jcd@ecersg.ncsu.edu (Joseph C. Davis) (08/21/90)
I am thinking about buying an HP Deskjet+ inkjet printer for my IBM PC. However, i would like to hear the networks opinions on this particular printer, before i take the plunge. I will be using it for graphics and cad as well as word processing. I know that a laserprinter would be best, but i just can't afford it. How about it folks, what are the opinions on this printer? Richard Perkins reply to jcd@ecegabriel.ncsu.edu
baer@uwovax.uwo.ca (08/21/90)
{In article <1990Aug20.173504.23028@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu>, jcd@ecersg.ncsu.edu (Joseph C. Davis) writes: > I am thinking about buying an HP Deskjet+ inkjet printer for my IBM PC. > However, i would like to hear the networks opinions on this particular printer, > before i take the plunge. I will be using it for graphics and cad as well as > word processing. I know that a laserprinter would be best, but i just can't > afford it. > > How about it folks, what are the opinions on this printer? > -- I have one and I like it. I bought the Tmms Roman font cartridge (extra $70) and my printer produces output which is every bit as good looking as that produced by my department's Xerox 4045 (better, in fact, since the dept. hasn't yet bought the extra font sets needed to make the laser output look good). Printing *is* slow -- I'm apt to get not much better than 1 page per minute (2 tops) -- but for me that's not a big deal. I've been churning out an average of 10-20 pp. a day (sometimes *much* more -- 50-100) with no maintenance problems (machine's been in service for a year). CAD results have been disappointing , but this might be the package not the printer. I use DesignCAD, which only has a printer driver for the Desk Jet and not the Desk Jet Plus (this could be a source of difficulty: I believe the + offers higher resolution). In very high resolution print lines are almost too fine to reproduce, and one can see the fine dots; in medium resolution, the print lines are jerky, especially for circles and ellipses. A friend brought some scanner files (produced from his hand-held scanner) and they looked quite good on the HP (much better than anything you'd get from a 24-pin). The RAM cartridge/soft font system seems to be a waste of money. I bought the RAM cartridge because I needed it for a scientific word processing package I sometimes use - but almost everything I do could be performed with Word or Word Perfect and a font set which does not come with the "soft fonts" ( you have to buy a regular cartridge anyway). Downloading soft fonts is a pain (I'm sure laser owners who download fonts with a package which will not run in the "background" can empathize with this). When I wrote HP to ask them if they had an OS/2 version of the download program/utility, I received a terse "we have no plans to do so" response. Ink cartridges are a bit pricy -- I pay $17, but it may be possible to get them for a bit less. they generally last fairly long -- I've used about 5 or 6 over the past year, not counting 2 "duds". These duds are the genuine item (HP-manufactured) which started screwing up within a week of installation [as if they had run out of ink]. I observed all of the usual storage precautions, and the cartridges were well within the expiry dates on the labels. I understand other users have experienced similar problems -- HP appears to need to get its act together in the quality control dept. here . I'd also like to see third party vendors get into the business -- perhaps then the price might come down a bit and/or the qulity will go up. With heavy duty printing (hundreds of copies every day), I suspect the price of ink cartridges would make a laser printer more cost effective. but for intermittent use, I don't think this machine can be beat (unlike lasers with expensive-to-replace cartridges, most wear and tear problems are solved every time one throws out the ink cartridge and replaces it with a new one). One more thing -- the ink is not waterproof. If you walk with a lot of documents through the rain, this could be a problem , though I'm told a cheap solution is to spray such documents with artists' fixative. -- Hope this info. is of some help. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Douglas Baer, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada N6A 5C2 Internet: BAER@UWO.CA bITNET: baer@uwovax.bitnet
jeffj@cbnewsm.att.com (jeffrey.n.jones) (08/24/90)
