jeric@tybalt.caltech.edu (J. Eric Grove) (08/10/88)
I posted a question several weeks ago about the Seikosha SP1000A
printer, which is an ImageWriter I clone. I received several
fairly positive responses (2 of which appear below, one from
simkins@ncsa.uiuc.edu, another from ST902564@BROWNVM (poor guy :-))
and one truly negative response (from OWEN@imogen.astro.washington.edu),
which I have appended below.
Nearly everyone mentioned that the Seikosha is very slow (see especially
the note from OWEN below). Also, most everyone mentioned that the
print quality and transport mechanism are at least as good as the
ImageWriter's.
Lyco Computer (1-800-233-8760) sells them for $159.95 + 4% if payment
is by credit card + an unkown amount for shipping. I plan to order
one soon.
Disclaimer: I have no connection with Seikosha or Lyco Computer, not
even as a satisfied or dissatisfied customer.
J. Eric Grove
jeric@tybalt.caltech.edu
...rutgers!cit-vax!tybalt.caltech.edu!jeric
______________________________________________________________________
From: simkins@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Daniel Simkins)
FYI, I received my printer, and apart from minor cable problems, it works
quite well. In fact, I think it has a better paper feed mechanism than the
ImageWriters. If you haven't yet ordered one, you can count me as another
positive endorsement for the printer.
Dan Simkins
______________________________________________________________________
From: "B. David Hammarstrom" <ST902564@BROWNVM>
A friend got a Seikosha SP 1000 for her Mac at home. It is *NOT* a
printer for a business setting, because it is *very* slow. It does,
however, work perfectly; if I had a Mac at home I would get the SP. The
output is as nice as the IWriter.
Hope this helps.
Dave
______________________________________________________________________
From: OWEN@imogen.astro.washington.edu
I have that Seikosha (SP1000AP or whatever), and have mixed feelings.
It has nice output, but:
- it will not reverse-linefeed past about 1/2"; this can cause problems
with some software. It hits me when use draft mode with Excel.
- it is VERY VERY VERY slow!!! Much slower than the IW I,
and agonizing compared to the IW II. Not only does it print slowly,
but line feed and carriage return are also painfully slow.
Don't believe the ads about its speed (some claim 100 cps -- baloney!).
The trick is, it prints different text styles at radically different rates
(it's all in the manual, by the way). One text style prints at nearly 100 cps,
but the one of interest (the one the IW uses) is a horrifying 30 cps.
Yes, only 30 characters in one second. Even draft mode printing on this sucker
can take forever.
It works, and the output is very nice.
I find the reverse-linefeed problem only an annoyance
(most programs I use don't do enough to bother it).
However, I wouln't buy it if I had to do over again because it is so slow.
I suggest buying a used IW I, if you want to save money.
-- Russell
___________________________________________________________________________
J. Eric Grove
jeric@tybalt.caltech.edu
...rutgers!cit-vax!tybalt.caltech.edu!jericsbb@esquire.UUCP (Stephen B. Baumgarten) (08/12/88)
In article <7561@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> jeric@tybalt.caltech.edu.UUCP (J. Eric Grove) writes: >I posted a question several weeks ago about the Seikosha SP1000A >printer, which is an ImageWriter I clone. I received several >fairly positive responses (2 of which appear below, one from >simkins@ncsa.uiuc.edu, another from ST902564@BROWNVM (poor guy :-)) >and one truly negative response (from OWEN@imogen.astro.washington.edu), >which I have appended below. > >Nearly everyone mentioned that the Seikosha is very slow (see especially >the note from OWEN below). Also, most everyone mentioned that the >print quality and transport mechanism are at least as good as the >ImageWriter's. I also recently posted a question about IW clones. I got a response via email that led me to call M.A.C. in Berkeley. They told me about an IW I clone made by Olympia, the Olympia NP30 (that they sell for $299). It's supposed to be better made than the Seikosha, and at least as fast as the IW I, maybe faster. For anyone else who might be interested, their number is (415) 644-0516. Disclaimer: I've got nothing to do with either M.A.C. or Olympia. -- Steve Baumgarten | "New York... when civilization falls apart, Davis Polk & Wardwell | remember, we were way ahead of you." {uunet,cmcl2}!esquire!sbb | - David Letterman