[comp.sys.mac] Mac Printers

patiath@umn-cs.CS.UMN.EDU (Pradip Patiath) (12/01/89)

I am looking at purchasing a reasonably priced printer for my
mac SE30. Possibilities are:
 ImageWriter (reg)
 GCC (I forget what the make is called)
 HP Deskwriter.

Would someone mail me any questions or suggestions they may have.
Specifically, are there any compatibility problems I could run into
by not buying the ImageWriter. The DeskWriter is an inkjet printer.
The GCC one has 29 pins instead of the 9 pins the ImageWriter has.

Please email responses to :
	patiath@umn-cs.cs.umn.edu

Thanks.

-Pradip

markr@studsys.mu.edu (rodenkirch) (12/03/89)

If you want cheap then get the Imagewriter II.  You can get it for half the
cost of either the GCC or HP.  

But if you want quality I can say that the HP Deskwriter is a good printer.
I have an HP and have found no problems with it.  It may cost more but
it is definitely worth the money I spent on it.

I'm not sure which GCC printer you are speaking of so I have no opinion.
-- 
Mark G. Rodenkirch                    markr@studsys.UUCP

"But God really exists," said the old man.  And I knew the old man
was telling the truth because I knew that Santa would never lie.

macduff@cbnewse.ATT.COM (Roger R. Espinosa) (12/04/89)

In article <706@studsys.mu.edu>, markr@studsys.mu.edu (rodenkirch) writes:
> If you want cheap then get the Imagewriter II.  You can get it for half the
> cost of either the GCC or HP.  

"Cheap" is relative here.  If I were buying a printer for my Mac, and I
had no printer, I would go for the DeskWriter, for the sheer reason that 
the ImageWriter is at lesat $500, adn the DeskWriter $800: yes, it's $300
(or more) more expensive, but we're talking about 144 dpi vs 300 dpi, faster
speed, etc.  I don't think that the IW II is worth its price (comparative
Epsons, etc. are selling at less than $200, with LQ printers starting around
$250.)

> 
> But if you want quality I can say that the HP Deskwriter is a good printer.
> I have an HP and have found no problems with it.  It may cost more but
> it is definitely worth the money I spent on it.
> 
> I'm not sure which GCC printer you are speaking of so I have no opinion.
> -- 

I think we're talking about the GCC Personal Laser Printer (PLP) which costs
around $1600.  Looks nice, but it's twice the price of the DeskWriter.

BTW, I do like my IW II for my printing needs.  It's my opinion, though, that
$500 is a bit much for something so ... ancient.

Roger
rre@ihlpn.ATT.COM

hammen@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Robert J. Hammen) (12/04/89)

In article <2574@cbnewse.ATT.COM> macduff@cbnewse.ATT.COM (Roger R. Espinosa) writes:
>had no printer, I would go for the DeskWriter, for the sheer reason that 
>the ImageWriter is at lesat $500, adn the DeskWriter $800: yes, it's $300

If you're going to compare discount prices to discount prices, be aware that
the "street" price of an ImageWriter II is $450 (some places sell it for less,
while most sell it for more). But you're right, the ImageWriter II is
overpriced compared to other 9-pin printers (but then again, aren't most
Apple products overpriced compared to the third-party competition? The only
two Apple peripherals I like are the Extended Keyboard and the RGB monitor and
video card combo).

>> I'm not sure which GCC printer you are speaking of so I have no opinion.
>I think we're talking about the GCC Personal Laser Printer (PLP) which costs
>around $1600.  Looks nice, but it's twice the price of the DeskWriter.

Expect to see more info about this on the net soon. Here's the scoop. GCC
on Friday announced the PLP2 (or is it the PLP II)? It is a VERY small 
footprint laser printer (using a new print engine from Okidata, I believe - 
Oki just announced a printer based on a similar engine at Comdex). The list
price on the unit is $1399 (the rep who showed it made big claims about "the
world's least expensive laser printer."

/ Robert Hammen	 Technical Editor  Personal Publishing              /
/ NOW: hammen@lakesys.lakesys.com  IN 1 WEEK: hammen@ddsw1.mcs.com  /
/ CI$: 70701,2104  GEnie: R.Hammen  Delphi: HAMMEN  BIX: rhammen    /

mec@cbnewsj.ATT.COM (michael.e.connick) (12/05/89)

In article <2574@cbnewse.ATT.COM> macduff@cbnewse.ATT.COM (Roger R. Espinosa) writes:
> "Cheap" is relative here.  If I were buying a printer for my Mac, and I
> had no printer, I would go for the DeskWriter, for the sheer reason that 
> the ImageWriter is at lesat $500, adn the DeskWriter $800: yes, it's $300
> (or more) more expensive, but we're talking about 144 dpi vs 300 dpi, faster
> speed, etc.  I don't think that the IW II is worth its price (comparative
> Epsons, etc. are selling at less than $200, with LQ printers starting around
> $250.)

Or spend about $550 for an HP DeskJet and the MacPrint driver and get
about all the functionality of the DeskWriter, but with a slower printer.
That's what we did and we're VERY happy with our printer.

Also the DeskJet and MacPrint combination work very well with ATM,
which gives you access to the very high-quality Adobe Postcript fonts
at a bargain basement price.

-----------------------------------------------------
Michael Connick    mec@mtfmi.ATT.COM    201-957-3057
AT&T Bell Labs     MT 3F-113	        (Dept. 79153)

espen@well.UUCP (Peter Espen) (12/09/89)

	Are there any non-Apple laaser printers that are networkable on
LocalTalk that any one can recommend. We're looking for one that is around
$2500.

	Peter Espen
	espen@well