BEC.SHAPIN@ECLA.USC.EDU (Ted Shapin) (03/09/88)
After I bought an AST Turbolaser/PS, I found that the Ricoh LP4081 engine that is in this product produced faint "shadows" around the letters, especially boldface fonts. This is a quote from a letter AST Research sent me: "The samples you supplied are considered acceptable quality for the Turbolaser/PS printer at the present time. ... The Ricoh engine, which is the heart of the Turbolaser/PS printer, is well known for their "richer blacks". This quality is very desirable when producing documents containing graphic drawings. In some cases, this inherent quality deposits an excessive amount of toner and produces the shadowing or ghosting effect that is evident in the samples you supplied. AST continuously tries to improve its products. The shadowing problem is being investigated and hopefully, we will have a solution in the near future. Due to factors beyond our immediate control, we cannot commit to a definite time frame for a complete solution to this problem. ... Bob Lister, Technical Support" My advice is: don't buy any product using this engine if you want sharp, well defined letters. Ted Shapin, Beckman Instruments, Fullerton, CA. -------