Re: Re Apple II e.....Can I use Inkjet or Lasers ??????

[gareth@vcn.bc.ca (Gareth Jones)]

pubpc1@library.ucla.edu wrote:
: cknoblo@oasis.novia.net (Carl Knoblock) wrote:
: >exposures@loop.com wrote:
: >> Which printers available can I use with my old reliable Apple II e?
: >> Would love an inkjet or Laser....Can you get me started?  Thank a
: >> million.
: >> 
: >> Vince    exposures@loop.com
: >
: >For inkjets, you should use the Hewlett-Packard DeskJets. You will need a
: >parallel card. For laser, the H-P line is still a good choice.

: For lasers, PostScript printers are a better choice.  The several IIe
: programs that support laser printers assume PostScript.  These include
: Publish-It!, Springboard Publisher, and GEOS.  For the Apple LaserWriters
: (some models) there are also ImageWriter emulation programs that let them
: work with older software.

Note: I wrote this a couple of years ago (1994?) so the prices of 
printers have changed. The prices were in Canadian dollars, too. Also, 
the prices were for _new_ printers. I myself picked up an used Apple 
LaserWriter Plus for $450 Canadian, about $300 U.S., although the 
original list price was somewhere around $8000. So use this article to 
decide what you really want to own, then keep your eyes open. Good luck,
 
-Gareth
 
Choosing a Printer for your Apple II
     
     Gareth Jones
     
     Introduction
     
     A computer system first shows its age in its printouts. Faded and 
jagged characters or splotchy illustrations may make you want to dump 
your Apple II for a new computer. Don't do it! All it takes is a new 
printer to bring a fresh look to your computer's public face. You can use 
the newest printer technologies with Apple II's for results that are 
indistinguishable from other computers'. This article shows you how.
     Choosing a new printer for an Apple II is a complicated process, 
though. You already have the software that you intend to use, and that 
software may have been written before PostScript, TrueType, or QuickDraw 
were ever heard of.
     This article looks at printers from the point of view of people who 
own an Apple II with at least 128K (sorry, ][ Plus people) and a software 
collection. It discusses how to print files from, or with, the most 
popular programs. These specifically include AppleWorks, Print Shop (all 
versions), Blazing Paddles, Dazzle Draw, Publish It! 4 and GS-only software.
     
     Printing with GS Programs
     
     If you use only GS/OS and ProDOS 16 programs you have an easy job 
selecting a new printer. Look at the list of printer drivers available 
through the system software and through third-party packages, and make 
your choice based on the printer's price, speed, and resolution. Whatever 
printer driver you install, it will work equally well with all your software.
     System 6 supports several Apple printers and many nine-pin Epson and 
Epson-compatible printers. The LaserWriter printer driver should support 
any PostScript printer to the limit of its resolution. This is usually 
300 dpi ("dots per inch"), but 600 dpi printers are coming down in price.
     Other printers are supported by drivers in "Independence" (from 
Seven Hills Software) and "Harmonie" (Vitesse). Independence supports the 
Hewlett-Packard (HP) DeskJet, DeskWriter, LaserJet IIP and LaserJet III. 
Harmonie supports the same printers as well as the HP PaintWriter, 
PaintJet, QuadJet, LaserJet compatibles such as the Okidata OL400 and TI 
MicroLaser, and a selection of 9- and 24-pin dot matrix printers.
     
     Printing with the Classics
     
     Every eight bit program poses problems to the printer hunter because 
it supports an idiosyncratic list of printers. These lists do not match 
between programs, even when they are from the same company. Even worse, 
many programs have not been updated to support modern printers. Even the 
recently-released New Print Shop does not work with any inkjet or laser 
printers.
     If you want to keep printing with eight bit software, make a "master 
table" of supported printers. Take a sheet of lined paper and write the 
word "Printer" and the names of the programs you use along the top. Boot 
up one of the programs and select its "Configuration" or "Set-Up" option. 
Write down all the printers that it supports in the first column, then 
place checkmarks against them in the appropriate column for that 
software. Do the same for each program, checking off the printers that 
were already on the list and adding new ones as necessary. The printers 
you will want to consider buying will have a checkmark in every column. 
These printers will probably be ImageWriters or nine-pin Epson dot matrix 
printers.
     If you would like more choices than the master list gives you, read 
on. I will describe your alternatives. First, I will discuss why and how 
to use a new application program to print all of your old files. Second, 
I will show how PostScript printers are chameleons which work with the 
newest software for high-quality results but emulate an ImageWriter to 
work with older software. Third, I will discuss the commercial software 
drivers that let all of your GS-specific software use some models of 
laser and inkjet printers.
     
