DeskJets & The IIGS

[joko@crl4.crl.com (Joe Kohn)]

I have good DeskJet news and I have bad DeskJet news.
 
First, the good news. HP has recently released the DeskJet 420, a IIGS
compatible color capable ink jet printer which costs $119 Retail.
 
Now, for the bad news...
 
The following DeskJet 700 series are not compatible with the IIGS: 710,
712, 720 or 722.
 
During the past few years, HP has offered several models of DeskJet that
could not be used with the IIGS. Those printers (such as the short-lived
DJ 820CSe) had a silkscreen designation on the front of them that said:
"For Windows."
 
The 700 series of IIGS incompatible printers no longer have the silkscreen
"For Windows" designation. And, to make things even more confusing, the
722c comes in two different boxes; the older box clearly states that the
printer is for use with Windows only, but the newer box doesn't.
 
There _is_ information listed on the side of the boxes boxes and in HP's
literature which indicates which DeskJets will work on the IIGS, but only
if you know exactly what you are looking for.
 
ALL DeskJet printers which work on the IIGS have two things in common:
they support HP's PCL Level 3 printer language, and they are compatible
with MS-DOS. Since PCL is backwards compatible, PCL Level 4 and 5 printers
can also be used on a IIGS.
 
It appears as if all other current models of DeskJet (aside from the 710,
712, 720, 722) do support PCL3 and are MS-DOS compatible, and so they are
IIGS compatible.
 
So, if you are looking for a new DeskJet, you are going to have to look at
the box and/or at HP's literature. If the box says MS-DOS (or DOS 3.3 and
later) and PCL, then it'll work on the IIGS, with Harmonie. If it says
only Windows, Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT, it will not work with
a IIGS.
 
Joe Kohn
Publisher of Harmonie
(The GS/OS printer drivers which work with HP printers.)
http://www.crl.com/~joko