[net.micro.mac] New Imagewriter Questions:

djs@ttrdc.UUCP (Dennis J. Svobod) (09/23/85)

I have some questions regarding the Imagewriter II announced
by Apple last week:

	* How much buffer space is it able to expand too?
	* How compatible is it with the current Imagewriter?
	* What are the major differences (resolution,speed etc.)
	* Will it work with ThunderScan?

I would appreciatte any answers/comments etc. If it is everything it 
seems to be, then my last question is:

	* How do I dump my old Imagewriter so I can buy this new toy?

		Frank Owen
		(..ihnp4!ttrdc!djs)

blm@cxsea.UUCP (Brian Matthews) (09/25/85)

The meeting of A.P.P.L.E. on September 17th featured two guys from Apple
speaking about their new products.  Here's what they had to say:

> 	* How much buffer space is it able to expand too?

Apple has a 32K plug in card.  They didn't say if this was the max or not.

> 	* How compatible is it with the current Imagewriter?

Supposedly fully compatible, so it should be usable with a Mac, although of
course that won't take advantage of...

> 	* What are the major differences (resolution,speed etc.)

color.  Plug in a four color ribbon, and the Imagewriter will print in
color.  The command set is a superset of the Scribe command set.  It's also
faster, 250 cps in draft mode, and 45 cps in near-letter quality mode.  They
said it was only about 20-30% faster on Mac stuff.  They didn't mention any
higher resolution, although it has near-letter quality mode that looked
quite nice.  This could be achieved with the old Imagewriter, but took a
good bit of programming.

> 	* Will it work with ThunderScan?

They said it would.  The black ribbon cartridges are the same as for the old
Imagewriter, so it seems plausible.

> 	* How do I dump my old Imagewriter so I can buy this new toy?

Let me know if you find out.  Also, some additional info:

-  There will be an Appletalk plug-in card sometime in '86, so you can hang
   it on an Appletalk network.

-  The printer has long back legs, so you can put the paper under it.  I
   just saw pictures of this, so I can't say for sure how well this works.

-  The paper feed mechanism has supposedly been simplified, both for single
   sheets and fan-fold.  Again, I didn't get a chance to look at one up
   close, so I can't say how or how well.

-  There is a single sheet feeder available.  Again, no chance to look at it
   up close.

-  I believe the new Imagewriter is the same price as the old Imagewriter
   (499 or 599?).
-- 


Thanx,
Brian L. Matthews
...{ihnp4!utzoo!mnetor,uw-beaver!ssc-vax}!cxsea!cxsea2!arrakis!blm