aaron@proxftl.UUCP (Aaron Zimmerman) (08/01/88)
I am interested in purchasing the HP deskjet, but first would like to hear the net.opinions, as I haven't seen it reviewed ANYWHERE yet. Does TeX have drivers for it? Is the print quality *really* on par with lasers? How long does it take to print out a page of graphics? What's the approximate printing speed for plain text? How much do the ink cartridges cost (and how long do they last)? How does one load fonts onto it? Does it make a lot of noise while it prints? It seems to be an excellent alternative to a 24pin printer, but I'd like some more facts than the advertisements offer. Any help would be much appreciated.... (better to post it than send it by e-mail; we're having some problems with the mailer here). -- Aaron | Proximity Technology | #include <disclaimer.h> Charles | 3511 N-E 22nd Ave. | #include <cute_quote.h> Zimmerman | Fort Ladeda, Fla | cat flames > /dev/null
rokicki@polya.Stanford.EDU (Tomas G. Rokicki) (08/06/88)
I thought I'd field these questions about the HP DeskJet. > Does TeX have drivers for it? Well, AmigaTeX does :-), but I don't know about other machines. HP LaserJet Plus or Series Two drivers will *not* work; the font downloading is significantly different, and all but useless for TeX on the DeskJet. > Is the print quality *really* on par with lasers? Absolutely. I've printed sheets on a QMS PS-810, QMS SmartWriter, and the HP DeskJet, and people couldn't tell (from the front and without touching the sheet) which was which. From the back, well, a little ink can bleed through with large black areas. > How long does it take to print out a page of graphics? Anywhere from 2 to 6 minutes. Six for true, full-page graphics; less if you're very smart about resetting the width of the page whenever you can do a narrower portion of a page. Average is probably between 2.5 and 4 minutes a page. > What's the approximate printing speed for plain text? It's fast. Like, two to three pages a minute. And it looks very good. > How much do the ink cartridges cost (and how long do they last)? Someone else will have to answer this; I never used up a cartridge, so I didn't need to buy another. (I had it long enough to develop a printer driver for it.) > How does one load fonts onto it? One doesn't. Buy a font cartridge. Or bribe the soft font format from HP (some people report that HP claims the data is proprietary and will not make it available; I had no trouble getting the stuff, though. I have noticed that some of their technical support people know quite a bit, but others are totally clueless.) > Does it make a lot of noise while it prints? This printer is incredibly quiet; quieter than almost any other printer I have ever seen. Loudest noise? As a mechanism slowly lowers a printed sheet onto the tray. > It seems to be an excellent alternative to a 24pin printer, but I'd like some > more facts than the advertisements offer. It certainly is. A 24-pin printer is about five times as fast for TeX, but they are about the same speed for text, and the quality is out of this world. Not for those trying to do any volume at all, though. Although I must say that I wouldn't buy one, since you can get a LaserJet clone for a few hundred much more. But that's just me.
burzio@mmlai.UUCP (Anthony Burzio) (08/07/88)
In article <560@proxftl.UUCP>, aaron@proxftl.UUCP (Aaron Zimmerman) writes: > > I am interested in purchasing the HP deskjet, but first would like to hear > the net.opinions, as I haven't seen it reviewed ANYWHERE yet. > I carried one around after a demo at our local HP center, and I noticed the print smudged where my fingers touched the paper. Seems the ink dissolves in salt water... ***************************************************************** Tony Burzio * My bosses will never read this, * Martin Marietta Laboratories * so it's ok... * *****************************************************************
rokicki@polya.Stanford.EDU (Tomas G. Rokicki) (09/03/88)
The problem isn't lack of RAM, it's poorly allocated RAM. The 16K RAM they have they give entirely to the input buffer. There is no way to split this up between graphics and the input buffer. If they would give you 8K of grapics memory and 8K of input buffer, graphics prints would go twice as fast. And that little RAM cartridge you can buy? All that RAM goes to downloaded fonts only. With that memory used for graphics, bit map dumps would go four times as fast. If anyone is looking for the HP DeskJet SoftFonts information, I just finished moving and dug up that information, so send me your address and I'll send you a copy. There are some interesting limitations and some interesting power; for instance, you really print text at 600 dpi horizontally . . . -tom
lbl@druhi.ATT.COM (Barry Locklear) (09/05/88)
In article <3814@polya.Stanford.EDU>, rokicki@polya.Stanford.EDU (Tomas G. Rokicki) writes: > If anyone is looking for the HP DeskJet SoftFonts information, > I just finished moving and dug up that information, so send me > your address and I'll send you a copy. There are some > interesting limitations and some interesting power; for instance, > you really print text at 600 dpi horizontally . . . > > -tom Tom, I tried to reach you by mail, but somewhere down the line (decwrl, I think) a system didn't like your address. I'd like a copy of the SoftFonts information. My address is ...att!druhi!lbl. Actually, if you get enough requests, you might want to post it. Thanks, Barry
rokicki@polya.Stanford.EDU (Tomas G. Rokicki) (09/07/88)
For DeskJet information, send me your physical mail address; it's 24 pages of stuff. A couple of bucks to help with the postage and copying would be nice but is certainly not required. My physical address in case Email doesn't work is Tomas Rokicki, Box 2081, Stanford, CA~~94309. -tom
jvte@euraiv1.UUCP (Jan van 't Ent) (09/08/88)
>> also re: article <3814@polya.Stanford.EDU>, by (Tomas G. Rokicki): >> If anyone is looking for the HP DeskJet SoftFonts information, > .. I'd like a copy of the SoftFonts information .. > Actually, if you get enough requests, you might want to post it. Me too! Jan van 't Ent; USENET: ..mcvax!eurtrx!euraiv1!jvte BITNET: vantent@hroer5