SHULL@WHARTON-10.ARPA (Christopher Shull) (11/04/85)
I have a mapping application that requires the production of
24" x 36" color maps. Does anyone out there in Laser Land have any
experience with or insight on the relative advantages of color ink
jet printers as compardd to pen plotters.
It occurs to me that the pen plotter would have higher resolution
and reasonable speed for line oriented maps. On the other hand, the
ink jet printer would be much faster for applications requiring area
fills and the curvy lines frequently found in character labels.
Does anyone have experience to support or reject these thoughts?
Can anyone offer other distinctions (or similarities) that can be
drawn between the two technologies? Are there other technologies
that preferred?
Please respond directly to me. I will summarize any significant
news and views to the list.
Thanks in advance,
Chris
Shull@Wharton-10.ARPA
215/898-5930
Decision Sciences Department
The Wharton School
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6366starkweather.pa@XEROX.ARPA (11/05/85)
The answer is complex since the pen plotters are fine if the number of lines is reasonable and there are no tints (halftone patches) etc. Maps usually have lots of both. The image generation for pen plotters is much easier since HP has its HPGL for plotters etc. The colors, however, are much better on an ink jet printer. Reliability of the pen plotter is substantially better in most current implementations. The plots are cheaper on the pen plotter. The speed of the pen plotter clearly favors that technology if the map is simple. If you have a complex map with contour lines, tints, blue patches for lakes etc. The ink jet might end up being much faster. Reproducing a map like one buys at a gas station or a military map with lots of shading clearly favors the ink jet versus the pen plotter. This is brief, but I would choose ink jet over the pen plotter since its ability to handle complex images is much better as well as having a more desireable color gamut. Gary Starkweather