Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!hp-pcd!hpcvlx.cv.hp.com!bcripe From: bcripe@hpcvlx.cv.hp.com. (Brian E. Cripe) Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp Subject: Re: Driver(Deskwriter) == Driver(Deskjet) ? Message-ID: <101950232@hpcvlx.cv.hp.com.> Date: 17 Jun 91 20:40:33 GMT References: Organization: Hewlett-Packard Co., Corvallis, OR, USA Lines: 26 It has been 3 years since I worked on HP printers, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. > I would like to buy an inexpensive printer that would work with a > Macintosh and a Next. A HP Deskwriter (with quickdraw) looks good for > the Mac, and a DeskJet with ghostscript fine for the Next. > > Are those actually different packages for the same basic printer? The DeskJet and the DeskWriter are very similar mechanically and somewhat similar electrically -- but the firmware is very different. DeskJet implements PCL III and the DeskWriter is tuned for highspeed graphics-only suitable for a QuickDraw environment. > Are the differences so that the ghostscript Deskjet driver is unsuitable > for a "Deskwriter" ? I suspect the ghostscript driver generates PCL which would completely confuse the DeskWriter. > A related question is about the availability of good technical manuals > for these printers. I don't know the answer to this. Brian Cripe