Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!hacgate!ashtate!dbase!dbeau
From: dbeau@dbase.A-T.COM (David Beauchesne)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: HP Laserjet <-> Mac
Message-ID: <1991Jan25.191706.4312@dbase.A-T.COM>
Date: 25 Jan 91 19:17:06 GMT
References: <4040@eastapps.East.Sun.COM>
Organization: Ashton-Tate, San Jose, CA, USA
Lines: 50

hhersh@boxboro.East.Sun.COM (Harry Hersh - Sun BOS Software) writes:

>Can someone help me understand the hardware and software issues in
>connecting an HP printer to a MAC (Plus or SE)? In particular:

>1. My understanding is that the HP provides a parallel interface. Can I 
>connect it via AppleTalk? Through the serial (printer) line? What interfacing
>hardware is required?
>2. Since the HP does not contain a Postscript engine, what software packages
>are recommended? ATM will handle basic font rendering, but not much else?
>I've seen reference to MacPrint and Freedom of the Press as providing
>Postscript interpretation within the Mac for non-Mac printers, but am not
>sure what the differences are (besides a factor of 3 in price). Are there
>other packages to be recommended that do the job of making the HP look and
>act like a LaserWriter NT?

You say you've got a LaserJet.  If you mean you have a LaserJet-'I' vice a
LaserJet-II, then the following may be of no use to you.

I've got a LJ-II connected to a Mac-IIfx.  I have Pacific Data's MacPage
cartridge which gives me a PostScript emulator.  This is not true Adobe
PostScript, but I have yet to find any Mac program that wouldn't work just
fine.  You do need a minimum of 2.5 megabytes of printer memory to run this.
Even more would theoretically allow more fonts and so on.  Adobe Type Manager
works great and Type-1 fonts are downloadable to MacPage just as if it were a
LaserWriter.

The printer is connected via a serial cable which is supplied with MacPage,
and which runs at 9600bps.  AppleTalk would be better (and more expensive).

The above will handle your PostScript needs.  What about QuickDraw?  Also
supplied with MacPage is a QD driver.  This driver has support for Pacific
Data's 25-in-1 cartridge which I also own.  I have not tried this yet, as I
have no reason to -- MacPage has done everything I've wanted.

I owned the 25-in-1 cartridge prior to purchasing MacPage.  At that time, I
used MacPrint for several months, and was very happy with it.  I believe
MacPrint is written/published by Insight development.

The *only* criticism I have of this hardware setup is _speed_.  If memory
serves, the LJ-II has a 5-Mhz 68000 processor in it.  This means that complex
PostScript documents may take a while to print -- but they do print, and they
print correctly.

I hope this information is of use to you.

David Beauchesne

P.S. This is the first time I've posted to USENET -- so I hope the message
is composed properly and, more importantly, that you get it!