Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!knapp
From: knapp@cs.utexas.edu (Edgar Knapp)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Postscript Laser Printer Recommendations
Summary: Get a CrystalPrint/QuickStep/... clone
Message-ID: <7283@cs.utexas.edu>
Date: 4 Dec 89 02:56:25 GMT
References: <74626@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>
Organization: U. Texas CS Dept., Austin, Texas
Lines: 42

In article <74626@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> Dan Butzer <butzer@cis.ohio-state.edu> writes:
>
>I need to purchase a small Postscript (or Postscript clone) laser printer
>for use with a small network of mac's.  I'd rather not pay the cost of
>Apple's Laserwriter IINT if at all possible. 
[...]


I have been using an Abaton QuickStep PostScript clone for two months,
and I pretty happy with it. This printer, as the Panther by La Cie and
the DirectPrint by Jasmine are based on Qume's CrystalPrint equipment.

The advantages, as I see them, are:

 - The printer is blazingly fast, much faster than a IINT.
 - It is significantly cheaper than the IINT. Educators can get one
   for $2600.- from Abaton. Otherwise, the cost is $3000.- for the
   Jasmine and Qume units.
 - It comes with 39 built-in fonts, instead of the standard 35.
 - The support of the printer by Abaton and even Qume is exceptionally good.

Naturally, there are disadvantages as well:

 - Adding Toner is a pretty messy job.
 - Printing envelopes seems impossible (if someone has figured out how
   to do it, please let me know).
 - It does not work with Adobe fonts (Cassady&Greene, BitStream,
   etc. work just great).
 - Some software which depends on special non-standard capabilities of
   the IINT does not work with it (e.g. most products by Emerald City
   Software). 

Also, there is a recent article in MacWorld (October 89, page 120 ff.)
reviewing laser printers for the Mac. The review of the CrystalPrint,
however is based on the (outdated) 2.x version of the firmware. After
my update to 3.02 (which was done at no charge by Qume) I have had no
compatibility problems with standard PostScript.


Edgar

(knapp@cs.utexas.edu)