Postscript still important for laser printers? How much RAMis enough? LexMark?
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From: Tim Okergit on 24 Jul 2010 16:06 On 07/24/2010 01:37 PM, MD34 wrote: > I used to service Lexmark laser and color laser printers and hated them. > Everything was hard to get to, tech support/parts order sucked big time. > Documentation was terrible. In about a year, I'll buy a color printer for printing photographs. As I've already said, years ago, I switched from A Canon BJ-300 to an HP Laserjet 1012. I can almost say it was a change in lifestyle. The BJ-300 ink was so expensive it drove me nuts and dealing with Canon Canada was a hooredous experience. OTOH, printing with the HP laserjet has always been a no-issue experience (that is after they updated the Linux driver about 6 months after I bought it). Here is how ot works: 1) Plug the printer into a power outlet 2) Plug the USB cable into the computer 3) Put some paper in the tray 4) Turn the printer on 5) CTRL + P 6) Click "Print" and it prints, every time, without a dpi missing or being added. I don't have printer concerns anymore. The thing is there, it's a printer, and it prints! So, I don't intend to go back to inkjet printing and cleaningprint heads ebery tiem I print. As for Canon, it's out for the rest of my life. I don't ever want to hear about Canon anymore. Though I won't print much, maybe 500 pages/year, I'd rather pay more on the printer and less on consumables, even if it turned out to be cheaper to buy a flimsy thing that brings profits on consumables. I don't agree with this way of doing business and it infuriates me. (Note that the Canon BJ-300 sold for $550... in 1989 and that ink cartridges that would barely print more than 350 pages costed $30. I didn't consider this closely enough when I bought.) So, given that I won't print much, that I want inkjet comparable quality, that I don't need wireless or networking, that I need fully compatible Linux drivers, which printer would you go for?
From: Tim Okergit on 24 Jul 2010 16:58 On 07/24/2010 02:41 PM, Andrew Hamilton wrote: > On 24 Jul 2010 15:11:56 GMT, Warren Block<wblock(a)wonkity.com> wrote: > > >>> Is Postscript emulation still important. I do mostly text, but also a >>> lot of PowerPoint, including graphics, plus the usual Excel graphics, >>> webpages, etc. >> >> That's a judgement call. I'd say yes. A PCL-only printer is livable, >> and some people can use a host-based printer without problems. But a PS >> printer gives you more options and is more versatile. > > Sounds like I really should have a Postscript printer. I am > self-employed and can't deal with printer limitation hassles. Maybe Andrew can explain further what he means by "more options and more versatile" -- I must admit my needs are fairly basic -- but PCL certainly does the job on my now old Laserjet 1012. (It doesn't feel old in any way :) I had the same worry when I bought this printer but never regretted. Maybe the PCL drivers other manufacturers provide leave to be desired, I have no idea, but the PCL standards are open, I believe. Linux drivers for HP printers certainly are. So I suppose if the PCL drivers don't work well, maybe the same will go for PS. I'd certainly appreciate more explanations from Andrew for my own benefit. >> More is usually better, although it depends on the printer and how it >> allocates the memory. Adjusting how the computer spools the print job >> can also make a big difference. > > Oh. How can that be done? Windows: http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-5034678.html Linux: ...no idea. I never had to tweek a spool file. Maybe, since Linux was basically designed as a server OS, it spools and sends everything to the printer as the memory empties. But maybe this is completely wrong. Experts, please?
