chris@umbc3.UMD.EDU (Chris Schanzle) (01/07/87)
I've been reading the net for several months now and haven't seen any
messages concerning one of the slowest, least productive tasks on the
Mac: Printing!
After waiting over 30 minutes for my 10 page MS Word document to print
in Best quality (using latest system stuff) when I really would have
liked to be doing some graphs concurrently, I've decided I need a
printer spooling program.
As the ImageWriter II prints each line, there is a noticeable delay.
Is this the printer's own temperature protection for the print head?
(it was printing fairly dense output on Best quality.) Or, as I
suspect, is the Mac+ not throwing the data out the data as fast as it
can print it? If it's the latter, then a print spooler might help in
two areas: 1) might send all the data to the printer in one big bach
erather than interpreting each line at a time; 2) allow me at least to
do other things while the printer does its thing.
I know that spooling software is usually included with hard drives, but
they're still out of my league financially. I need a spooler that can
print graphics as well as text files. There are only two that I know
of that might fit the bill: MaxPrint (from MacMemory) and MacSpool
(from Mainstay). The ads in MacUser didn't describe MaxPrint - just
its accompanying ramdisk program that has extra hardware for memory
protection after a crash (which I certainly don't need/want if I can
help it). Anyone out there using it?
MacSpool, on the other hand, "returns control of the Mac much sooner
than normal, allowing you to work while printing. Works with most
applications like MacWrite, Word, MacPaint..." It also allows one to
change programs while printing in the background, allowing me to be
more productive (like make graphs with SuperPaint while Word prints in
the background) - a feature I'd like to know if others have. [MacUser,
July '86] This sounds like some true multitasking software for the Mac
(yeah! More! More!) However, if the Mac slows to a snail's pace, or
printing grinds to a halt if I simply type a few words, then it is not
very helpful (it might take longer to print). Strangely enough, I
tried to call Mainstay on their info hotline and nobody answered. A
call to their order hotline revealed a rather rude operator that said
they are not taking messages nor had a forwarding number. MacConnection
isn't dealing with them anymore (?) either. Sounds like they're
history to me...
I'd appreciate any and all discussion about this. Naturally, if people
would like to mail responses directly, I'd be more than pleased to post
a summary.
Time for disclaimers!
1. First time poster to net; please 'scuse all strange mistakes.
2. I'm ignorant about all above companies and I certainly don't work
for them.korn@eris.BERKELEY.EDU (01/08/87)
The SuperSpool program that comes with the Dataframe works pretty well
for me. I've heard that it doesn't like Macsbug, but since my compiler
won't compile w/Macsbug & SuperSpool both in RAM, I don't know about
this.
The folks at FWB software are supposed to be selling the SuperSpool
program seperately. Then again, I remember hearing about a special
division of Supermac called Supermac Software, so I couldn't say for sure.
As to speed--it's supposed to spool the quickdraw commands, and not
the bitmap, which should make it faster. I haven't timed it.
Peter
-----
Peter "Arrgh" Korn Hacker? Me? A hacker? No, actually
korn@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU I'm a mac-er. All's we do is
{decvax,dual,hplabs,sdcsvax,ulysses}!ucbvax!korn make library calls.gergely@dalcs.UUCP (Peter Gergely) (01/09/87)
In article <251@umbc3.UMD.EDU> chris@umbc3.UMD.EDU (Chris Schanzle) writes: >I know that spooling software is usually included with hard drives, but >they're still out of my league financially. I need a spooler that can >print graphics as well as text files. There are only two that I know >of that might fit the bill: MaxPrint (from MacMemory) and MacSpool >(from Mainstay). 1. MacSpool was a very nice program, when I bought it for system 3.1.1. It crashes horribly with system 3.2/ finder 5.3. It would spool to Ram, and thus was Ram limited (about 10 best quality pages, on a Mac+ with MS Word). You also could not use the serial communication port to communicate with another machine, while the printer was on the printer port. Mainstay has never notified of a fix for the bug eventhough I was the first to notify them of it. I too would not deal with them any more. 2. MaxPrint is a DA, and spools to the disk of your choice. It isn't as fast as MacSpool, but works superbly. I don't know much more about it except that it works great on a hard disk, and a friend of mine swears by it. 3. SuperSpool by Dataframe. Another option but I know nothing of it. -- Peter J. Gergely (DREA, P.O. Box 1012, Dartmouth, NS B2Y 3Z7 Canada) ARPANET: gergely@DREA-XX.ARPA (preferred) or Peter@DREA-GRIFFIN.ARPA DIALNET: Peter@GRIFFIN.DREA.Dialnet.Symbolics.COM CSNET: gergely%cs.dal.cdn@ubc.csnet UUCP: gergely@dalcs.UUCP