pmh@burl.UUCP (Peter M. Hermsen) (06/29/84)
-- Well folks, Apple has dropped another one on us. They call it the SCRIBE. What this little beastie is, is a thermal transfer dot-matrix printer. YES MARTHA, IT DOES PRINT IN COLOR. I had the opportunity to test/evaluate one of these creatures the other day and quite frankly, aside from a few minor faults, I was fairly impressed. The thing is not overly fast, but it is very quiet. It prints at 80cps in draft mode and graphics mode (dot addressable) and ~50cps in correspondence mode. The matrix is 7x9 and uses true decenders where applicable. The correspondence font looks very nice (better than the Apple Imagewriter). It approximates a standard typewriter's pica font. The major problem with the unit is its print quality on bond paper --yecch. I am assuming that the print head temperature was not high enough to achieve good ink bonding to rough textured paper. On mediocre paper, this problem is diminished to the point that is no longer a concern. (Definitely not for resumes, etc.) The other problem is that the ribbon does not last very long. The consolation to this point is that replacement ribbons are not too expensive. The printer appears to be geared to the home user. (I do not believe that it would be the best choice for even a small business.) Best of all, the printer is inexpensive- <$300 - and the price includes a paper tray, cables, manual, and a few other nice things. If you need a printer that will handle color and has nice fonts but don't require printing on bond paper, take a look at this one. ---- From the non-linear mind of a non-anonymous hacker!! Pete Hermsen PO Box 2304 Burlington, NC 27216 (919) 228-4215 (w)