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From: chari@nueces.cactus.org (Chris Whatley)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: What do I want to see in the Apple of the 90's?
Message-ID: <1989Dec19.175846.25694@nueces.cactus.org>
Date: 19 Dec 89 17:58:46 GMT
References: <23143@brunix.UUCP> <3361@hub.UUCP>
Organization: Nueces Inc.
Lines: 58

6600pete@hub.UUCP writes:

>From article <23143@brunix.UUCP>, by rca@cs.brown.edu (Ronald C.F. Antony):
>>>I wasn't saying it WAS worth anything. I was pointing out that spooling was
>>>available for Mac PS printing with the implication that it wasn't on
>>>the NeXT.
>> Spooling IS on the NeXT. What makes the print process stall the 
>> whole machine is that the printer has no postscript interpreter
>> and the WINDOW-SERVER can't interpret postscript for the screen
>> and for the printer at the same time.

>OK, but then we get into an argument about where printing begins and ends. Is it
>the PostScript interpreter's fault that printing slows the NeXT to a crawl or
>is the print spooler's (lpr's?). I don't know -- that's probably a
>philosophical issue, and I've had enough philosophy for one education,
>thank you.

Let us get this straight....

1) If you have a NeXT with a NeXT Printer attached and print something...
	a) the file goes into a queue
	b) the printer daemon see that there is a file waiting to be printed
	c) the printer daemon sends the file to the printer which, in this case,
		happens to be the window server.

2) If you have a LaserWriter hooked up to your NeXT
	a) the file goes into a queue
	b) the printer daemon see that there is a file waiting to be printed
	c) the printer daemon sends the file to the printer which, in this case,
		happens to be a LaserWriter

In case 1, the system slows down. Why, because it is rasterizing
millions of dots to blast out to the printer engine. The speed of the
NeXT printing at 400dpi is comparable to that of a 300dpi LaserWriter
IINTX (at least as far as I can tell). This makes sense, it takes alot
of computing to print a 400dpi page.

In case 2, the NeXT is not slowed at all. All it is doing is sending
files over a serial line at 9600 baud to a LaserWriter. Any computer
can do that. A standard benefit of using unix is that any computer can
spool its print jobs on that NeXT connected to the LaserWriter or a
NeXT printer.

>...and the printer most likely to be used...

Of course. If you need a high quality, high volume LaserPrinter, by
all means, do NOT get a NeXT laser printer for the NeXT. Get an Imagen
or even a Linotronic. The NeXT printer is cheap and it produces a low
volume of exceptional output. There is nothing special about this it
is 400dpi and it is PostScript.

Chris

-- 
Chris Whatley
Work: chari@pelican.ma.utexas.edu (NeXT Mail)		(512/471-7711 ext 123)
Play: chari@nueces.cactus.org (NeXT Mail)		(512/499-0475)
Also: chari@emx.utexas.edu