regan@cs.Buffalo.EDU (Kenneth Regan) (12/20/89)
Two months ago I posted to comp.sys.mac a query about whether the HP Deskwriter is capable of emulating an Epson FX80 or FX85, so that one could drive it from an MS-DOS application running under Soft-PC. Wilson Mac Liaw of Ohio State gave a comprehensive `NO' answer in a followup post (since the Deskwriter doesn't support ASCII stream mode), and there wasn't more to say. Since then I've experimented with the Epson emulation that comes with the Soft-PC package itself. The bottom line is that it's fine for text, but graphics images are limited to the basic 120 x 72 dpi. resolution (72 dpi. vertical). The MS-DOS scientific text processor I use (T^3 by TCI Software Research) can print at up to 240 x 216 by multiple passes. However, the conversion via Quickdraw to the Deskwriter takes out every other line, leaving jagged characters. (With T3's 120x72 Espon driver things come out fine.) Oddly enough, I can get 300 dpi. resolution on the Deskwriter by setting the image size to 25% (and using "precision bitmaps" = another 4% reduction) in the Page Setup dialog box. But, even though T^3 lets one define pages which are 34" wide and 44" deep and use characters which are 4x4 times as big (!), the print yields garbage whenever I stray much past the dimensions of standard paper (US or A4). Talking with the SoftPC people at Insignia Solutions pretty much confirmed my deduction that what SoftPC does is image the virtual Epson output a page at a time, at the 120x72 resolution. Hence the above limitations. The company itself is based in England, and I haven't written for further details (yet). I should mention that SoftPC can also adapt Postscript files for printing on a LaserWriter, though I haven't been able to test this. (T^3 supports Postscript also; they now have 120 "home-made" downloadable fonts (Red Book guidelines, no encryption or etc.). Separately I've been asking whether the Pacific Page cartridge for the HP LJ II can take them.) If I get the chance to see whether SoftPC, the Deskwriter, and Freedom Of Press can get together with the soft fonts, I'll report sometime in the future. (I'm debating whether to order FOP.) Last, my impressions of SoftPC mirror what's been said in reviews: perfectly robust for me (Insignia says there can be conflicts with the SUM Shield INIT and QuicKeys, but I have both active and haven't run into problems), very crisp CGA screen, XT speed on the IIcx (hard disk accesses a bit faster, and you get a slight video speedup by reducing colors), and the current version (1.3) lets you use the FDHD "Superdrive" as a DOS 720k or 1.2Mb drive. As others have said, it emulates the 8088 chip at the instruction-set level. My $0.02 on the "SoftPC'286" thread: Insignia told me they're trying to support EGA and VGA, and if "I" could do this faster without emulating the whole 80286 chip, that's what I'd do. Kenneth W. Regan Assistant Professor Computer Science Dept. (Opinions not < SUNYaB) SUNY at Buffalo, 226 Bell Hall Tel.: (716) 636-3189, -3180 Buffalo, NY 14260 regan@cs.buffalo.edu