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From: vp@cui.unige.ch
Newsgroups: comp.laser-printers
Subject: Re: DeskJet advice needed
Message-ID: <9007200324.AA07458@crayola.cs.UMD.EDU>
Date: 16 Jul 90 12:36:00 GMT
References: <9007130346.AA00746@crayola.cs.UMD.EDU>
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Organization: University of Geneva, Switzerland
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Approved: laser-lovers@brillig.umd.edu

In article <9007130346.AA00746@crayola.cs.UMD.EDU> harper@convex.UUCP (David Har
per) writes:
>A friend of mine recently purchased a DeskJet Plus and has a couple of
>questions that he is hopes that the net can answer:
>
>1)  He wants to purchase the RAM cartridge and be able to download soft
>    fonts to the printer.  He saw an article in PC Magazine recently
>    which indicated that DeskJet fonts are similar, but not completely
>    compatible, to LaserJet fonts.  If this is the case, does anyone
>    know of a conversion utility which will take public domain fonts for
>    a LaserJet and convert them to a DeskJet format?  Has anyone tried
>    downloading LaserJet fonts to see what would happen?
It won't work!  The DeskJet fonts are sufficiently different from the LJ
ones that the printers reject them.  For example the DJ uses 600 dpi
horizontal resolution while the LJ is 300 dpi.  Other diffs are caused by
the fact that the DJ has only(!) 50 heads, so that larger fonts have to
be printed in more than one pass; since the DJ only has a Z80 in it, it
can't afford to have to do a lot of work, so you have to define each pass
SEPARATELY.

>2)  Are there emulation packages available for the DeskJet?  If so, are
>    these packages downloadable to the printer or do the run on the PC?
When you say emulation what do you have in mind?  HP is selling an
EPSON FX-80 emulator cartridge, but you lose all the extra features of
the DJ when its plugged in.  Anyway, if you want to emulate smth you'll
have to do it on the PC side, there is no way (to my knowledge) of
downloading *code* to the DJ (note also that the DJ has a different processor
then the DJ+).  If anybody knows that it CAN be done (and knows how to do it)
I'd be REALLY happy to hear from them!!

I've been working on a troff backend for the DeskJet, but it uses BSD
vfonts, and its using the graphics mode of the printer (i.e. it doesn't
attempt to download characters).  I am supposed to be working on converting
it to download fonts instead, but a couple of deadlines forced me to do
other work :-(

**vp

email:	vp@cui.unige.ch		| Vasilis Prevelakis
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