Desktop print shops - printers

Black Enterprise, Oct, 1992 by Carolyn M. Brown

Business and personal computer users are taking advantage of a vest world of word processing, spreadsheet, desktop publishing and presentation-quality graphics software programs. Even the average computer user's needs are becoming more sophisticated, since everyone wants to produce rich, professional-looking documents. Keeping in step with the software boom are printers that rival full-fledge print shops with their high-quality output and color. Today's printers also offer faster speeds and portability.

The most commonly used printers are dot-matrix, which continue to outsell laser printers. Last year, roughly 5 million dot-matrix units were purchased, twice the number of laser printers sold. The reason is partly because they are cheaper to buy and use than both laser and ink-jet printers.

The latest line of 24-pin dot-matrix printers are considered ideal for personal printing. Thanks to new noise-reduction techniques and advances in printer control languages, many dot-matrix printers run as quietly as laser printers and offer laserlike quality.

Letter-quality speeds range from 150 to 180 characters per second, and many of the new generation dot-matrix printers come with six different typefaces. Those who want even fancier typefaces can download with font scaling software. Costing between $300 and $1,000, these new dot matrixes offer versatile paper handling.

Laser printers may not beat dot-matrix printers when it comes to cost, but at a resolution of 300 to 600 dots per inch (dpi), they're superior in print quality. In addition, the vast majority of laser printers sold today are in the four- to 12-pageper-minute print range.

The latest generation of laser printers are not as pricey as their forebears. Current prices are well within the financial reach of many small businesses and individuals, who can enjoy laserquality printing for under $2,000. Some discerning features of these printers are footprints, bitmapped versus scalable fonts and printer control language (PCL).

The prevailing PCL standards of the Palo Alto, Calif.based Hewlett Packard (HP) are Level 4 PCL for the HP Laser Jet IIP and IIP Plus; Level 5 PCL is for the HP Laser Jet III series. Both languages support bit-mapped fonts to print text. But Level 5 PCL can also generate scalable fonts, which means that a single font file can produce characters of any size.

Scalable fonts are characteristic of Adobe Systems' PostScript printers, although PostScript drivers are available on most Microsoft Windows software programs. And Adobe PostScript or compatible cartridges are available for upgrading PCL-compatible printers,

Torrence, Calif.-based Epson America Inc.'s EPL-8000 has a ROM (read only memory) card, which lists for $649 for the PostScript upgrade. At $1,999, the EPL-8000 is a cost-effective printer for most business applications that support PCL 5; it prints 10 pages per minute. In comparison, the HP Laser Jet III uses a larger format PostScript cartridge, which lists for $695. The Laser Jet III printer lists for $2,395 and produces eight pages per minute. Designed for the Apple Macintosh, HP's Illsi is a combination PostScript and PCL 5 laser printer. The 94-pound super printer handles up to 17 pages per minute and uses resolution enhancement technology, which brings it up to 600 dpi in quality. It's worth its weight at a hefty $6,995 list price.

A recent addition to the line of IBM printers, produced by Lexmark International Inc., connects to Macintosh computers--a match made in heaven. The Lexington, Ky.-based company is a former division of IBM Corp. that was spun off into a separate company a year ago to handle Big Blue's printer operations.

The IBM LaserPrinter 10A is a flagship PC printer packaged to run on the Mac platform and includes an Apple LocalTalk network interface. The high-power unit prints 10 pages per minute, provides 600 dpi resolution and offers a PostScript option. The 10A lists for $3,995.

Add A Little Color

While black-and-white printers may not be passe, these days everyone wants to add a splash of color to their documents. Executives are quickly and easily making in-house color presentations and slides, while small and home-based businesses are producing sharp, colorful brochures, newsletters, fliers and pamphlets. Personal users are printing everything from homework to household budgets in color. No longer exorbitantly priced, dot-matrix, ink-jet and PostScript color printers start at about $500.

Dot-matrix color printers, such as those from Citizen America Corp., use a multicolor ribbon. The Santa Monica, Calif.-based company offers a family of 24-pin dot-matrix printers that can be upgraded to color. The company's popular GXS-140 Plus lists for $499 and provides 360 dpi, It also has a graphics driver for Windows and an optional $59 Color On Command kit.

Equally popular among PC users are color ink-jet printers, which essentially shoot tiny droplets of ink onto a page. Priced between $1,500 and $3,500, ink-jet color printers offer high resolution at a relatively low cost. A desirable feature is the ability to print in color on plain paper of any size.