jpalmer@uwovax.uwo.ca (J. Palmer) (09/21/89)
In an article last week, I wrote: > Unfortunately I cannot hope to get the money for a QMS or other >postscript laser printer. I can, however, come up with the money for a >DeskJet+ and GoScript. My questions are: > > 1. Is this a good combination? > 2. I have four megs of exPANDED memory. Will that help? > 3. Would a 287 co-processor help, too? > And here are the responses: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- from Sean Malloy: I've been using GoScript with a DeskJet+ on my 386 system to print files generated with MS Word 5.0 for several months now, and haven't had any significant problems with it. The only problem I had was that the current version of GoScript doesn't support the 'setscreen' operator, and one of the PostScript graphics images I had been using when I was using WalkNet to output to a Laserwriter had to be rewritten (no big deal, the image still came out legibly; it simply wasn't the effect I wanted) As long as you are willing to wait a little longer for output (which shouldn't be a real consideration, once you add the time for WalkNet transfers into your other time), and can handle exiting WP to run GoScript, you shouldn't have any problems. 1. I find the combination remarkably useful. 2. In the GoScript setup file, tell GoScript to use extended memory for its image file. It will run two to four times as fast as using disk. 3. A math coprocessor will reduce the time still further. I may be mistaken about which type of memory it wants -- I still get the two confused from time to time. Whatever it's called, its the one that the LIM spec describes. Sean Malloy | "The proton absorbs a photon Navy Personnel Research & Development Center | and emits two morons, a San Diego, CA 92152-6800 | lepton, a boson, and a malloy@nprdc.navy.mil | boson's mate. Why did I ever | take high-energy physics?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Received: from silver.bacs.indiana.edu by uwovax.uwo.ca with SMTP; From: aija beldavs <beldavsa@silver.bacs.indiana.edu> Organization: Indiana University, Bloomington I once saw a DJ (NOT a DJ+) used with GoScript, first release on a 14MHz '286 with a 14MHz bus. The result was *slow* as molasses -- complex pages took 15 minutes to from disk out to paper. In fairness, - This was a DeskJet; every review calls the DJ+ a good deal faster. - The guy using this combo was pushing for a '287. - He may have wanted LIM (Above Board) memory, too -- I can't recall. - The guy didn't know PostScript -- he never saved a GS configuration including the fonts he used -- and I can't be sure how much of his time he spent downloading them to print each run... However, given the inconvenience of saving enormous postscript files to disk, dropping out of Ventura, then loading GS, and running that, I would be leery of this idea. Output from the DeskJet, nice as it was, simply was not as crisp as that of a real laser printer. Too bad you need PostScript -- HP has just released a low-budget LaserJet -- $1495 *list* -- that prints at four pages per minute..... Good luck in your search. I just ran across a reference to a PostScript *cartridge* for the LaserJet IID -- the cartridge from HP. I have no idea how much it costs... In looking over my previous message, I think I should amplify a few points. My friend wanted a '287 -- very much. I *think* GoScript takes advantage of AboveBoard memory. If you have access to the hardware, a demo disk might be worthwhile. Again, good luck! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: @gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca, cs4g6ag@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca I've never used a DeskJet; however, I _do_ know that they have a repu- tation of being horribly slow, ESPECIALLY FOR GRAPHICS. As for GoScript, I've used GoScript Plus (without a manual, unfortunately). This will also be very slow (*** see further comments below ***). As for print quality: I tried printing the same file on a) an Apple LaserWriter II/NT and b) an HP LJII with GoScript. I found that GoScript and the LaserJet seem to cut off more in the way of borders that the LaserWriter did (this problem also surfaced using GoScript with a Star NX-1000 dot matrix printer); other than this, print quality was nearly identical. In some cases, the LaserWriter showed more jaggies, while in other cases the LaserJet with GoScript was worse. If you're not worried about jaggies (which you obviously aren't, since you're happy with using another PostScript printer) and you don't print too close to the edges of your pages, you should be quite happy with the print quality. $ 2. I have four megs of exPANDED memory. Will that help? YES!!!!! GoScript needs storage for three different things: a) heap b) what it calls VM (used for storing fonts) and c) the bitmap image. For a full page on a LaserJet in high resolution, the bitmap image will be about 1006K. If you have enough EMS, this image will be placed in EMS; otherwise, it will end up in a temporary file on your disk (so you'd better have a fast hard disk!). I can't find any way to get it to put either the heap or the VM into anything other than conventional memory; I'm sure they will have provided a method for putting the VM into EMS, but I can't find it without the manual; I imagine that the heap will always have to be in conventional