     Using Applications as Printing Utilities
     
     The cheapest way to use a new printer with old software is to do all 
your printing with software that supports the printer. Some of these 
programs are probably in your software collection already.
     If you only need to print text, don't give up on AppleWorks. This 
program lets users create custom printer drivers. Hewlett-Packard 
LaserJet drivers are available in the public domain. In addition, 
Resource Central sells a book called Using AppleWorks With a DeskJet 500.
     If you own a GS, you can continue word-processing with your 
favourite program, but save the documents as text files. These text files 
can be loaded into AppleWorks GS or Teach (a simple word processor that 
comes free with System 6) for touching up with GS fonts and printing with 
GS/OS printer drivers.
     I have similar advice for GS owners who create masterpieces with 
Blazing Paddles, Dazzle Draw, or another drawing or painting program. 
Create them, save them as usual, then convert them to super hi-res  and 
print them with a GS paint program. SuperConvert (from Seven Hills 
Software) or Graphics Exchange (Roger Wagner Publishing) will do the 
conversion for you.
     Desktop publishing programs are the best printing "utilities" for 
graphics or text from almost any source. GraphicWriter III, for example, 
will import formatted AppleWorks, AppleWriter, FrEdWriter, MouseWrite, 
Bank Street Writer, Teach, and text files. It also imports Print Shop, 
Print Shop IIgs, MacPaint, and single, double, and super hi-res graphics. 
These files can be combined, arranged, enhanced with colour and GS fonts, 
and then printed to any printer for which you have a driver.
     Publish It! 4 provides just as much flexibility for owners of any 
128K Apple II. It lets you load, manipulate, and print word processing 
files from AppleWorks and Bank Street Writer, text files, and all sorts 
of graphics: hi-res, double hi-res, super hi-res, Print Shop, New Print 
Shop, Print Shop IIgs, Newsroom, and Encapsulated PostScript. It uses GS 
fonts, even if you don't have a GS.
     Publish It! 4 supports many dot-matrix printers, all PostScript 
printers, and the HP DeskJet and LaserJet series. Publish It! 4 prints to 
about the same resolution on the HP printers as on a dot-matrix printer, 
so the results are not the best that the HP printer is can do. On the 
other hand, the software supports PostScript printers to the limit of 
their resolution, usually 300 dpi.
     
     Recommended Laser Printers
     
     Moving on to a slick, modern printer is going to cause some 
incompatibilities with your current software. Depend on it. The problems 
will be minimized if you spend $2000 to buy a PostScript laser printer. 
These are fast, quiet, clear, and will let you keep printing with your 
old programs, by using Apple's ImageWriter Emulator software.
     If you would like a laser printer for half the cost, I recommend the 
HP LaserJet or one of its many imitators. This printer is supported by 
all GS/OS programs if the appropriate printer driver is installed from 
either "Independence" or "Harmonie." It is also supported on eight-bit 
Apples by Publish It! 4.
     LaserJets are not supported by Print Shop (in any of its 
variations). If you buy a LaserJet you will have to create your 
letterheads, posters, and cards in Publish It! 4 or GraphicWriter III. 
This is not as easy, but think of it as a challenge to your creativity!
     Fortunately, you can save your pennies ($400 to $500 worth) to make 
your LaserJet into a PostScript printer. Some LaserJet compatibles, such 
as the Okidata OL400, cannot be upgraded to PostScript. Make sure that 
your printer can be upgraded.
     
