🚀 go-pugleaf

> I am in the process of buying a 286 based machine for a church.
Sounds good!  I hope you get a lot of use out of it.

> Please suggest some software/hardware that I should get when I order the
> usual 286 clone that would create an acceptable DTP system.
Get a high-speed processor (12MHz); redrawing graphics can be CPU
intensive.  Definitely get a hard disk, though it doesn't need to be
very big (20MB is plenty).  Get as much memory as your software can
use; if it can use EMS or protected mode memory, get a megabyte.
(I'd recommend the Intel Above Board 286; it can be software
configured for conventional, expanded (EMS), and extended (protected
mode) memory in any combination at any address.)

> 	Should I upgrade to color? If so, VGA or EGA?
Nah - like you said, you're not doing color output, so color displays
are an unnecessary expense.

> 	Suggestions on graphics cards and monitors? 
> 	Is just a Herc mono clone and amber or white monitor
>    	  delivered with most clones good enough?
Sure, just make sure that the display is CRISP and STABLE since you'll
be staring at high-resolution graphics quite a bit.  This is a
function of the monitor, the video card, and the connecting cable(s).

> 	Since the bulk of our DTP is actual word processing with some
> 	   graphics, is WordPerfect 5.0 truely the best all round word 
> 	   processor for DTP?
We just got WP 5.0, and I haven't used it yet, so I can't really say.
I'd strongly suggest getting Aldus Pagemaker or Ventura Publisher
(probably the first for bulletins and newsletters, the second for long
documents), and using your word processor (or plain text editor) to
prepare input for it.

> 	Any other laser printer or ink jet that compares well with
> 	   HP's line?   How much memory should I get?  What cartriges
> 	   do I need?
If you can possibly afford it, GET A POSTSCRIPT PRINTER!  The NEC
LC-890 is a good deal, since it comes with 4MB and all of the
following font families, each in four styles (except the two Zapf fonts):

	Times, Helvetica, Courier, Avant-Garde, Bookman, New Century
	Schoolbook, Palatino, Helvetica Narrow,
	ZapfChancery-MediumItalic, and ZapfDingbats.

The biggest practical advantages of PostScript over an HP printer are

	- All the fonts above are built into the printer ROM.  No
	  cartridges!

	- Fonts can be printed in any size (15.25 point - ok.  100
	  point - ok.) and at any rotation and x-y scaling (including
	  mirror image, stretching, etc.).

	- Fonts can easily be rendered in outline, with any line
	  thickness.

	- And, of course, PostScript is a complete programming and
	  page description language, with lots more flexibility than
	  anything like HP's output codes, which operate on
	  essentially the same principle as terminal control codes.

Oh, you might want to go ahead and look at some of the large, flat,
desktop publishing monitors and graphics cards that can clearly
display an entire page at a time, but they are likely to be expensive.
We're doing Ventura Publisher here with Hercules monochrome, and it
seems to be a little cramped, but workable.

	Good luck!
-- 
John Owens		john@jetson.UPMA.MD.US
SMART HOUSE L.P.	uunet!jetson!john		(old uucp)
+1 301 249 6000		john%jetson.uucp@uunet.uu.net	(old internet)


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