From: kanefsky@halcyon.com (Steve Kanefsky)
Subject: Re: printer quandry
Organization: The 23:00 News and Mail Service
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 18:30:43 GMT

In article <1992Dec15.204112.153888@bmug.org> David_B._Hauer@bmug.org writes:
>>Now the problem is a printer.... So: Post-script
>>(LaserWriter NTR) vs. QuickDraw (LS). . .  Is the former >really worth twice
>the price?
>
>Why are these the only two you are considering? Some might disagree, but I
>think that the general consensus is that (except for some graphics
>applications which I don't believe would apply to you, since music manuscript
>printing would mostly rely on music fonts) it is not worth buying a quickdraw
>printer. You can get an HP Deskwriter for less than $400, and the print
>quality should be virtually indistinguishable from that of a laser printer. 

IMHO, DeskWriter output is easily distinguishable from laser printer 
output, no matter what kind of paper you use in the DeskWriter (I've
tried lots of them).  Perhaps paper choice is important for music
printing (it seems like music is often printed on heavy paper) such
that it's impossible to find a paper which suits both purposes.
Also, speed and capacity might be a factor (the DeskWriter is not
intended for heavy volume).

If you are interested in laser printers, I don't think the Personal
LaserWriter NTR is worth twice the price of the LS.  It has most of    
the same limitations of the LS (300dpi with no resolution
enhancement, slow engine, small paper capacity unless you buy an
expensive paper tray). It does, however, have PostScript and
AppleTalk.

A much better deal -- for only a few hundred more than the NTR -- is
the Laserjet 4M.  This has a true 600dpi engine plus resolution
enhancement that can print up to 8 pages per minute, PostScript level
2, a RISC processor, 6MB RAM, two built-in paper trays (one holds up
to 250 sheets of paper, the other can hold up to 100 sheets of paper   
or 10 envelopes) with paper-tray selection from the print dialog box,
built-in AppleTalk (optional EtherTalk), and it's also very compact
(about the size of a DeskWriter in length and width, but a little bit
taller). The best price I've seen on it is around $1900.  The plain 
Laserjet 4 is about $500 cheaper than the 4M, but it doesn't include
PostScript or AppleTalk, and it only has 2MB RAM (Nevertheless, it
might be made to work on a Mac with the right driver, and it can be
upgraded just by buying the PostScript SIMM, AppleTalk or EtherTalk
card, and more memory.)

With any luck, I'll be getting a 4M in the next few weeks.  I 
returned a DeskWriter 550C because I wasn't satisfied with the output
quality.  I've printed out some samples from the demo Laserjet 4M at
the local dealer, and the output absolutely blows away any 300dpi
laser printer (including the LaserWriter IIg, and the Laserjet III)   
let alone the DeskWriter (which doesn't even deserve to be mentioned  
in the same sentence :-) )

(Note that the LaserWriter IIf (with extra RAM) and IIg do have a
greyscale resolution-enhancement technology that makes them 
competitive with the Laserjet 4, even though they have only 300dpi
resolution.  For text output, however, there is no comparison.  The
4M is also cheaper than either of these printers)
  
--
Steve Kanefsky