selig@xanth.msfc.nasa.gov (03/16/89)
We have a color 3/60 here that we use for image processing and some making
of pretty pictures. Presently we are trying to settle on some form of
color hardcopy output device and I thought I would ask what other folks
were using, for what applications, and how they liked it.
We are currently evaling color PostScript printers from QMS and Tektronix
(the thermal wax devices). The ultimate plan is/was to put them on an
ethernet-based spooler and share the periph lab wide (amongs other image
analysis systems) due to the cost.
The color PS printers sounded good (300dpi and 16mil color palette,
right?). Well, that's misleading, since at 300dpi resolution you only get
8 colors. To get more, you have to go to dithering/halftoning operations,
which reduces your effective resolution. Thus, to get the spatial
resolution of the 3/60 screen, we have to go to a halftone "screen" size
that results in *much* reduced color resolution (10 levels of greyscale).
We are now back to considering some cheaper, direct connect (non-sharable)
options. I would appreciate anyone who is getting color hardcopy from
their suns to drop a line and let me know what you've got, what sort of
data you are printing and what sort of results you're seeing. With enough
response, I'll summarize back.
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