In article <6751.26d07c95@uwovax.uwo.ca> baer@uwovax.uwo.ca writes: >{In article <1990Aug20.173504.23028@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu>, jcd@ecersg.ncsu.edu (Joseph C. Davis) writes: >> I am thinking about buying an HP Deskjet+ inkjet printer for my IBM PC. >> However, i would like to hear the networks opinions on this particular printer, > >I have one and I like it. I bought the Tmms Roman font cartridge (extra >$70) and my printer produces output which is every bit as good looking as >that produced by my department's Xerox 4045 (better, in fact, since the dept. The above covered the subject real well! I used to have one and I thought it was great! I used it with First Publisher with excellent results. When I printed out pictures you couldn't tell the difference between the Deskjet and a laser printer. I wouldn't mind getting one again. -- Jeff Jones | Prediction is very difficult, especially UUCP uunet!seeker!jeffj | about the future. Infolinc BBS 415-778-5929 | Niels Bohr
sammy@cbnewsd.att.com (Sammy) (08/24/90)
In article <1990Aug20.173504.23028@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu>, jcd@ecersg.ncsu.edu (Joseph C. Davis) writes: > > I am thinking about buying an HP Deskjet+ inkjet printer for my IBM PC. > However, i would like to hear the networks opinions on this particular printer, > before i take the plunge. I will be using it for graphics and cad as well as > word processing. I know that a laserprinter would be best, but i just can't > afford it. > I have an HP Deskjet, which I am very happy with - and the Deskjet+ is, of course even better. The main problem is a fairly serious one, and one that I had never seen mention of until after I bought my printer. The ink that is used is water soluble! This means that if it gets wet, it runs and smears. I don't feel safe therefore using it for addressing envelopes and address labels, and if you want a permanent copy of anything, you almost have to photocopy it. But the output is terrific, and for the difference in price, I'm glad I got it. Hopefully HP will do something about the ink problem. (Does anyone know if they have or if they are working on it?) -- Sammy=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The enemy of women...is not men, just as the enemy of blacks is not whites. The enemy is "the tyranny of the dull mind." Carol S. Pearson, _The Hero Within_ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
craigg@hpwrce.HP.COM (08/29/90)
HP just announced the new HP Deskjet 500. This is a direct replacement for both the DeskJet and the DeskJet+. The new printer has a list price $200. cheaper than the DeskJet+ with the same and newer features. At the same time, HP is announcing a new ink cartridge for the DeskJet. This new cartridge uses ink that is more water resistant than all previous cartridges. Check with your local dealer for more info. My opinions are my own. - I'm soo confused.
neff@hp-vcd.HP.COM (Dave Neff) (09/06/90)
Besides only costing $729 (list), the main new features of the DeskJet 500 are: 1. Support for kerned (negative side bearings) fonts. New font cartridges that only work on the 500 support this. Downloadable fonts can also support this feature. One net effect of this is that LaserJet fonts can be converted to DeskJet 500 fonts (using various 3rd party tools) and use the exact same spacing tables as used by the LaserJet fonts. Of course the font conversion utilities must be upgraded to support the new kerned font format (pretty easy really). The DeskJet 500 will support DeskJet and DeskJet+ RAM and font cartridges, but some new cartridges will only work on the DeskJet 500. The DeskJet+ emulation cartridges (Epson FX80 and IBM Pro Printer) will also work in the DeskJet 500. The DeskJet emulation cartridge will not. 2. Addition of a built in 12 pitch Letter Gothic and 12 point Times Roman font both upright and italic. The Times Roman is font is kerned and has the same spacing as the LaserJet Times Roman font (with a couple of exceptions due to character set differences). These additional fonts, along with the kerning feature is the main improvement and the main reasons DeskJet+ people should factor in when considering on whether or not to spend the $175 on an upgrade. 3. All the graphics enhancements of the DeskWriter were added to the DeskJet 500. The main ones are slightly faster decompression algorithms, mode 3 graphics (in many cases it results in much better data compression), and "smart" bidirectional graphics printing (decided on by the firmware when bidirectional printing will not degrade print quality). 4. Compound characters for kerned fonts will be correct. This is mainly an issue for European users that use various accent marks. Previously, the black of the character was centered over the black of the accent. In some cases (especially italic characters) this looked "wrong". Now the compound characters are intelligently aligned and look "right". 