conn@pyr.gatech.EDU (Avery Shealey) (09/18/87)
Does anyone know where I can find a printer driver for an HP LaserJet? The output needs to go out the phone port. Thanks for any information.
atchison@hpindda.HP.COM (Lee Atchison) (09/23/87)
There is a product called LASERSTART which will allow you to use an HP Laserjet on a Macintosh. According to the info I have, it is suppose to make "the LaserJet completely compatible with the Macintosh computer." The information goes on to say that it works with all software using the Mac printing standards like MacWrite, MacPaint, MS Word, etc. I haven't tried the product, but only have an information sheet. The product is available from: Softstyle, Inc. 7192 Kalanianaole Hwy., Suite 205 Honolulu, HI 96825 (808)396-6368 I heard about the article from an information sheet put out by HP about connecting the Laserjet, ThinkJet, and just about the whole line of HP plotters to a Macintosh. I got the sheet by sending in a reader response card to an article HP had in MacWorld (I don't know what issue). I hope this helps! If you decide to get it, please followup to the net as far as its usefulness. I might be interested in getting a Laserjet in the future (sure is a whole lot cheaper than the LaserWriter). -lee -------- Lee Atchison Hewlett Packard Information Networks Division Cupertino, CA 95014 atchison%hpindda@hplabs.hp.com (408)447-371)?
david@hpsmtc1.UUCP (09/23/87)
Be careful! As the Laserjet as configured does not support postscript! So what you see on the screen is not necessarily what you get on the printout...Mind you I have not used Softstyles product personally, I have just read various comments on various BBSs. If your Laserjet does not have enough memory I would assume that you would get chopping of the images at 300 dpi. Now, this package might be more than enough if you are printing just straight text. I also think they have a new version of the product. -------------------------------------------------------------------- The usual witty and humorous disclaimers apply.... David Williams HyperCard Jedi in training Hp Cupertino Down the street from Apple ------------------------------------------------------------------- --
esf00@amdahl.amdahl.com (Elliott S. Frank) (09/24/87)
In article <4065@pyr.gatech.EDU> conn@pyr.UUCP (Avery Shealey) writes: >Does anyone know where I can find a printer driver for an HP LaserJet? >The output needs to go out the phone port. > Try JetStart or LaserStart from SofStyle -- tested, debugged, and available at your local software store :-) (under $100). -- Elliott S Frank ...!{hplabs,ames,sun}!amdahl!esf00 (408) 746-6384 or ....!{bnrmtv,drivax,hoptoad}!amdahl!esf00 [the above opinions are strictly mine, if anyone's.] [the above signature may or may not be repeated, depending upon some inscrutable property of the mailer-of-the-week.]
oster@dewey.soe.berkeley.edu (David Phillip Oster) (09/25/87)
Would someone who has actually used the SoftStyle LaserStart printer drivers
please E-mail to me and tell me how well they work?
You should be able to print anything you can see on the screen - the software
architecture by which Mac applications communicate with the printer driver
is general enough. However:
1.) You can't print a page of graphics at 300dpi unless you have 1Meg
of memory in your printer, and 1Meg of memory free at print time in
your Mac. (Postscript printers don't need the free Meg in the Mac, and
the General Computer's PLP is an exception to both halves.)
2.) Most printers interface to the Mac over the serial port. If the
printer talks to the Mac at 9600 baud (This is the speed the
imagewriter uses) then sending 8"x10"x300dots per inch=90000dots per
square inchx80 square inches= ~15 minutes assuming that the Mac can
send the bits at the full speed of the port. That's 15 minutes per
page, or roughly 4 times slower than an imagewriter. If you can take
advantage of the built-in fonts in the printer, you'll be able to do
better, but I am under the impression that the LaserJet doesn't have
much in the way of built-in fonts, and certainly it won't have the
Macintosh fonts we like to use.
3.) Some fonts, like Adobe's "Sonata" music typesetting font are sold
only in postscript form. To convert these into bitmaps so they can be
printed on a non-postscript printer (like an imagewriter LQ, a General
Computer's PLP, or an HP LaserJet) you'd need a tool like Fontographer
that can create mac screen fonts in any size from the postscript
description. (Or use Fontastic+ to create, and smooth by hand a large screen
font from a small point size one.) Remember, that to print 12point
text on a ImageWriter in best quality, you really should have the
24point version of the font in your system file. On an Imagewriter LQ,
you'll need the 36point version of the font, and on the 300dpi laser
printers you'll need the 48point version of the font. (or maybe the
50point version of the font, depending on how the printer driver is
written.)
Once again, has anybody actually used a LaserJet with LaserStart?
Please E-mail to me. Aside from the above theoretical concerns, how
bad is it really?
--- David Phillip Oster --My Good News: "I'm a perfectionist."
Arpa: oster@dewey.soe.berkeley.edu --My Bad News: "I don't charge by the hour."
