gordonl@microsoft.UUCP (04/02/84)
We have one of these here - it seems very nice. Its nearly noiseless... just a swishing sound as the head moves. 150 cps, as I recall, with print quality very near (slightly inferior) to the small Epsons. (Of course, its print quality is better than an impact printer with a dry or old ribbon.) The prices I've seen are $490 for the printer, $9 for the head/ink cartridge. The only disadvantage I've noticed so far is the fact that it won't take wide paper (its limited to 8 1/2 or close to that...) Gordon Letwin microsoft!gordonl
starr@shell.UUCP (04/08/84)
A recent letter to net.micro re. the new HP ThinkJet printer
claimed that the character quality was somewhat poored than a dot
matrix printer. I held actual ThinkJet output up against standard
Epson output, and there is really no comparison. The ThinkJet
output is MUCH better. Their characters are formed in an 11x12
matrix (vs. 9x5 on the Epson). Output of the ThinkJet printer is
apparently degraded when you do not use a special clay coated
paper. Apparently, the clay absorbs the ink more quickly than can
be done on standard paper.
Additionally, the ThinkJet printer has the following features
(note that I have not seen one of these printers, I am going by
what I was told by the HP salesman).
a) Two graphics modes.. 96x96 dots/in. and 192x96 dots/in. The
192 dots/in. is vertical, and requires two passes of the
print head.
b) Low res (96x96) graphics, boldface, underline etc. all come
out at the *same* speed. In other words, the printer can do
one line of graphics as fast as it can print one line of
characters!
c) Printer weighs 6 lbs., and has a footprint about the size of
an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. Noise level is said to be
quieter than the thermal (ala Silent 700) printers. This
means you can peacefully coexist with family and/or fellow
workers (finally).
d) A switch inside the printer will tell it to look like an
Epson, so that your graphics (screen dumps, etc.) will still
work.
e) The print head (with sufficient ink for 500 pages) is dis-
posable, and replacement cartridges cost $8.00.
f) A maintenence contract is available for $2 per month (yes,
$2). For $4 per month, a repairman will fix the printer
onsite. This indicates (to me) that HP has a pretty durable
product here, in which they have alot of confidence.
As I said, I got most of this info from the salesman. If any of
the above info is inaccurate, please post the truth to the net.
I ordered one for home use after hearing the above info, and
seeing an actual printout example. The salesman quoted a 16 week
delivery time, as the product was just announced. I hope my poor
NEC 8023 holds out that long!
Besides, anyone familiar with HP products knows that HP builds
quality, reliable stuff. And finally, they are pricing their
products for the average consumer. I hope HP sells a million of
'em.