[comp.periphs] Low-cost Postscript laser printer?

jxh@cup.portal.com (05/27/88)

I am looking for a relatively low-cost (~$4K) Postscript laser printer,
and I'm too lazy to do a market survey (but at least I'm honest! :-).

Let's hear from people who bought something other than an Apple LaserWriter
or an Imagen or other high-buck box.  A Centronics(-style) parallel interface
would be nice (using a PC, alas!), 9.6Kbps serial OK as a fallback position
(i.e. I do not need an Ethernet interface, but I'd be interested to hear
about them as optional field upgrades).  Eight pages/minute minimum, the more
the merrier (consistent with having no money).  Even things up to ~$7K could
be entertained; our Marketing department is going to spring for it ultimately,
and they just need me to tell them the ante.

I have some experience with a Kyocera F1000A (price unknown) which has its own
bizarre "language" called, by them, PRESCRIBE.  I have never heard of it;
more to the point, neither has my software.  I was wrestling with this when the
Boss produced some old Macintosh disks with interesting pictures on them and
asked me whether the Kyocera could regurgitate them.  In the interest of saving
time (mine, not his) I gave him a flat "no."  I assumed, aloud, that he would
have a *much* smoother time of it if he could transform the rented Kyocera into
something that understood Postscript; that emulated the LaserWriter rather than
the HP LaserJet.

I'm out of my ken, here.  Am I all wrong?  Is there a simpler way to do this?
EMail me or post here, as you desire.  All information gratefully consumed.

-Jim Hickstein, VSAT Systems, Inc, San Jose, CA
jxh@cup.portal.com   ...!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!jxh