Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!endor!olson
From: olson@endor.harvard.edu (Eric K. Olson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: LaserWriter IISC spec.'s...
Message-ID: <3877@husc6.harvard.edu>
Date: 22 Jan 88 18:01:53 GMT
References: <6245@ccv.bbn.COM>
Sender: news@husc6.harvard.edu
Reply-To: olson@endor.UUCP (Eric K. Olson)
Organization: Lexington Software Design
Lines: 42

In a recent article Gabriel Lawrence writes:
>
>For those who haven't heard yet, the LaserWriter IISC is the new QuickDraw
>based LaserWriter just announced by Apple (similar to GCC's PLP).
>
>I'm intrigued by this new product offering by Apple but have heard very
>little about the technical specifications.  Could someone who saw one
>up close and personal at the S.F. Expo or who has received literature from
>Apple tell me if it includes QuickDraw in ROM (as opposed to performing
>all the QuickDraw interpretation in the Mac) and whose font family Apple
>licenses for use with it.  

The press release I read implied that the LWIISC did the drawing in the 
Mac and downloaded the page bitmap to the LWIISC.  The SCSI port was touted
as keeping the throughput reasonable even though the LWIISC didn't have any
onboard processing.

Regardless of how they are doing that, I have a different question:  Is the
LWIISC capable of printing bitmaps greater than 1 bit deep [PixMaps]?  I
know that the GCC PLP is treated as a 1-bit deep grafport, and so it cuts
off multi-bit images at 50% gray and prints that [the same thing you'd get
if you looked at the PixMap with the display set to 2 gray levels].  The LW
and LW+ do the same, but you can get around it by using the PostScript "Image"
operator [in Encapsulated Postscript if you need transferability to other
applications].

Since the printer engine is inherently a 1-bit device, the LWIISC would have
to dither the image (like PS image operator does) to get it to print.

BTW, so that I can handle all the various cases correctly, how do I tell
what KIND of printer I am outputting to [if Imagewriter, I have to dither
by myself, if LW or LW+, I use PS "image" operator, if GCC PLP, I dither,
if LWIISC, I either dither or print a PICT].  Anybody know?

Thanks!

-Eric


                      (defun maybe (x) (maybe (not x)))
Eric K. Olson     olson@endor.harvard.edu     harvard!endor!olson     D0760
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