jim@ektools.UUCP (James Hugh Moore) (05/09/88)
I am looking for a good letter quality printer that is fast and cheap. I have a kaypro 4 at home which I only use for writing letters, and some larger documents (up to 20 pages max). I have an old Olivetti dry inkjet printer (no longer in production - which I bought from DAK Industries) which is producing worse and worse copies day by day. It does serve though for draft copies, especially when you are used to it. I am currently looking for something that will provide me service for professional correspondence. My brother has a C. Itoh F-10 Starwriter (which he bought for $1K 4 years ago). It is built like a tank. He has had no service call on it in 4 years, and it moves right along at 40 cps. It is also no longer produced, and I don't have $1K. The local computer discount house has a Panasonic daisywheel which is 18 cps and lacks the bulletproof features of the C. Itoh, but it is still in production, and we would be able to obtain service through Roslin Electronics. I would appreciate comments on daisywheel printers, as when I write company presidents and other important people, I want good quality print. I have also seen ads for an NEC 24-pin printer, under $500. Does anyone know if these have a very good NLQ mode. They have a nice feature (according to ads) of being able to slip in a single sheet or and envelope, without removing the tractor feed paper. Are they durable/reliable? Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance. May God Bless You, in Jesus Name Jim Moore - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - James H. Moore, Eastman Kodak Co. Email: ...!rutgers!rochester!kodak!ektools!jim USMail: Dept 47, EP 5-2, Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, NY 14653-5403 Disclaimer: Opinions expressed are my own, and DO NOT represent the opinions or policies etc of Eastman Kodak Co. as a whole. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
root@yale.UUCP (Celray Stalk) (05/12/88)
I just purchased the 24 printer to which you refer - the NEC P2200. It does as the add says, including using a "push tractor" which allows you to park your tractor-fed paper and print cut sheets, then return to the tractor-fed paper fairly automatically. All this for $339 mail order. I find the NLQ output more than acceptable, and I think you'd be pretty hard pressed (without a lot of squinting or a magnifying glass) to tell it from typewritten output. The proportional spacing is very nice too. As for its longevity, I'm sure it won't be up to my old Okidata 92, since the case and innerds are mostly plastic. So far (1 month!) it hasn't had any problems though. --Peter
chan@encore.UUCP (Jerry Chan) (05/13/88)
In article <28949@yale-celray.yale.UUCP> galvin-peter@CS.YALE.EDU (Peter Galvin) writes: >As for its longevity, I'm sure it won't be up to my old Okidata 92, since >the case and innerds are mostly plastic. So far (1 month!) it hasn't had >any problems though. According to a distributor that I have contact with, there have been problems with the NEC 2200: electronically, no problems; physically, the plastic knobbies and the like have a tendency to break over time. Disclaimer: I got this info second hand, so take it with a grain of salt. I have had no experience with the NEC 2200 except that I have evaluated the printer's capabilities and found it to be exceptional for the price.
NETOPRHM@NCSUVM.BITNET (Hal Meeks) (05/14/88)
The NEC printer you are talking about is the NECP2200. I have owned one for about the last 5 months. Pros: 1. Letter quality output. It really does look quite good, provided you have a reasonably fresh ribbon. 2. Many built in typestyles. It may be as many as eight, I don't have the manual handy. 3. The sheet feeder is a nice touch. Works reasonably well. 4. 360 dpi resolution on graphics. Cons: 1. Construction is not terribly rugged. I haven't broken anything, but I have been careful. 2. Makes a high pitched whine when printing. Annoying (but characteristic of low end 24 pin printers). 3. Tractor is a pain. It can be set up as unidirectional or bidirectional. Took me a half a hour to set up the first time. Now I have the hang of it, but still is a poor design. 4. Ribbons are a little hard to find. Finally found a good mail order place that makes their own. Better than NEC's. I have mixed feelings about this printer. I generally pleased with it, but think that I would be happier if I had waited and spent a little more money on something else. One really good deal you may want to investigate is in the last two issues of Computer Shopper. A couple of places are selling the Epson LQ800 (with tractor) for around $300.00. A nicely made 24 pin printer, at a really good price. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hal Meeks netoprhm@ncsuvm.bitnet hgm@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu (sometimes)
cyliax@ea.ecn.purdue.edu (Ingo Cyliax) (05/18/88)
You should also look at the Star NB24-10, when comparing 24-pin printers. We just bought one for home use, and we like it so far. I think you can get one mail-order ~$400. Here is a short list of features. - emulates epson, IBM Proprinter and IBM graphics printer. - ~180Cps draft, ~70Cps NLQ (This is from memory) - countless pitch/print style combinations programmable from the front panel - has 3 different characters tables (2 have special characters like foreign characters and IBM style graphics characters) - tractor and friction feed (no form parking though) - print quality looks a little better than the NEC P2200 - it's seems pretty rugged for a low-cost printers. - one build in font, downloadable fonts and optional font cartridge. - they also make it with a 15" carriage (NB24-15) it also has (2) font ports. We bought it mainly to replace a NEC 360 ELF and are very satisfied with print quality and versatility. I wish they would have had this printer back when we bought the ELF. Anyone want to buy a used NEC ELF ? -- /* Ingo Cyliax * * ...!ihnp4!pur-ee!cyliax ECN, Electrical Engineering Bldg. * * cyliax@ecn.purdue.edu Purdue University, W. Lafayette,IN 47907 * * ing@cc.purdue.edu (317) 494-3473 / (317) 463-1747 after 5pm */