[net.micro.pc] Letter quality printers?

railey@uiucdcsp.CS.UIUC.EDU (11/19/85)

Has anyone knowledge (first-hand or secod-hand) of letter quality
printers such as the Juki 6100s or the Brother HR-15xl?  I'm on the
market for one such printer, and would appreciate any advice or
other suggestions.

Thanks ahead of time.

railey@uiucdcsp.CS.UIUC.EDU (11/19/85)

that's "second-hand" not "secod-hand" ... sorry.

bright@dataioDataio.UUCP (Walter Bright) (11/20/85)

In article <10800017@uiucdcsp> railey@uiucdcsp.CS.UIUC.EDU writes:
>Has anyone knowledge (first-hand or secod-hand) of letter quality
>printers such as the Juki 6100s or the Brother HR-15xl?  I'm on the
>market for one such printer, and would appreciate any advice or
>other suggestions.

I have been using a Diablo 630 for years and am very pleased with it.
I have seen some cheap letter quality ones, and the problems are:
	o Bold face and double strike really shows up problems with
	  the accuracy of the carriage. They frequently come out as
	  double-images. Really gross!
	o The text lines are frequently not parallel!
The Diablo exhibits none of these problems.
If you're not willing to pay the bucks for a real letter quality printer,
I'd stick with dot-matrix.

lsmith@ut-ngp.UUCP (lsmith) (11/22/85)

The Juki printer is slow but puts out very nice print. 
I've heard second-hand reports that the Brothers are cheaply made.
The Brother typewriter/printer is so slow it's worthless.

caf@omen.UUCP (Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX) (11/26/85)

In article <2633@ut-ngp.UUCP> lsmith@ut-ngp.UUCP (lsmith) writes:
>The Juki printer is slow but puts out very nice print. 
>I've heard second-hand reports that the Brothers are cheaply made.
>The Brother typewriter/printer is so slow it's worthless.

I have a Dynax DX-15 printer which is the same as a Brother 15.  It seems
well built, and the users I've heard from have had good luck with it. I
reviewed the unit for a magazine which went belly up before the review
was finished.  The disadvantages are obvious; it takes a little longer
to appreciate the advantages.

Disadvantages: Slow, about 13 cps (faster models available, but more $$$).
Ribbons are much more costly than Selectric II.  Paper jams tend to
break the film ribbon.  Limited selection of printwheels.  The unit I
have does not modulate the print force; periods emboss the paper while
M's are light (newer units may correct this).  Instruction manual is
terse, even by Unix standards.

Advantages: Cheap, reliable. Optional sheet feeder is inexpensive and
works reliably when used properly.  Good print quality. 10, 12, 15, PS
pitches. Totally acceptable for formal correspondence.

If you're not saving up for a laser printer, the DX-15 makes a good and
cheap sheet fed printer for low quantity formal correspondence if you
get it discounted.
-- 
  Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX   ...!tektronix!reed!omen!caf   CIS:70715,131
Omen Technology Inc     17505-V NW Sauvie Island Road Portland OR 97231
Home of Professional-YAM, the most powerful COMM program for the IBM PC
Voice: 503-621-3406     Modem: 503-621-3746 (Hit CR's for speed detect)
omen Any ACU 1200 1-503-621-3746 se:--se: link ord: Giznoid in:--in: uucp

ward@chinet.UUCP (Ward Christensen) (12/07/85)

I am quite happy with my Royal Alpha 610 printer/typewriter.  I had an
aging selectric (sitting in basement with a "rotate" ribbon hanging out the
front), and wanted a "more modern" typewriter, mostly to type postcards (which
I use many of weekly - quick product requests, "take my name off your junk
mail list" requests, etc).
  This machine is a nice daisy-wheel typewriter, with 10-12-15 CPI daisy
wheels, etc.  $269 at Service Merchandise, with $130 for a serial/parallel
interface module, which has 630 compatibility and a 4K buffer (it can reprint
a page from its buffer).  
  I have no 630 driving software to test it with, so can't say much there
except: (1) it doesn't print backwards - or rather it DOES, but the silly
thing spaces RIGHT every time it gets a space, so printing a line backwards
would do (where c is a char, s a space, b a backspace): cccsbbcccc..ccsbbcc
etc.  ALso, it has a built-in "micro justify" mode, but using it with 
PC-Write didn't work - it worked when hacking with it directly, but the
"char pitch" changes that PC-W seems to send all too often, hoses up the
  P.S. this typewriter has lift-off and cover-up correction, with a 2-line
memory so it can remember what char to lift off when you space/backspace
and reverse-index back while typing.
  I recommend this device IF you need a typewriter AND a 15cps or so printer.