jeff@ndcheg.cheg.nd.edu (Jeffrey C. Kantor) (07/29/89)
I got my HP Deskwriter a couple of days ago, and am *very* pleased with
it. I was looking for something to put in my office so I don't have
to keep running down the hall to the shared laserwriter(s). A personal
laserwriter seemed a bit expensive. So when I saw the ad for the HP
Deskwriter, it looked like something that would fit the bill.
And does it! The image quality is excellent. You have to look fairly
carefully to see the difference between a page of Laserwriter output and a
page of Deskwriter output. The Deskwriter output might be just a bit
fuzzier around the edges of the characters, but it is hardly noticeable.
And the blacks are not quite as dense, but again it is hard to notice.
The thing to keep in mind, of course, is that you're getting near Laserwriter
quality for not much more than the price of an imagewriter. On campus, the
Imagewriter II costs $465, and I paid $729 for the Deskwriter. I suppose
there are cheaper places to buy them (so please don't send me a lot of mail
telling me so.)
Installation is straightforward. One minor complaint is that the Deskwriter ->
Mac interface cable is *not* included, you have to go buy one from your Apple
dealer. This seems a bit cheesy on the part of HP, why couldn't they just
through one in the package?
Software installation consists of putting the
printer driver in the System folder, along with a folder of printer fonts.
Then use the Chooser to select the Deskwriter and you are in business. No
need to even reboot. The included fonts are Times, Helvetica, Symbol, and
Courier (with slightly different names). Just like the first edition of
the Apple Laserwriter.
I also bought the 6 font collection. These are simply extra files to stick
in the Deskwriter font folder. Matching screen fonts come with these and
can be installed using the Font/DA mover. These fonts are Avant Garde, N
Helvetica Narrow, New Century Schoolbook, Bookman, Platino, and Zapf. (Again,
with proprietary names just to confuse the innocent).
So far I've used it with Word 4.0, Powerpoint, and Mathematica. These all
printed without a glitch. I have not been able to print graphics directly
from Matlab, only a blank page comes out. And it doesn't do PostScript, so
PostScript only applications are out of luck. This hurts me the most
when it comes to OzTeX, the recently posted public domain TeX which only
drives PostScript printers.
How about it? Will someone out there ever to an HP Deskwriter version of
the DVI printer driver?
Summary: If you can live without postscript, and want a light duty printer
for your office or home, it is hard to imagine a better value than the HP
Deskwriter. I like mine so much I'm planning to buy another for the Mac
at home.
--
Jeff Kantor
US Mail: Dept. of Chemical Engineering
internet: jeff@ndcheg.cheg.nd.edu University of Notre Dame
uucp: iuvax!ndmath!ndcheg!jeff Notre Dame, IN 46556 USAkrisl@hpindwa.HP.COM (Kris Livingston) (07/31/89)
>/ hpindwa:comp.sys.mac / jeff@ndcheg.cheg.nd.edu (Jeffrey C. Kantor) / 12:58 pm Jul 28, 1989 / > >I got my HP Deskwriter a couple of days ago, and am *very* pleased with >it. I was looking for something to put in my office so I don't have >to keep running down the hall to the shared laserwriter(s). A personal {a few more glowing lines omitted} >And does it! The image quality is excellent. You have to look fairly >carefully to see the difference between a page of Laserwriter output and a >page of Deskwriter output. The Deskwriter output might be just a bit >fuzzier around the edges of the characters, but it is hardly noticeable. >And the blacks are not quite as dense, but again it is hard to notice. I, too, am extremely pleased with my new DeskWriter, but to be fair, I must comment on your comments. If you use ordinary copier paper, you'll get a bit of a fuzzy edge on your characters. But, if you use special "Laser" paper (long grain bond paper with the word "laser" in its name somewhere, available at any office supply store), you'll get much better results-- virtually no "bleeding." Secondly, you say that the blacks are "not quite as dense." Actually, the blacks are *very* dense--they just aren't as black as a LaserWriter. There is a difference. When you print a huge black area on a LaserWriter, if it isn't a fresh toner cartridge it will be a bit washed out in the middle. On the DeskWriter, you will use A LOT of ink, but the black area will be equally dense throughout. The DeskWriter output is plenty black for any application, but when you look at it next to a comparable LaserWriter document, it appears slightly faded (like a dark gray). That's really what you meant, isn't it? --Krisl DISCLAIMER: I am not being paid to say this. I really DO like my DeskWriter! (My opinions are mine, and mine alone.)
