laser-lovers@uw-beaver (01/24/85)
From: Richard Furuta <Furuta@washington.arpa> Now that Apple has announced the first in what one would expect will be a series of Postscript printers, the question that I am sure is on many people's minds is "how does it compare to the previously available printers?" I think it's pretty clear that the comperable machines are not ones like the HP LaserJet but instead ones like the Imagen 8/300, the QMS 800, and perhaps the DEC LN03. I would appreciate it if anyone who has any information about the relative merits of these printers could send it to the list. I am particularly interested in hearing comments about the Imagen 8/300 and the Apple printer. --Rick -------
laser-lovers@uw-beaver (01/25/85)
From: Christopher A Kent <cak@PURDUE.ARPA> The other question on my mind about PostScript is "How can I use it to drive my other printers?" After all, I'd like to convert everything that I can to use PostScript (I'm convinced that it is the One True Way.) Discussions with folks at Adobe lead me to believe that the answer is "You can't." At least not right now. They are only interested in imbedding their software in printers; not selling the VAX version of the interpreter (yes, it exists) so that you and I can drive our Versatecs or Imagens. They don't want to get into the software support and distribution business, and I can't say I blame them. However, they might be interested in licensing the software to a vendor who would do distribution and support, not unlike the way the Emacs and Scribe are currently handled. But I think they're going to wait for such vendors to come to them, rather than going out looking. That means, of course, that these vendors need to perceive a demand for the software, and it's up to us to show that demand. We hope to upgrade our printer hardware to a QMS 1200A (A for Adobe, it's a PostScript engine) and a Laserwriter in the near future, as soon as we can see a Laserwriter so we can make a decision. Cheers, chris ----------