🚀 go-pugleaf

>What I'd really like to know is why HP doesn't release their printer
>driver for use with the DeskJet? It seems to me that all they'd have
>to do is change the speed to 19.2 KBaud, and they'd be in business. I
>am presently using the HPDJ public domain driver, and am not particuliarly
>satisfied with the results. If HP doesn't come out with a driver, I'll probably
>wait for system 7.0, and hope that a sys 7.0 compatible DeskJet driver
>will appear.

Although this isn't the entire answer, the DeskWriter uses a new 2 dimensional
data compression machine called "mode 3" graphics.  This mode did not
exist when the DeskJet and DeskJet+ was designed.  The Mac DeskWriter
driver makes heavy use of this graphics compression mode and without it
would in many cases be IO limitted even at 57K baud, let alone 19.2K baud.
There are many other reasons, such as support, customer satisfaction,
and so forth.

By the way, the new HP LaserJet IIP does (I'm pretty sure) have support
for "mode 3" graphics. Its fastest baud rate is 19.2K.  When we
tried out our Mac DeskWriter driver at this baud rate to a LaserJet II
(not a IIP) which had special code supporting mode 3 graphics  it was
SLOWER THAN A DESKWRITER.  And a LaserJet IIP is slower than a II.
I can't go into all the reasons for this, but the speed difference is
more than just the difference between 19.2K and 57K bauds.  Steve
Miller has the actual time differences, maybe he could post them.
There actually is a "trick" that will allow a DeskWriter to run at
19.2 baud (unsupported, undocumented, not guaranteed to remain, and
I wont tell anyway), and the DeskWriter at 19.2K baud is faster than
a LaserJet II at 19.2K baud using our DeskWriter driver.

People who assume laser printers must be faster/better/more reliable
than technologies such as inkjet are often basing their belief on this
sort of "myth" that laser printers are the ultimate in printing technologies.
Every technology (thinking of the big three -- laser, inkjet, impact) has
advantages and disadvantages compared to the other.

Dave Neff
neff@hpvcfs1.HP.COM