Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!clyde.concordia.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!ists!yunexus!maccs!cs4g6ag
From: cs4g6ag@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (Stephen M. Dunn)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Printing graphics on 24 pin printer
Message-ID: <25FFD62E.8576@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca>
Date: 15 Mar 90 17:51:42 GMT
References: <9221@shlump.nac.dec.com>
Reply-To: cs4g6ag@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (Stephen M. Dunn)
Organization: McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
Lines: 34

In article <9221@shlump.nac.dec.com> sreekanth@rgb.dec.com (Jon Sreekanth) writes:
$The ads I've seen for 24 pin printers claim 260 dots per inch. Is this 

   Is that all?  Jzee, find another printer!  My 9-pin does 240x218 DPI,
and I've used a NEC PinWriter that went up to 360xsomething.

$realistic, or exaggerated ? What is the (subjective) quality of such an
$image ? Is it actually better than a laser printer in 200 dpi mode ?
$How much worse is it from a laser printer in 300 dpi mode ? 

   It depends on what you're planning to use it for.  If you're going
to be photocopying it, the only difference you're likely to notice is
that vertical lines are made of segments that don't quite line up; other
than that, the differences are so small that they'll just about get lost
in the photocopier.  If you're used to a 9-pin, the difference is like
night and day.  Of course, it isn't going to match a laser even if its
resolution is over 300x300 dpi, but it won't be that far off for most
purposes.

$Published speed specs are usually 
$quoted as 50-something characters per second, near-letter-quality mode. 
$How does one convert this into graphics printing speed ? For printing
$graphics, what is the speed limiting factor : the speed of the parallel
$or serial port from computer to printer, or the print engine itself ?

   On a parallel port, it's the speed of the print engine that's the
limiting factor; I can't comment on serial ports.  As for coming up with
the speed doing graphics ... the print head moves at the same speed in
high-resolution graphics mode as it does in NLQ mode.
-- 
Stephen M. Dunn                               cs4g6ag@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca
          <std_disclaimer.h> = "\nI'm only an undergraduate!!!\n";
****************************************************************************
    "So sorry, I never meant to break your heart ... but you broke mine."