the DeskJet Plus.  If you need
only a Mac printer, and want the best possible speed, buy a DeskWriter.
-- 
Dave Platt                                             VOICE: (415) 493-8805
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