kleef@ark.cs.vu.nl (Patrick van Kleef) (04/27/87)
Although Atari's laserprinter seems te me like a product far from wide distribution/sales (the sample on the Atari Show on London couldn't be persuaded to print out even one line of text), I have a few questions that I'd like to see answered by Atari USA. The solution to make it a relatively cheap product (using the computer's 'intelligence' instead of a dedicated computer inside the laserprinter itsself), may seem clever, but could prove it to be a product usable by Atari ST owners only. Although I heard there are some companies writing a PostScript printerdriver, I figure that you need at least an ST to drive the printer. So, if I were to own an Apple Macintosh (as, in fact, I do :) I'd need an ST to be able to use the laserprinter to do some printing on it. Nevertheless, even with the ST, the laserprinter might still be cheaper than all other laserprinters right now. Therefore, some questions: 1) Will it be possible to use an ST as an interface between another computer (Mac, IBM-PC) to drive the printer as if it were any other standard PostScript printer? And to prevent misinterpretations: by possible I mean without any special software that I'd have to write myself. Will Atari encourage 3rd parties to make something like that or even do it themselves? 2) Is it possible to use the laserprinter in a network of Atari ST computers? Using the DMA-channel might be a serious obstruction in networking. Unless, again, a single ST computer is used as a printerdriver in the network. 3) How soon will production of the laserprinter start? Am i right in my assumption this might be several months away? Bearing the risk that some other printer manufacturer will produce a 'full-blown' laserprinter (supporting PostScript?) at approximately the same price. Current price-falls in the standard 300 DPI laserprinters indicate this is highly possible. There are printers supporting serial, parallel and AppleTalk protocols (and thus without interfacing problems, even usable from an Atari ST without problems)_ that are going down in price very rapidly. This would make a 'dedicated' Atari laserprinter far less attractive, even at that special price. Thanx in advance for answering.