Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!apple.com!casseres
From: casseres@apple.com (David Casseres)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Subject: Re: bi-directional Imagewriter printing
Message-ID: <11971@goofy.Apple.COM>
Date: 4 Feb 91 18:49:16 GMT
Sender: usenet@Apple.COM
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Organization: Apple Computer, Inc.
Lines: 19
References:<5191@tellab5.tellabs.com> <1991Jan29.231639.3647@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> <27A677EE.2746@orion.oac.uci.edu> <1738@lee.SEAS.UCLA.EDU>

In article <1738@lee.SEAS.UCLA.EDU> pasrich@edison.seas.ucla.edu (Puneet 
Pasrich/;093091;eeugrad) writes:
> One of the reasons the IW does not print bi-directionally is because of
> the heat factor.  The mechanism basically gets a 'rest' when it's
> traveling back.  Over the course of a large document it seems like it's
> a bad idea to have the print head heat up.  Don't you agree?  What I'm
> not sure about is what exactly that page limit is.  For example, is it
> ok to print bi-directionally on a five page paper or ten ... ?

Actually the suppression of bidirectional printing is not related to heat. 
The printer firmware prevents excessive heat buildup by simply pausing 
the mechanism between scans when this is necessary, so you need not worry 
about heat.

The reason bidirectional printing is suppressed is that it looks bad on 
*some* ImageWriter II's.

David Casseres
     Exclaimer:  Hey!