From: Tim Okergit on 25 Jul 2010 17:59 On 07/24/2010 11:56 PM, Warren Block wrote: > Tim Okergit<to(a)notme.com> wrote: >> On 07/24/2010 01:37 PM, MD34 wrote: >> >> So, given that I won't print much, that I want inkjet comparable >> quality, that I don't need wireless or networking, that I need fully >> compatible Linux drivers, which printer would you go for? > > There may not be a good answer to that. Epson has open-source drivers > and the printers don't seem to be terribly prone to clogging or drying > out. ??? Arthur Entlich who often help solve Epson problems on this group even has a guide on unclogging! > Good ink and photo paper is still expensive, though. From what I've seen, laser color printing doesn't come cheap either but I suppose it might be cheaper. Which price ratio do you figure? > Another option would be local or online photo printing services like > mpix.com. That can be a lot cheaper than maintaining your own inkjet. I doubt it. An 8½ x 11 is $3 at mpix, plus sales taxes in Canada. Postage maybe? Even at 500 sheets a year, it would be $1,500. So I certainly expect the printer to pay for itself in less than a year.
From: Tim Okergit on 25 Jul 2010 18:06 On 07/24/2010 11:47 PM, Warren Block wrote: > That's a quote from me. PostScript is the standard page description > language, usable on everything from low-end printers all the way to > overgrown copiers. I only expect my printer languaeg to work on MY printer. "Printer Command Language, more commonly referred to as PCL, is a Page description language (PDL) developed by HP as a printer protocol and *has become a de facto industry standard*." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_Command_Language This seems pretty standard to me! > It's resolution-independent: the same file can be > printed on a 300 DPI laser or a 2400 DPI phototypesetter. I don't intend to send my pictures to photo typesetters. And, if I ever had to, I could send them a copy of the original.
From: Tim Okergit on 26 Jul 2010 01:18
On 07/25/2010 08:10 PM, Warren Block wrote: > Tim Okergit<to(a)notme.com> wrote: >> On 07/24/2010 11:56 PM, Warren Block wrote: >>> Tim Okergit<to(a)notme.com> wrote: >>>> On 07/24/2010 01:37 PM, MD34 wrote: >>>> >>>> So, given that I won't print much, that I want inkjet comparable >>>> quality, that I don't need wireless or networking, that I need fully >>>> compatible Linux drivers, which printer would you go for? >>> >>> There may not be a good answer to that. Epson has open-source drivers >>> and the printers don't seem to be terribly prone to clogging or drying >>> out. >> >> ??? Arthur Entlich who often help solve Epson problems on this group >> even has a guide on unclogging! >> >>> Good ink and photo paper is still expensive, though. >> >> From what I've seen, laser color printing doesn't come cheap either but >> I suppose it might be cheaper. Which price ratio do you figure? > > I've never really worked out color laser price per page. Partly that's > because a photo printed on a laser just can't compare to the shades and > ranges available on an inkjet. Really? Even with a printer that would cost, say, $500? >>> Another option would be local or online photo printing services like >>> mpix.com. That can be a lot cheaper than maintaining your own inkjet. >> >> I doubt it. An 8½ x 11 is $3 at mpix, plus sales taxes in Canada. >> Postage maybe? Even at 500 sheets a year, it would be $1,500. So I >> certainly expect the printer to pay for itself in less than a year. > > It really depends on what you're printing and what quality level you > expect. > > Do you think you can print 8x10 or 8.5x11 on an inkjet with photo > paper and non-fading OEM ink for less than $3 Canadian? > > As an example, a set of black and color ink for the older Epson six-ink > printers is $18 + $66 US, + $27 for sixty sheets of paper. You'd have > to get 60 perfect 8x10 prints from that, and I'm skeptical if that's > possible. And that would still cost just a bit more per print than the > photo lab prints at $2 (US) each. If you count only the consumables, it's $111 / 60 , so less that $2. Also, I've had bad experiences with labs for... chemical process color printing. Is it right to assume that if you provide a digital picture of good quality that's how it will come out once printed? > A CIS could reduce that a lot. So could cheaper supplies, but whether > that's acceptable depends on what you're doing with the prints. Sending > them to relatives? No big deal. Selling them as art? Color matching > and fading are important. Even if it was to send to relatives, second quality wouldn't be acceptable to me. I suppose I'll have to send a picture or two to one or two labs before I buy a printer :) |