Re: IIgs and laser printers

[gareth@opus.freenet.vancouver.bc.ca (Gareth Jones)]

Mitchell Spector (spector@vax2.concordia.ca) wrote:
:         Of all the brands and models of laser printers out there, which are
: best suited to use on an Apple IIgs? I'd like to hear opinions on this, and
: not just current brands/models, but old printers (even up to a decade old)
: as well. In fact, of my choices available, I may very well be picking from
: an long discontinued model.

:         Also, how important is Postscript and/or AppleTalk capabilities?
: Are large amounts of memory inside the printer important? Again, this is
: concerning use on an _Apple IIgs_ (native GS/OS software). One printer I
: can choose from at this point is an original HP LaserJet I, how well supported
: is this printer on a IIgs? If I'm not mistaken, it's not Postscript compatible.
: A list of recommended (old) printers would be great...

: Mitchell Spector
: spector@vax2.concordia.ca

OK, here's a personal response :-)

I've attached a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet III to the GS via a parallel 
card and used the appropriate driver from Vitesse's "Harmonie" package. 
It did a very nice job, including turning the colour graphics into 
greyscale. You should also, if you go this route, pick up a copy of 
"Independence" from Seven Hills Software. I haven't tried the printer 
drivers in this package, but they have different capabilities than the 
Vitesse ones. They may be closer to wat you need.

The LaserJet wasn't mine, so I didn't test it for long :-(

I recently bought an Apple LaserWriter Plus. This early PostScript 
printer has the same set of built-in fonts as recent LaserWriters and is 
built like a _tank_! (77 lbs). I've networked it so that it serves both 
my GS and my wife's Mac. Impressions:

1. For any font that exists in the printer's ROM, the prinout is 
wonderful and non-problematic. I've printed high quality text up to 255 
points high (the GS's maximum). You may not be able to do this with a 
LaserJet, since it uses the standard trick of requesting a larger copy of 
the font and "scaling it down" to get good quality printout).

2. According to Softdisk GS, the "fully justified" text setting in Teach 
and other such TextEdit-based programs is just for on-screen aesthetics. 
However, it prints out properly from a PostScript printer.

3. I've been able to print properly from GS/OS programs, AppleWorks, 
Publish It!4, and BASIC.System, among other programs. The ones I _can't_ 
get to work are Graph It!, WordPerfect IIgs 2.1, and The Print Shop IIgs.

4. Graphics don't come out greyscale, but generally have "patterns" to 
represent the colours.

5. If you take the trouble to learn a little PostScript, you can create 
_any_ text or graphic effect on a PostScript printer. There are many 
public domain PostScript programs that you can customize.

6. Printout of bitmapped fonts is ugly (72 dpi, I think), unless an 
equivalent PostScript font is in the printer.

7. You can _send_ a PostScript font to the printer with a program from 
EGO Systems called LaserBeam 1.1. (GS+ magazine may be gone, but EGO is 
still answering the phones).

8. You can't print any TrueType fonts unless a PostScript equivalent 
exists on the printer (either in RAM or ROM).

In general, I am satisfied with my choice. The printer is reliable, 
prints good quality output, works from both our computers, and has 
limitations that can be removed if I just learn a little PostScript. The 
graphics printout from a GS is a bit of a bummer. The inability to use 
The Print Shop IIgs may or may not be a problem to you.

-Gareth