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From: roy@phri.UUCP.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.laser-printers
Subject: Fast, cheap, high-performance PostScript printers (MacWEEK quote)
Message-ID: <8708292036.AA24413@brillig.umd.edu>
Date: Mon, 17-Aug-87 14:48:49 EDT
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Posted: Mon Aug 17 14:48:49 1987
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	A couple of weeks ago, there was some discussion in this group
about PostScript printers, vis-a-vis speed and price.  In Aug 11th MacWEEK
(page 38) there is an article about PostScript printers in which they say:

		Manufacturers are already developing PostScript laser
	printers, for example, that support 2,400-dpi resolution, size
	plain-paper up to 36 inches by 24 inches, print 25 pages per
	minute and 16 colors.  These printers may one day sell for
	less than $8,000.

		But don't expect to see these printers at your dealer
	any time soon.

	I assume they are referring to the Linotronics when they talk about
"2,400-dpi resolution".  Does anybody know anything about PS printers which
can do 24 x 36 paper?  Would be a real boon for people preparing for poster
sessions, not to mention people doing CAD work.  As far as I know, the only
PS printer that can do bigger than legal size is the Dataproducts LZR-2665,
which can do 11 x 17 (but is supposedly a real dog when it comes to print
speed).  What about the 16-color machines?  Is somebody really working on
one?

	I *think* they are trying to say that there will be under $8k
printers with all these features at the same time, but have no idea how
they predict a 2400-dpi, 24 x 36 inch, 25 ppm, 16 color PS printer for
under $8k (or any price) any time in the forseeable future.  Aside from the
economic issues, we're talking 18 Gbits of memory just for the page buffer.
That's almost 4 (formatted) Fuji super-eagles.  Not to mention that to
print that at 25 ppm, would need almost 8 Gbits/second memory bandwidth
just to dump the buffer to the print engine!
-- 
Roy Smith, {allegra,cmcl2,philabs}!phri!roy
System Administrator, Public Health Research Institute
455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016