Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ucbvax!decwrl!labrea!polya!rokicki
From: rokicki@polya.Stanford.EDU (Tomas G. Rokicki)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: DeskJet
Message-ID: <3694@polya.Stanford.EDU>
Date: 23 Aug 88 00:58:06 GMT
Organization: Stanford University
Lines: 23

Yep, the DeskJet can print an entire page of 300 dpi graphics, but
slowly.  You see, in graphics mode it seldom uses the full printhead;
typically it only uses five or seven jets on each pass.  And there is
enough memory in the basic box to buffer an entire row (50 pixels high
by 2550 pixels wide is only 16K.)  The expansion RAM helps this
situation exactly *zilch*; apparently the expansion RAM is only good
for downloading soft fonts.  These soft fonts have some rather
interesting (distressing) restrictions themselves.

Still a fun printer, I just wish to hell they had done it correctly
instead of the half-assed way they did.  Hell, all they had to do was
take the LaserJet Plus guts and make them drive the ink-jets.  Maybe
they could have changed a few things to add full-page graphics.  But
now we have another set of incompatible drivers, font cartridges,
etc.  But there's no understanding the corporate mind.

Don't tell me there were technical reasons.  That's bullshit.  Just
wait until someone comes out with a DeskJet emulation cartridge for
the DeskJet, just to print those damned graphics faster.  (It's
possible.  Probably even easy.)  Or perhaps an HP LaserJet Plus or
Series II emulation cartridge, which is what the printer should have
been.

-tom