A.ERIC@GSB-HOW.STANFORD.EDU (Eric M. Berg) (07/22/86)
Here's some new information about HP LaserJet support for TeX. It's from an article on page 44 of the July 21, 1986 issue of InfoWorld. "MICROTEX TO USE LASERJET PLUS" "Users of the IBM PC-based typesetting program MicroTeX can ow use the Hewlett-Packard LaserJet Plus printer via a new driver introduced by MicroTeX publisher Addison--Wesley Publishing Co. "The driver, called DVIlaser/HP, was designed by Textset Inc. of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and translates MicroTeX files into a language that is understood by the LaserJet Plus, according to Brian Skidmore, Addison-Wesley's product line manager for desktop publishing. MicroTeX is not compatible with the standard LaserJet printer, because that model is not equipped with enough memory, he noted. With the new LaserJet Plus drivers, users can also make use of both the cartridge and disk-based downloadable fonts supplied by Hewlett-Packard, Skidmore said. "MicroTeX is a microcomputer version of the TeX user-extendable programming language designed by Donald Knuth at Stanford University, in Stanford, California, for batch-oriented typesettin, Skidmore said. "The new LaserJet Plus driver is currently available from Addison-Wesley for $250 and requires Version 1.5A1 of MicroTeX (available for $295). MicroTeX and DVILaser/HP Can be purchased together for $495." -------
dyer@HARVARD.HARVARD.EDU (Steve Dyer) (07/25/86)
I just picked DVILASER/HP up today, and installed and tested it this evening. I still need to upgrade MicroTex from 1.4A1 to 1.5A1, but at least now I have a decent output device--I don't know (yet) why 1.5A1 is required. Textset (the authors) provide several .DVI files for testing, and they formatted flawlessly. The package provides a set of HP versions of Computer Modern fonts, as well as the ability to use cartridge and downloadable fonts sold by HP. At the same time, I picked up Textset's 'Preview', a DVI screen previewer for PCs with Hercules, Tecmar, Olivetti (AT&T?) cards and a monochrome monitor, and EGA graphics cards with either a mono or enhanced color display. Pretty neat--I have an EGA/ECD combo, and the demos, at least, convinced me that it does an adequate job of indicating what will appear on paper. Speed, on a 9.2mhz PC/AT, is hardly zippy--it can take 5-15 seconds to display each new screen. I would hesitate to use this on anything less than an AT. 'Preview' doesn't require TeX on the PC; one can download DVI files produced on your favorite mini. /Steve Dyer dyer@spdcc.UUCP dyer@harvard.harvard.edu