Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!cory.Berkeley.EDU!davidyu
From: davidyu@cory.Berkeley.EDU (David Yu)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: RE: NEC P5300 printer
Keywords: NEC, printer
Message-ID: <6588@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: 18 Oct 88 19:10:20 GMT
Sender: news@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU
Reply-To: davidyu@cory.Berkeley.EDU (David Yu)
Distribution: na
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Lines: 36


I just purchased an NEC P5300 24-pin printer and wanted to mention a couple
things about it in case anyone was considering getting one:

Although it has very good print quality, lots of resident fonts, 
is fairly compatible with most of my software (I can't use some of its
special features if I use an epson LQ driver), and is fairly nice to 
look at, I was a bit surprised by its quality and packaging.

After opening the box, the first thing I saw was a letter from NEC which
starts with the usual thank you's for buying their wonderful product.  However,
the rest of the letter tells me that some of the standard equipment which
includes a multistrike ribbon and reference card aren't available yet
and will be mailed to me when they finally get them.  Seems like they
could have got it all together before launching a new product (has been out
about a month or so).

After unpacking the printer I tried out the controls and got the impression
that the general feel was kind of plasticy.  For example, the lever that
selects how close the head is to the platen leaves a big gap when pushed
all the way forward.

The cable slot is off to the side which makes loading paper easier.  Also,
its paper handling features are great.  However, when I tried to roll the paper
forward using the platen knob, it broke off!!.  I assumed that the
knob would have been reinforced and fastened rigidly to the platen.  Wrong!
For me anyways, its probably the most used control.  It's got plastic 
clips which hold onto the metal rod which goes through the center of 
the platen.  It's so wobbly that when the platen rolls, the
knob wiggles.  And if your not careful, it'll pop off completely.

Oh well, at least it prints nice.  Just thought this might help prospective
buyers.  For NEC's sake, I hope they get their act together.

				Best regards,

				David Yu