Low-cost lasers: power printing at bargain prices - Hardware Review - Apple's LaserWriter Select 310, DEC's DECLaser 1152, Epson America Inc's ActionLaser 1500, HP's LaserJet 4L and LaserJet IIIP, Panasonic's KX-P4430, Star Micronics' LS-5 EX, Texas s Instruments' microWriter PS 23 - Evaluation

Home Office Computing, Sept, 1993 by Henry F. Beechhold

The front panel sports more buttons and lights than many printers, but the extras don't do much to reduce time spent at the controls. You still have to plod through the menu system to tweak the printer to your particular needs. The Star was also a little noisier in idle mode than the others we saw.

Overall, this is a solid piece of machinery, one that promises a long reliable life. Documentation is adequate and well illustrated. Star's twoyear warranty is longer than most, matched here only by Epson. The biggest drawback is that technical support is not toll free.

TI microWriter PS 23 Rating:. ****

The TI microWriter PS 23 is the odd printer out in this collection for its use of an LED print engine instead of a traditional laser-beam type. An LED printer's advantage rests on its ultraquiet operation and its use of fewer moving parts.

TI also goes its own way with respect to product cosmetics: The printer has a rounded cuboid look-- just different enough from the classic HP design to be distinctive. But it's really functionality that counts, and the 5-ppm microWriter functions extraordinarily well. For a street price of only about $800, you get both PCL 4 and Adobe PostScript Level 1.

An automatic emulation switching routine detects the computer output (PCL or PostScript) and switches itself accordingly, or you can set the emulation from the front panel. If you have both a PC and a Mac, you'll appreciate the inclusion of both parallel and AppleTalk ports.

Like the Panasonic KX-P4430, this printer inexplicably does not exemplify the fonts--including the generous selection of 23 PostScript fonts--it lists on its self-test. Unfortunately, documentation is too skimpy.

The text quality of the microWriter PS 23 is excellent, even without any enhancement technologies, and text files print suitably quickly in both PCL and PostScript modes. Photographic images could show finer gradations but are otherwise of good quality. Altogether, this is a very fine piece of equipment.

About Our Reviews

Every month we take an in-depth look at new software and computers, peripherals, and other home-office hardware such as fax machines, telephones, and copiers. We concentrate on products we believe to be valuable to our readers: productive tools for the home or small-business environment.

The zero-to-four-star overall ratings are based on evaluation of performance, features, documentation, setup, ease of learning and use, versatility, availability, warranty, support, and price. Average Street Price is based on a pricing survey of retailers and mailorder houses.