Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!decwrl!ucbvax!ucsfcgl!cca.ucsf.edu!wet!rick From: rick@wet.UUCP (Rick Rutledge) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware Subject: Re: Compatibility: Laserjet II, II/D, III ? Message-ID: <1415@wet.UUCP> Date: 4 Aug 90 02:39:11 GMT References: <3964@rex.cs.tulane.edu> Reply-To: rick@wet.UUCP (Rick Rutledge) Distribution: usa Organization: Wetware Diversions, San Francisco Lines: 84 In article <3964@rex.cs.tulane.edu> doerschu@rex.cs.tulane.edu (Dave Doerschuk) writes: >I am looking to buy a Hewlett Packard Laserjet printer, either the >II/D or the III. I am concerned about the compatibility of these >two printers with the Laserjet II. Since both the II/D and the >III are new, they don't appear on the setup menus of most of my >software. I'd like to know: > >1. Are the II/D and the III totally software compatible with the II? No. However, the only problem I've encountered to date was with Lotus 1-2-3. (Printgraph, actually.) Given Lotus' history of compatibility (problems) in early versions, I'm not surprised. Lotus printgraph will not print on a HP LJIII, neither in medium nor in high-density modes. If you have 2.2, you can paste the graph (.PIC) into an ALLWAYS spreadsheet, and that will work fine. The IID is not that new. It's been out a couple of years. Marvelous printer. Not any problems that I know of, but I've not tried this PrintGraph problem there, as we don't have a IID at my current location. >2. Is the output of the III (as enhanced by some special hardware > that HP installed before the rasterizer) noticably better than > the output of the II, and does the II/D have this feature? I've never taken a loupe to it, but it's very nice. Not PostScript, but very nice. (Of course, you can get PS for it now, for only a few hundred bucks. You can get Appletalk, too, so with RAM expansion, you can put together a "LaserWriter Clone" for about 3-4,000 less than an Apple.) >3. Could someone define the difference between the II and the III? > I'm really having a hard time cutting thru the hype and getting > the real story on this one. The II has two built in type faces (3 fonts in two orientations). Courier and Courier Bold, and Line Printer, in both portrait and landscape. The III has these, and CG Times (like Times Roman) and Univers (like Helvetica), and they are scalable. It also has 2 sizes of courier (10 cpi like the II, and 12 cpi). These, of course, are relatively useless if you don't yet have software to exploit the scalability. Only two apps I've seen/used which support the III at this time are WordPerfect 5.x and Windows. (If you have WP5.0,5.1, or WIN286, WIN386 already, contact WP or Miscrosoft for new drivers. Both offer them free, I believe.) The III also has 1M RAM standard, as opposed to the 512K on the II. >4. Why is the II/D so much more expensive than the III? There must > be some benefit here that I'm missing; it was described to me > as an 8ppm laserjet laser printer. Yes, but it has two paper trays, and can print on both sides of the page. It also has more built-in typefaces, and I believe 1M of RAM, rather than the standard 512K on the II. This ability to print on both sides of the page is known as duplexing. You can force it manually for programs which don't inherently support it, and, again, the only two apps I've seen which support it explicity are Windows (and its subjugate apps) and WP. >5. As I understand it, the cartridge connector on the III is different > from that of the II, but the II/D is the same as the II. Is this > correct? Does anyone know of a benefit to the new cartridge > connector in the III? It cannot accept cartridges made for the II, > right? Righto. I think HP has just decided to make more use of what the printer can do, and has demonstrated this with their PS cartridge for the III. (Other vendors do have PS for the II and IID, by the way, Pacific Data, for instance.) >6. I'd sure like to have opinions here. I'm going to buy one of them, > and remarks from people who have used them would be much appreciated. > Also, comments about where you purchased yours and whether you were > happy with the dealer would be great. HP is great stuff. Reliable, rugged, good support. I've no complaints. I think you'll find most everybody is charging the same thing for the II and III models, the IID will vary. (III is currentlly $1595 everywhere I've called or seen.) Since HP is so solid, where you buy it doesn't really matter; HP stands behind it, so you can buy it wherever it's cheapest. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rick Rutledge {hoptoad|ucsfcca|claris}!wet!rick rick@wet.UUCP "Voici le secret." dit le renard. "On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur. L'essentiel est invisible aux yeux." -Antoine de St. Exupery, _le Petit Prince_