     Recommended Inkjet Printers
     
     For between $500 and $600 you can buy an HP DeskJet 500. The 
DeskJet's printouts are almost as good as a LaserJet's. The most serious 
drawback is that DeskJets (like other inkjet printers) cannot be upgraded 
to PostScript. You can use a DeskJet with GS/OS applications if you buy 
either Harmonie or Independence. You can also use it with Publish It! 4.
     The StyleWriter printer is a bit less expensive than the DeskJet and 
its driver comes free with System 6, but you will only be able to use it 
with GS/OS programs. A phone call to TimeWorks' Technical Department 
verified that there are no plans to have Publish It! 4 support the 
StyleWriter. Given this, I personally recommend the DeskJet over the 
StyleWriter.
     
     Recommended Colour Printers
     
     At this moment, the only colour printer supported by a GS/OS driver 
is Apple's ancient ImageWriter II. However, Vitesse, the publisher of 
Harmonie, is working on a driver for HP's excellent colour inkjet 
printer, the DeskWriter C. (For a review, see inCider, March 1992). 
Quality Computers informs me that the colour driver should be available 
in early 1993. The DeskWriter C sells locally for about $1000.
     
     Recommendations for Impoverished Users
     
     Even if you can't afford to buy a printer that matches your refined 
tastes in typography, you can still produce beautiful printouts. Publish 
It! 4 allows you to save files in PostScript format so that they can be 
uploaded to a printer service bureau.
     GS owners have the same capability in all of their software, thanks 
to  a wonderful hidden feature ("Easter Egg") in the LaserWriter printer 
driver. Just select the LaserWriter printer from the "DC Printer" Control 
Panel. Give the command that brings up the "Print" dialogue box. Hold 
down the Apple and "f" keys as you click "OK." A PostScript file called 
"PostScript.GSxx" will be created in the Drivers folder. (The "xx" in the 
filename represents numbers).
     One additional note: if you want to print graphics from AppleWorks 
GS v. 1.1 to a PostScript printer, or to "print" them to disk as 
PostScript files, import them into the Page Layout module and print them 
from there. The Graphics module will print "draw objects" like circles 
and squares as bit maps, but Page Layout prints them as draw objects. If 
you don't understand what that means, don't worry. Just remember that the 
Page Layout module produces better results when you work with PostScript 
printers or PostScript files.
     Once the PostScript file has been created, you must find a way to 
transfer it to the computer that will print it. A modem is one way. An 
even easier way, thanks to the HFS (Macintosh) file system translator 
that comes with System 6 for the GS, is to copy the PostScript file onto 
a Macintosh-formatted disk.
     In theory, any big-name desktop publishing software for MS-DOS or 
the Mac should be able to open and print a PostScript file generated on 
your Apple II. My experience with Aldus PageMaker (running under Windows) 
suggests that you may have to alter Apple II PostScript files to make 
them acceptable. Experiment, but be prepared to get quicker and easier 
results from service bureaus than from your friends with a Mac or an 
MS-DOS machine.
     
     Conclusions
     
     The Apple II is capable of making beautiful printouts with modern 
inkjet and laser printers. The secret is to develop a printer strategy 
before you choose a printer. Think carefully about your desires, your 
funds, and your current software.
     If you buy a LaserWriter or other PostScript printer, you will be 
able to produce beautiful documents with any software that supports 
PostScript. In addition, you will still be able to use your old software 
by pretending that the new printer is an old-fashioned ImageWriter. 
Clearly, this is the easiest route to follow.
     If you buy a non-PostScript laser or an inkjet printer, you will 
probably have to do a little work to see the results. If you use 
AppleWorks, then make or borrow a customized driver for your printer. 
This will suffice for printing plain text with no fancy fonts or 
graphics. To print those desirable luxuries from an eight bit Apple II, 
do all your printing with Publish It! 4.
     If you have a GS, buy printer drivers to work with a DeskJet or 
LaserJet. Or just print PostScript files to disk with the LaserWriter 
driver and develop a relationship with a local service bureau. One way or 
another, your Apple II will help you look good.