Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!gumby!umich!terminator!danno
From: danno@css.itd.umich.edu (Daniel T. Pritts)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: StyleWriter/DeskWriter - Which to buy?
Message-ID: <1991May22.205501.13138@terminator.cc.umich.edu>
Date: 22 May 91 20:55:01 GMT
References: <1991May21.214337.794@csc.canterbury.ac.nz>
Sender: usenet@terminator.cc.umich.edu (usenet news)
Organization: Univ. of Michigan ITD Consulting & Support Services
Lines: 30

In article <1991May21.214337.794@csc.canterbury.ac.nz> raymond@cosc.canterbury.ac.nz (R P Wilson ) writes:
>Is 360 dpi look much different from 300?
>Just how much faster is the Deskwriter?
>How do their useful lifetimes compare?
>With the paper tray etc on the StyleWriter how much smaller is it than the
>DeskWriter (which has these things 'built in')?

For text, 360 vs. 300 dpi doesn't matter much.  Although i did notice that
6 pt was legible at 360dpi but not at 300.

The deskwriter is two to three times as fast.  I printed a 3pg MS Word
document, times 12pt with a headline, on a classic.  
 Deskwriter:  3:30
 Stylewriter: 10:00
This is the most real-world of my tests.  The DW is just SO much faster.
I did several tests, the results were similar.  a 36-page pagemaker
doc took 49 mins on the SW but 29 on the DW.  

Far as we know, the lifetimes are about the same.  Of course the apple
printer is brand new, so if they all turn 1yr old and croak, this could
be a problem.  Haven't heard of any problem with HP.

The Stylewriter with its dopey flimsy crappy little paper tray opened
up still takes only about 1/2 to 2/3 the desk space of the DW.

In summary:  Go with the DeskWriter.  You won't grow old waiting for
output.  The ink doesn't smear as badly.  The ink cartridges are refillable
(not recommended by HP but it works) while the SW's aren't.
It's an easy choice unless you just can't afford the desk space (I'd
buy a table for my DW before buying a SW).