memory. So having 4M of EMS will speed things up A LOT! $ 3. Would a 287 co-processor help, too? Yes, very much so! As you can well imagine, much of the work that has to be done when scaling and rotating fonts etc. is mathematical in nature. GoScript will make use of an 87/287/387 if you have one, and it will apparently speed things up a lot (I wouldn't know; I don't have one). As for speed in general, well, each page of my resume (which is strictly text, although there's a fair bit of it) takes about 3-5 minutes to generate a high-resolution image for mydot-matrix and probably around 7 minutes for the LaserJet. This is on a 12 MHz AT (1 wait state) with a 25 ms hard disk of non-optimal interleave and too little EMS for it to use for the bitmap (it's set up as a disk cache). A couple of other comments: there have been a few PostScript files of my brother's that we have tried running through GoScript; it won't take some of them - not that it objects to the PostScript code, just that it continually runs out of memory and aborts. Alsyou configure how much of your memory is used for the heap and how much is used for VM. Different files require different amounts of each; unless you have lots of memory to spare, you'll probably find that you'll have GoScript crapping out on you from time to time, and you'll have to constantly tweak the memory allocation. If you can find a way to put the VM into EMS, though, this won't be a problem anymore. I hope this helps. Please pardon the typos - they're not actually typos; I'm on a very noisy phone line right now and it's responsible for the errors. If you do end up getting GoScript, please let me know if it will let you put anything other than the bitmap into EMS. Regards, Steve -- Stephen M. Dunn cs4g6ag@maccs.McMaster.CA ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: JLI@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu We have tried this combination, and the results are satisfying. We also tried GoScript with HP LaserJet II, and the output looks exactly like those printed by the Apple Laser printers. We are really happy with it. If you have exPANDED memory and a math co-processor, it will speed up the printing process sharply. You also need at least 1M memory in the DeskJet in order to print full-page of graphics. We had a DeskJet Plus w/ 4.5MB memory (maximum configuration), and it can handle complicated graphic output. There is a similar software package called "UltraScript PC" which has much more fonts available than does the GoScript. It also has a nice feature: you can load it in memory (as TSR program) then you can print anything within your application program (i.e. you don't need to save your documents in a file and then print files with GoScript). However, in order to do this, you have to have at least 800K of exTENDED memory. 4MB of exTENDED memory will be optimum according to the users manual. Q. Liu --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: nathan@mhuxd.att.com (Nathan Justus) Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories I think I can give you an answer for all of these questions. I use a QMS at work, and a DeskJet+, and I use a DeskJet at home. I use Goscript in both places. I LOVE Goscript and the DeskJet[+]! It works great if you have expanded memory. What happens is the following: Goscript builds a bit map image of the page to be printed in expanded memy. This requires 1.25 MB expanded memory (No problem, from what you've got). It then writes the info out to the printer, a line at a time. The DeskJet+, with its faster motor and processing abilities, is considerably faster than the DeskJet, but I am very happy with both of them. A 287 coprocessor will help, but it's pretty fast even without it IF you have expanded memory. If you don't, it writes to disk every time, and takes FOREVER (like, say, 40 minutes/page). How you use GoScript with WordPerfect (since I do, all the time) is to define WP as using an Apple Laserwriter (or AL+, if you have Goscript+....essentially, go script wiht 35 fonts), and define the output as going to a disk file. The postscript then goes into this file and you run goscript on it. With expanded memory, it takes I guess a minute or so for each page, but I feel that it is worth it! It is an incredibly cheap way to get a postscript printer! There are many places that are offering the DeskJet+ and Goscript and a font cartridge for the printer very cheaply.. like $800 for all of them...if you're interested, I'll send you a copy of the ad that advertises this. The only problem that I have with the DeskJet is its water soluable ink. But that may change one of these days...if HP can perfect a non water soluable ink that dries fast without running on plain paper. We can hope. Hope this info helps! \ Nathan ======================================================================= Thanks to everyone who responded. The information was helpful. I'll probably make a decision in the next week or so. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ subsig: Overlapping Generalizations and Rationalized Expectorations -- The New Economics -- reply to jpalmer@uwovax.uwo.ca ||----John Palmer, London, Ont, CANADA N6A 5C2 (519) 661-3533-----------------||----The Economics Institute for Journalists ============================================================================= "I was here. Where were you?" -=[ Godot ]=-