lawrence@bbn.COM (Gabriel Lawrence) (01/22/88)
For those who haven't heard yet, the LaserWriter IISC is the new QuickDraw based LaserWriter just announced by Apple (similar to GCC's PLP). I'm intrigued by this new product offering by Apple but have heard very little about the technical specifications. Could someone who saw one up close and personal at the S.F. Expo or who has received literature from Apple tell me if it includes QuickDraw in ROM (as opposed to performing all the QuickDraw interpretation in the Mac) and whose font family Apple licenses for use with it. If it does have an on-board QuickDraw interpreter, wouldn't it be substantially _faster_ than the other PostScript LaserWriters since you are bypassing the whole process of translating an image from QuickDraw into PostScript?? I realize that the difference in processing time between the IISC and IINTX is quickly compensated for by the '020 and additional RAM but is this assumption still somewhat valid? Just Curious, =Gabriel Lawrence= =BBN Communications= USENET: ...!harvard!lawrence@BBN.COM INTERNET: lawrence@BBN.COM
olson@endor.harvard.edu (Eric K. Olson) (01/23/88)
In a recent article Gabriel Lawrence writes: > >For those who haven't heard yet, the LaserWriter IISC is the new QuickDraw >based LaserWriter just announced by Apple (similar to GCC's PLP). > >I'm intrigued by this new product offering by Apple but have heard very >little about the technical specifications. Could someone who saw one >up close and personal at the S.F. Expo or who has received literature from >Apple tell me if it includes QuickDraw in ROM (as opposed to performing >all the QuickDraw interpretation in the Mac) and whose font family Apple >licenses for use with it. The press release I read implied that the LWIISC did the drawing in the Mac and downloaded the page bitmap to the LWIISC. The SCSI port was touted as keeping the throughput reasonable even though the LWIISC didn't have any onboard processing. Regardless of how they are doing that, I have a different question: Is the LWIISC capable of printing bitmaps greater than 1 bit deep [PixMaps]? I know that the GCC PLP is treated as a 1-bit deep grafport, and so it cuts off multi-bit images at 50% gray and prints that [the same thing you'd get if you looked at the PixMap with the display set to 2 gray levels]. The LW and LW+ do the same, but you can get around it by using the PostScript "Image" operator [in Encapsulated Postscript if you need transferability to other applications]. Since the printer engine is inherently a 1-bit device, the LWIISC would have to dither the image (like PS image operator does) to get it to print. BTW, so that I can handle all the various cases correctly, how do I tell what KIND of printer I am outputting to [if Imagewriter, I have to dither by myself, if LW or LW+, I use PS "image" operator, if GCC PLP, I dither, if LWIISC, I either dither or print a PICT]. Anybody know? Thanks! -Eric (defun maybe (x) (maybe (not x))) Eric K. Olson olson@endor.harvard.edu harvard!endor!olson D0760 (Name) (ArpaNet) (UseNet) (AppleLink)
edmoy@violet.berkeley.edu (;;;;YF37) (01/23/88)
In article <6245@ccv.bbn.COM> lawrence@ccv.bbn.com.BBN.COM (Gabriel Lawrence) writes: > >For those who haven't heard yet, the LaserWriter IISC is the new QuickDraw >based LaserWriter just announced by Apple (similar to GCC's PLP). > >I'm intrigued by this new product offering by Apple but have heard very >little about the technical specifications. Could someone who saw one >up close and personal at the S.F. Expo or who has received literature from >Apple tell me if it includes QuickDraw in ROM (as opposed to performing >all the QuickDraw interpretation in the Mac) and whose font family Apple >licenses for use with it. Paraphrasing from there literature: The Apple LaserWriter IISC is apple's entry-level, single-user laser printer for the Macintosh personal computer. Features: Full page, high resolution text and graphics (300 dpi). Motorola 68000 (7.45 megahertz clock speed) allows printing to 8 pages per minute. (16 kilobytes ROM; 1 megabyte RAM) Variety of Macintosh typefaces and type sizes - Times, Helvetical, Courier and Symbol. SCSI interface - transfer data at high speed for fast printing. Background printing - with MultiFinder software, allows you to continue work on your Macintosh computer while printing. LaserWriter II family print engine - uses second-generation engine (Canon LBP-SX laser xerographic marking engine) common to all LaserWriter II models, offering a logical upgrade path. Versatile paper handling - comes with choice of face-down or face-up output trays, offers adjustable manual feed for labels and envelopes, features interchangeable paper trays for differnt paper sizes. (Paper cassettes hold 200 sheets of 20-pound paper, optional envelope cassette holds 15 envelopes). Print-media versatility - lets you print on almost any material - including standard photocopy paper, letterhead, labels, envelopes and transparency film. Improved toner system - offers darkers blacks and longer life than previous LaserWriter cartridges. Product Details: QuickDraw - Built into every Macintosh computer is QuickDraw, a set of text and graphics routines. The LaserWriter IISC relies on those routines to print. Upgrade Options: Your LaserWriter IISC printer can be upgraded to a LaserWriter IINT of LaserWriter IINTX by your authorized Apple dealer. System Requirements: To use the Apple LaserWriter IISC printer, you must have a Macintosh II, SE, or Plus computer, with System software 5.1 or greater. Size and Weight: height - 8.6 in (21.8 cm), width - 20 in (50.8 cm) [with letter tray attached, 26.4 in (67.1 cm), depth - 18.5 in (47 cm), weight - 45 lb (20.25 kg). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usual disclaimer about Apple and me (though it might be fun to work for them :-) Edward Moy Workstation Software Support Group University of California Berkeley, CA 94720 edmoy@violet.Berkeley.EDU ucbvax!violet!edmoy
isle@eleazar.Dartmouth.EDU (Ken Hancock) (01/28/88)
In article <6660@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> edmoy@violet.berkeley.edu.UUCP () writes: > >System Requirements: To use the Apple LaserWriter IISC printer, you must have > a Macintosh II, SE, or Plus computer, with System software 5.1 or > greater. Does this mean that one will -HAVE- to use System 4.2/Finder 6.0 or just LW & LaserPrep 5.0? Ken -- Ken Hancock UUCP: isle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu BITNET: isle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu DISCLAIMER: If people weren't so sue-happy, I wouldn't need one!