Uucp: {uwvax,decvax,ihnp4}!ucbvax!oster%dewey.soe.berkeley.edujww@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU (Joel West) (09/28/87)
In article <11540021@hpsmtc1.HP.COM>, david@hpsmtc1.HP.COM (David Williams) writes: > As the Laserjet as configured does not support postscript! So what you see > on the screen is not necessarily what you get on the printout Actually, a non-PS printer is more likely to be WYSIWYG, since the Mac screen does not support PostScript, either. For example, MacPaint is a perfect WYSIWYG for any 72/75 dpi print device (or multiple thereof), while the advanced capabilities of CricketDraw do not show up well on the screen. -- Joel West (c/o UCSD) Palomar Software, Inc., P.O. Box 2635, Vista, CA 92083 {ucbvax,ihnp4}!sdcsvax!jww jww@sdcsvax.ucsd.edu or ihnp4!crash!palomar!joel joel@palomar.cts.com
howard@amdahl.UUCP (10/02/87)
In article <20944@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> oster@dewey.soe.berkeley.edu.UUCP (David Phillip Oster) writes: >Would someone who has actually used the SoftStyle LaserStart printer drivers >please E-mail to me and tell me how well they work? [ I tried to email the response, but the mailer barfed. So here... ] Ok, I have actually used the Laserstart driver with an old Laserjet. Memory was scarce on the Jet so life was real tough. First, the Jet and the Mac can go at 19.2k baud so your calculations at 9600 baud should be halved. I don't have the book on the Jet in front of me but it might use a repetition coding algorithm for compression so throughput might be actually be better than worst case baud rate calculations. At any rate, the LaserJet makes crisper than Imagewriter looking quality documents at 150 dpi MAX. It don't go 300 dpi, except when using built in fonts for text printing. As far as fonts go, the early versions of LaserStart used built in fonts for draft printing but you had to print at the point size of your fonts or it looked stupid. It would make up for point size changes with character spacing. Just like the Imagewriter dialog; draft is text only, faster is 75 dpi on the Jet, and Best is 150 dpi on the Jet. Now the trouble I was having was that large complex images would overflow the memory on the Jet and would come out on two or more pages. The answer to that problem was more memory (LaserJet+ or II) but I couldn't buy the answer (not my printer). This typically only happened in "Best" mode. BTW, the latest versions of LaserJet should have the ability to mix built in 300 dpi font text with graphics if you so request; driving down the amount of memory used in creating the image while raising the quality. I never got a chance to try it, we finally bought a LaserWriter+. P.S. the last update to LaserStart I got seems to be PrintWorks. It looks like they have rolled support into it for a whole lot of devices but I haven't really looked at it closely so I can't really say. It might just be a shipping error. The capabilities may have been expanded but I really don't have a LaserJet (or a desire) to test it. -- "The value of knowledge lies not in its accumulation, Howard C. Simonson but in its utilization." E. Green amdahl!howard [ The disclaimer for this message may be found in a previous article ]
paul@aucs.UUCP (Paul Steele) (10/05/87)
There's been some talk lately about a Mac printer driver called LaserStart
that is supposed to work with the LaserJet series of printers. Could someone
please post the name and address of the company that makes this product.
I am also still waiting for information on a Mac printer driver for Epson
compatible printers. I know one exists because I've heard about it in the
past, but nothing recently. Any information would be appreciated.
Paul H. Steele USENET: {uunet|watmath|utai|garfield}!dalcs!aucs!Paul
Acadia University BITNET: Paul@Acadia
Wolfville, NS
CANADA B0P 1X0 (902) 542-2201x587psych@watdcsu.UUCP (10/06/87)
There has been a number of requests for information about print drivers for various printers. The following is a list of all the information I could find from recent Mac magazines. GDT Softworks Inc. Suite D, 2800 Douglas Road, Burnaby,BC Canada V5C 5B7 (604)291-9121 800-663-6222 -They have 2 sets of print drivers. One called PRINT-LINK works with dot matrix printers. The other is called Mac Daisy Link and works with daisy wheel printers with or without single or multibin sheet feeders. -See there ad on page 214 of MacUser Vol3 No 10 Oct 87 for more info or page 192 of MacWorld Sept. 87 SoftStyle 7192 Kalanianaole Highway Honolulu, HI USA 96825 -They have a product called Printworks for the Mac. It is a dot matrix control system. They also have Epstart for Epson printers, Colormate for color printing and Laserstart for use with an HP Laserjet. -They also have a piece of hardware called the MacEnhancer which will let you hook a printer or plotter to the mac. It has serial and parallel ports -see Page 206 of MacUser Vol 3 No 10 Oct 87 -it is also available form a number of mail order places There are probably others but these are the only ones I could find with a quick look at the mags. I know nothing about either of these companies. I have never dealt with them in any way. The information provided is from ads found in the various Mac magazines. I hope this helps Richard Crispin Dept. of Psychology University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ont. Canada N2L 3G1 (519)885-1211 ext 2879
zmact59@tsun18.doc.ic.ac.uk.doc.ic.ac.uk (C A Newton) (01/11/90)
Hello, Can anyone out there tell me where i can get hold of a printer driver for my 24 pin dot matrix printer (Star LC24 -10) ?? The only non apple driver I have found so far is for an FX80. Thanks a lot, CAN.
monck@ibmpcug.co.uk (Paul Monckton) (02/01/90)
Hi all, Can anyone out there tell me where I can get hold of a driver for my STAR LC24-10 dot matrix printer so that it'll work on my mac? I have been looking for ages but without any success. Thanks, Paul -- Automatic Disclaimer: The views expressed above are those of the author alone and may not represent the views of the IBM PC User Group. --