🚀 go-pugleaf

Rumors continue unabated in the press about Apple bringing out a low-cost
LaserWriter without PostScript. Target price appears to be <$2000. It would
have a built-in QuickDraw RIP.

Current LaserWriters, if I understand correctly, use PostScript. The Laser Prep
file is automatically sent by the system to define a series of PostScript
"macros" that support QuickDraw primitives.

Upon hearing about this, I thought "Wow, this gets me into the ballpark!"
But further contemplation makes me think maybe this is a real dog. For example,
the reason the output of Adobe Illustrator is neat is because it does not limit
the process to the simple things QuickDraw can do. Even something simple like
PageMaker uses a different prep file (Aldus Prep) to support, among other
things, hairlines. These are presented as 1/300 inch wide, whereas QuickDraw
is limited to the 1-point (1/72 inch) minimum. Hence, all QuickDraw lines are
relatively thick, and only get thicker in pretty large increments.

Another loss is the types of screening ("halftone" shading or gray levels) that
can be produced. Quickdraw again is limited to 1-point spots, although the LWs
to date can smooth. Thus, the best 50% gray that can be produced is a very
coarse grid. If in addition you are using some odd enlargement factor (100% is
an "odd" factor; 98% is an exact 4x linear increase in resolution) then this
gray shade can make for very bizarre lines of 50% density.

Also, the LW with its resolution provides for excellent representation of
angled lines, curves, and circles. I would expect that a QuickDraw based printer
would also print these at maximum resolution, but is that certain?

Finally, and this is the swinging factor for me, WOULD SUCH A PRODUCT HAVE
DECENT FONTS, or would it be limited to the current bit-mapped screen fonts?
If you print out, say, Geneva or New York WITHOUT FONT SUBSTITUTION on the
current LW, you can see the best that such a product might do. As I understand
it, the built-in fonts of the LW and LW+ are PostScript designs based on Bezier
curves that can only be interpreted by PostScript (or equivalent). Certainly,
QuickDraw cannot do a decent interpretation!!! In fact, the above demon-
stration may produce better results than you could expect from a cheap printer
because the current LW and LW+ base their bitmap representations upon the
LARGEST bitmap version of that font. Thus, if your system has a 36-point New
York in it, your 12-pt New York output will benefit. But if such a printer is
consistent with the words "no PostScript" and "QuickDraw," it will have only
the screen fonts supported. No Times, Courier, Helvetica, or Symbol. None of
the additional LW+ fonts. AND no possible way to utilize those beautiful PS
fonts from, say, CasadyWare, like Micro or Prelude Script. No, all you would
get would be what you can run straight out to your ImageWriter and edit with
FONTastic Plus.

If this last limitation is real, what such a LW would be is only a marginal
print quality improvement on the ImageWriter, and almost NO gain in func-
tionality (a loss if you consider IW II color). I say marginal print quality
improvement because the LW is fraught with many of the same demons that plague
all xerography processes - graying out of large black areas, uneven toner
deposition (on the Canon engine, it often fades out the edges of the page
while the center is good, and shaking the cartridge does not always help), and
smears, jams, and other annoyances shared with IWs.

So, is this product a waste of Apple's time? If it is, and we say so loud
enough on this net, maybe the product planners there will get wind of it. The
reports I've heard imply that this one is not a clear call within Apple either,
and that there are armed camps with their own perceptions of the market. By
providing YOUR views in this group, we can function as some sort of informal
market survey!

-- 
-Brian Diehm     (SDA - Standard Disclaimers Apply)
Tektronix, Inc.
briand@tekig4.TEK.COM   or  {decvax,cae780,uw-beaver}!tektronix!tekig4!brianence