laser-lovers@uw-beaver (01/29/85)
From: Brian Reid <reid@Glacier>
Peter Gross from the High Altitude Observatory (I think that's what
"hao" stands for) sent the following comment that I can't allow to go
unflamed.
From: udenva!hao!pag@lbl-csam.arpa (Peter Gross)
I'm not familiar with the Canon LBP-CX engine, but I can give you
a {possible} warning about it. We have three Symbolics lasers
based on the LBP-10 engine from Canon. For the same reason (high
costs) as well as difficulty in delivery (they're in Ca., we're
in NC) we attempted to find another supplier for the Canon LBP-10
toner and concentrate. Turns out stock Canon supplies will NOT
work. Symbolics deliberately changed the POLARITY on their toner
fluid such that you MUST buy your supplies from them. I doubt
Imagen did something similar, but you never know.
Personaly I'd never buy Symbolics again, but once we had two in
house, we had no choice but to get our third from them because of
maintenance agreements. Just thought I'd give you a small word of
caution. Make sure Imagen hasn't pulled some sort of similar
trick to make you dependent upon them.
I completely refuse to believe you. For one thing, Symbolics does
not have the in-house technical expertise to change the imaging
polarity on a marking engine. They just buy LBP-10's from Canon
and stick a Symbolics controller on them. For another thing, I'm
sure that Symbolics has better things to do than sell toner. They
are a computer company.
The LBP-10 has reversed polarity from an ordinary copier.
That means you can't use ordinary copier supplies in it. This has
nothing to do with anything Symbolics did, or could do, or that Imagen
could do. That's just the way that the LBP-10 works. What "reversed
polarity" means is as follows. In an ordinary copier you put a piece of
paper in, and the copier shines a light at the paper. Anywhere the
paper is white, light is reflected onto the drum. Anywhere the paper is
black, light is not reflected onto the drum. It is then the drum's job
to make the copy black in places where light did not hit it and white
in places where light did hit it. I believe that this is called
"positive imaging"; I am certain that it is also called "write-white".
It turns out to be more convenient to make a laser printer work the
other way--anyplace you want it to be black, you shine a light at it,
and anyplace you do not want it to be black, you do not shine a light
at it. I believe that this is called "negative imaging"; it is also
called "write-black".
My recollection is that the LBP-10 is a write-black system, which is
the opposite polarity from a usual copier. This is why you can't use
ordinary copier supplies in it. It is for precisely this same reason
that you can't use Canon Personal Copier supplies in a Canon LBP-CX.
--
Brian Reid decwrl!glacier!reid
Stanford reid@SU-Glacier.ARPAlaser-lovers@uw-beaver (01/30/85)
From: Nick <NNicoll.ES@XEROX.ARPA> If you have a problem getting supplies, buy a Xerox printer. Xerox printers write-white, which is why a 5700 can interleave copies from its RDH (Recirculating Document Handler) into a print job. The copies are made on the same drum that the laser uses to image the print job. The same supplies are used in both printers and copiers. \\ Nick
laser-lovers@uw-beaver (01/31/85)
From: Creon Levit <creon@AMES-NAS.ARPA>
I don't know if this information has been on laser-lovers before, but
we at NASA Ames tried many types of paper in our Symbolics LGP-1 (which
uses the canon LBP-10 engine I think), and finaly found some non Canon
paper which works PERFECTLY. The paper is:
HAMMERMILL COPIER PAPER TYPE CAN4
(item number 10270-7)(white)
It says, on the label, in small print, "for the canon NP plain paper
copiers). I think we use it because it is available at the local
stationary shop. We make very heavy use of out LGP-1 printers, they
are printing about 4 hours a day, I would say. We have had no problems
with the non-symbolics non-canon paper, and our symbolics fix-it man
had no complaints about the paper either.
Try it, you'll like it.
Creon Levit
NASA Ames Research Center
Moffett field, CA.
(415)694-6410
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