jeff@ndcheg.cheg.nd.edu (Jeffrey C. Kantor) (08/01/89)
In article <36400003@hpindwa.HP.COM>, krisl@hpindwa.HP.COM (Kris Livingston) writes: > >/ hpindwa:comp.sys.mac / jeff@ndcheg.cheg.nd.edu (Jeffrey C. Kantor) / 12:58 pm Jul 28, 1989 / > > > >I got my HP Deskwriter a couple of days ago, and am *very* pleased with > > .... The image quality is excellent. You have to look fairly > >carefully to see the difference between a page of Laserwriter output and a > >page of Deskwriter output. The Deskwriter output might be just a bit > >fuzzier around the edges of the characters, but it is hardly noticeable. > >And the blacks are not quite as dense, but again it is hard to notice. > > I, too, am extremely pleased with my new DeskWriter, but to be fair, I must > comment on your comments. If you use ordinary copier paper, you'll get a > bit of a fuzzy edge on your characters. But, if you use special "Laser" > paper (long grain bond paper with the word "laser" in its name somewhere, > available at any office supply store), you'll get much better results-- > virtually no "bleeding." Secondly, you say that the blacks are "not quite > as dense." Actually, the blacks are *very* dense--they just aren't as black > as a LaserWriter. There is a difference. When you print a huge black area > on a LaserWriter, if it isn't a fresh toner cartridge it will be a bit washed > out in the middle. On the DeskWriter, you will use A LOT of ink, but the > black area will be equally dense throughout. The DeskWriter output is > plenty black for any application, but when you look at it next to a comparable > LaserWriter document, it appears slightly faded (like a dark gray). That's > really what you meant, isn't it? > > --Krisl > > DISCLAIMER: I am not being paid to say this. I really DO like my DeskWriter! > (My opinions are mine, and mine alone.) Yes, I guess that is what I meant. The blacks in large bold characters just don't seem quite as dark as the blacks from a LaserWriter (Incidently, I'm comparing it to the output of a NEC 810). I've tried several types of paper. Cheap photocopy paper does lead to a bit of fuzziness. Our secretaries suggested the Savin copier paper which is a bit whiter and has a harder finish. That gave better results, but only on the 'good' side. The backside gave poorer results. It would be very helpful if the HP folk (we know you are out there) good give some brandname recommendations for printer paper. Don't be shy, they are just your personal opinions, after all. Jeff Kantor US Mail: Dept. of Chemical Engineering internet: jeff@ndcheg.cheg.nd.edu University of Notre Dame uucp: iuvax!ndmath!ndcheg!jeff Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA -- Jeff Kantor US Mail: Dept. of Chemical Engineering internet: jeff@ndcheg.cheg.nd.edu University of Notre Dame uucp: iuvax!ndmath!ndcheg!jeff Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA
maryw@hpcupt1.HP.COM (Mary Williams) (08/02/89)
I've experienced very good results using Hammermill LaserPlus(tm) paper with laser printers. Although I haven't tried it on an inkjet printer, I believe you could expect equal results. They also makes a somewhat cheaper, slightly lower quality LaserPrint(tm) paper. You can give Hammermill a call at 800-242-2148 and ask them about their family of Desktop Papers(r) and to find out your nearest Hammermill supplier. [ phone number is from the May '89 Publish! magazine, pg. 85 ] Mary Williams maryw@hpcupt1.hp.com Hewlett-Packard Cupertino, CA