mlw@NCSC.ARPA (Williams) (10/29/86)
Tom Rutledge asked about setting up the LaserJet+ at 16 cpi and landscape mode, plus a print spooler. We use our LaserJet with a hardware print buffer rather than a spooler. We chose a "Printer Optimizer" from Applied Creative Technology and have been pleased with it. For one thing, it will hold set-up strings and send them to the printer at the push of a button - or two. It also provides very versatile connections -- serial in/out to parallel in/out with options for extra ports. It's not cheap -- a 256K version with 1 parallel and 2 serial inputs, 1 parallel and 1 serial output cost about $700. But it works reliably and is quite powerful. Sorry I can't advise about spooling programs. As far as the font and orientation situation goes, I assume that you have a cartridge (or built-in) font called LINE PRINTER. That is only available on cartridge for the LaserJet -- I don't know about the + model. Without the font, you won't get the 16 cpi characters, although you will get landscape mode with 10 cpi Courier. That's because the Courier landscape font is built-in. Anyway, assuming you have the right pieces/parts, two successive commands should put you into the right mode: <ESC>&l1O<ESC>(s16.66H should do it. Please note the exact characters...I kept sending things other than alpha-lowercase-ell, numeric-one, alpha-uppercase- oh in the first command when our LaserJet was new. However, since that string sets the landscape mode, you must be doing that right. I have a little C program that switches modes and the sharers of the printer have setup menus on a variety of other systems (our LaserJet can be connected to an IBM PC, three VAXen, a PR1ME, and a Burroughs via telecomm) and all seem to work ok. Hope yours does too. P.S. Does anyone know what a Dataproducts 2660/65 might be? We are a Navy lab acquiring a laser printer and our procurement office tells us that's what we're getting. We thought the machine had to be one or the other (model, that is). If anyone has any opinions to offer, you can route them to me or to the the interest group. Thanks. Mark L. Williams (mlw@ncsc.arpa)