Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!think.com!mintaka!spdcc!iecc!Postmaster
From: johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: DeskJet or Laser Printer
Message-ID: <9105212327.AA25442@iecc.cambridge.ma.us>
Date: 22 May 91 03:27:06 GMT
References: <1991May14.215216.18867@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
Sender: Postmaster@iecc.cambridge.ma.us
Organization: I.E.C.C.
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In-Reply-To: <5870043@pollux.svale.hp.com>

In article <5870043@pollux.svale.hp.com> you write:
>>What is a good, cheap laser printer, anyway, which I should be able to get
>>drivers for for some time?

>Having used both laser printers and ink jets, I can say that a GOOD
>ink jet (e.g. HP Deskjet 500) will give you quality as good as
>any laser printer for half the price. Ink jets are paper sensitive ...

This is entirely true, particularly the part about the paper.  The only
paper I could find that gave nice crisp results on my deskjet was cheap
envelopes.  I never found any 8.5 x 11 paper that didn't smudge a little,
not even the expensive special printer paper.

>The best cheap laser printer is the HP IIP. HP laser printers are the
>standard that all other laser printers compete against. Everyone
>supports HP laser printers. There are more accessories (e.g. 
>font cartridges) available for the HP laser printers than for
>all the others combined. There are HP laser printers clones
>that emulate to various degres an HP laser printer. They are usually
>cheaper. Just beware that the emulation on many of the clones is
>NOT good enough to pass muster in all cases.

The IIP is a fine little printer, but I think you can do better.  (Then
again, I don't work for HP.)  I have an IBM 4019e which has flawless HP
emulation, both PCL which is the laser printer language and HPGL which is
the pen plotter language.  It is slightly faster, 6 PPM rather than 4, and
has at least as many font cards, including equivalents for all of HP's
cartridges as well as lots of foreign languages including Arabic and Hebrew.
It has better paper handing options than the HP, such as a 500 sheet paper
tray that snaps on underneath and an envelope feeder.  It lets you feed
paper straight through which is nice if you'r printing transparancies or
heavy stock.  (The IIP may do that, I haven't looked at one in detail.)  It
is cheaper to run, even though the toner cartridge costs over $100, since
you only have to change it every 15,000 pages, not the typical 3000.  I paid
$925 after an IBM rebate last December, slightly less than a IIP cost.

Regards,
John Levine, johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us, {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl