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From: lacasse@RAND-UNIX.ARPA (Mark LaCasse)
Newsgroups: mod.computers.laser-printers
Subject: Re: Imagen modifications to regular Canon engine
Message-ID: <8603180550.AA16085@rand-unix.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 18-Mar-86 00:50:04 EST
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Posted: Tue Mar 18 00:50:04 1986
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RE:
    Could someone
    in the know give a general rundown of the differences between
    what Canon sells Imagen and what Imagen sends to us?

I'm not really "in the know", but I'll try.

Last time I looked at a Cannon engine, it required you to give it
an analog voltage that controlled its laser in real time, while the
laser's beam was scanning a drum by boucing off a polygon-shaped rotating
mirror.  The Cannon provided a timing pulse to let the interface know
what angle the mirror is at.

Imagen interfaced to this with a very fast 68000-based single board
CPU.  This had their own EPROM on it, that turned your text and other
input into something it could send out to the Cannon on the fly.
This has to be done REAL FAST, since you can't tell the Cannon to hold
up a second while you contemplate your bits.  Once the papers and rollers
start to roll, thats it.

Imagen also supplies a bunch of Unix based software to use with this.

      Mark LaCasse                  qantel!hplabs!sdcrdcf!randvax!lacasse
      c/o The Rand Corporation       cbosgd!ihnp4!sdcrdcf!randvax!lacasse
      1700 Main Street              lacasse@Rand-Unix
      Santa Monica, CA 90406
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