5. Remember, scaleable outline fonts are ONLY VIA A FUTURE WINDOWS DRIVER. The font scaling is done in the PC, not the printer. This scaleable outline font feature will also work with DeskJet+ and DeskJet, but the DeskJet 500 will have better performance due to the graphics printing enhancements (see #3 above). 6. Waterfast ink is being shipped with the DeskJet 500, but not in Europe (all the regulatory, licensing issues are not complete). This same new ink will work in all DeskJet/DeskWriter printers and should be appearing on dealers shelves fairly soon. I have been using the new ink for about 9 months now and it is much much more waterfast. It still smears just a little bit if you get it real wet, but nothing like the old ink. As for the upgrade, the incremental improvements between a DeskJet+ and DeskJet 500 are not that large, so I suspect most people wont upgrade for $175. But the improvements between the DeskJet and DeskJet 500 are very great, and a $225 upgrade for these people is a very good deal (and its about time in my opinion). The DeskJet 500 is more than just "new fonts and firmware" relative to the DeskJet+. An upgrade does require a new electronics board, which is the major cost in an upgrade (hence the similarity in prices between the DeskJet upgrade and DeskJet+ upgrade). A DeskJet upgrade also requries a new motor, service station changes, and a new key panel overlay, so it costs more, but is a very reasonable cost in my opinion -- considering what it involves. In the past, it seemed unfortunate that we never had a DeskJet to DeskJet+ upgrade, but now that the DeskJet 500 is out, it is good that we didn't have people paying for a DeskJet to DeskJet+ upgrade and then paying again for a DeskJet+ to DeskJet 500 upgrade :-). Dave Neff neff@hpvcfs1.HP.COM
whh@PacBell.COM (Wilson Heydt) (09/07/90)
In article <1030001@hp-vcd.HP.COM> neff@hp-vcd.HP.COM (Dave Neff) writes: >Besides only costing $729 (list), the main new features of the DeskJet 500 are: > >The Times Roman is font is kerned . . . Can you force it to be monospaced? (I realize this question sounds silly, but there are serious reasons for wanting a serifed, monospace font that would preclude the use a printer that couldn't produce one.) --Hal ======================================================================= Hal Heydt | An earthquake is Mother Nature's Analyst, Pacific*Bell | "silent" pager going off . . . 415-823-5447 | whh@pbhya.PacBell.COM |
phil@brahms.amd.com (Phil Ngai) (09/07/90)
In article <1030001@hp-vcd.HP.COM> neff@hp-vcd.HP.COM (Dave Neff) writes: |5. Remember, scaleable outline fonts are ONLY VIA A FUTURE WINDOWS |DRIVER. The font scaling is done in the PC, not the printer. Yeah, so when is this Win3 driver going to come out and who will provide it? Given MS's performance with OS/2 LJ drivers, I hope that HP will pick up the ball. -- Phil Ngai, phil@amd.com {uunet,decwrl,ucbvax}!amdcad!phil
dlow@hpspcoi.HP.COM (Danny Low) (09/07/90)
>Can you force it to be monospaced? (I realize this question sounds silly, >but there are serious reasons for wanting a serifed, monospace font that >would preclude the use a printer that couldn't produce one.) Monospaced versions of proportional fonts such as times roman exist. I saw a freeware one on a BBS once. You can probably buy a commercial version as well. You can create one yourself by suitable editing of an existing proportional font file. (If you decide to do this, I disavow all knowledge of this statement as you are obvious quite mad. :-) Danny Low "Question Authority and the Authorities will question You" Valley of Hearts Delight, Silicon Valley HP SPCD dlow%hpspcoi@hplabs.hp.com ...!hplabs!hpspcoi!dlow
neff@hp-vcd.HP.COM (Dave Neff) (09/08/90)
|5. Remember, scaleable outline fonts are ONLY VIA A FUTURE WINDOWS |DRIVER. The font scaling is done in the PC, not the printer. >Yeah, so when is this Win3 driver going to come out and who will >provide it? Given MS's performance with OS/2 LJ drivers, I hope >that HP will pick up the ball. The driver is written and supported by HP right here in Vancouver Wa. I don't know the expected date and don't know if I am supposed to give out expected dates, but do know we have pre-announced the driver. Note that this driver will give full outline font and graphics capability for both portrait and landscape orientations since all data will come to the printer as pure graphics. Performance on a DeskJet Classic will be poor, but on a DeskJet+ and DeskJet 500 it should be acceptable. As for the other question, Times Roman is proportionally spaced by definition. You can't force a PS font to be fixed pitch any more than you can force a fixed pitch font like Courier to be proportionally spaced. Dave Neff neff@hpvcfs1.HP.COM