asteinbe@pyrsoft5.pyramid.com (Alan Steinberg) (02/12/91)
According to one dealer, this equation is true: HP Deskjet 500 + MacPrint + cable = DeskWriter Does anyone know if this is true? The price difference between the DeskJet and Deskwriter is about $150. Is it work the extra money to be completely Mac compatible, or can money be saved by purchasing the DeskJet and making it Mac compatible? Any other advantages or disadvantages between the two printers? I have a Mac LC, if it makes a difference. -- Alan
crocker@motcid.UUCP (Ronald T. Crocker) (02/13/91)
(With a little algebra) MacPrint + special cable ?= $150 + ImageWriter cable I had the same choice to make, and decided that it was well worth the $150 to get the drivers from HP. For you, it may not be that easy; the money may outweigh the convienence of knowing that it will work. I'm an admitted Mac novice, and since I didn't relish the idea of figuring out how the damn thing really works, I went with the one that I knew would work. I'm quite happy with my decision. I took the application that I will be using the most (FrameMaker) with me to the dealer, installed it on their Mac (with the time-out license I got from Frame so they didn't get it for free :->), and tried out both a LaserWriter IIntx and the DeskWriter. Ok, the LW was lots better, but then I could get 3 of the DeskWriters for the same price. The output for (horizontal) text was similar(graphics and rotated text were not close), but then I have access to a LW at work for final output. -- Ron Crocker Motorola Radio-Telephone Systems Group, Cellular Infrastructure Group (708) 632-4752 [FAX: (708) 632-4430] ...!uunet!motcid!crocker or motcid!crocker@chg.mcd.mot.com
neff@hp-vcd.HP.COM (Dave Neff) (02/14/91)
>According to one dealer, this equation is true: > > HP Deskjet 500 + MacPrint + cable = DeskWriter > This is not correct. The DeskJet 500 has a 19.2 K baud serial port and a parallel port. The DeskWriter has a 57K baud serial port that also works as a 230K baud LocalTalk port. I don't know what cable is being suggested, but the only way you can even begin to get a DeskJet 500 to perform like a DeskWriter on a Mac is to user a 57K baud serial to parallel conversion cable. If your DeskJet 500 driver only runs at 19.2 K baud the performance will be poor. You will have no AppleTalk capability on the DeskJet 500 of course. Also with the DeskJet 500 there is no status information that is sent back to the host (since DOS machines can't get such status anyway) so the driver solution wont be as user friendly (i.e. the DeskWriter driver knows if the printer is out of paper, and so forth). You also don't get single vendor support for both the driver and the printer. You also probably need to buy ATM to get scaleable outline fonts (add another $100 to the price). Now some people buy the DeskWriter and still buy ATM to get access to more fonts, but the DeskWriter comes with four outline font families standard so ATM isn't essential. But if you add ATM to the price, you really save little. The only situation where I might consider a DeskJet 500 instead of the DeskWriter for use with the Mac is if you also have an MS-DOS PC. In that case, you can share the same printer with both systems. Yes, the DeskJet 500 (unlike the DeskJet and DeskJet+) has all of the graphics print enhancements of the DeskWriter, but the DeskWriter has IO ports and a driver designed for the Macintosh. I really think most Mac users will be much happier with the DeskWriter than going through all the hoops to get a DeskJet 500 to work. Also, I am not biased (really) -- I worked on the firmware for both the DeskJet 500 and the LocalTalk firmware for the DeskWriter. They are both good printers, but the DeskJet 500 is designed for MS-DOS systems and the DeskWriter for MAC systems. This is not just a silly marketting distinction. Each printer is engineered for its intended environment. And besides, whether you buy a DeskJet 500 or a DeskWriter either case helps my profit sharing check :-). Dave Neff neff@hpvcfs1.HP.COM