Kirk Whelan writes:
>I worked on the first laserjet which was simply called LaserJet and was
>released before the LaserJet+ (we used it in house for shipping notes,
>invoices, etc from a 3000) and it didnt have the capabilities of the
>LaserJet+, graphics inside macros, resolution  or something. Maybe Bruce
>would clarify just what it could do versus the Laserjet+ which was the
>first full featured laserjet.
 
Correct; the LaserJet was released in 1984 (hence my statement that every
printer released since 1985 had the full implementation of PCL4). The
original LaserJet had 64k of memory, 56k of which was available to the
user. It did not support downloadable fonts, nor did it have the area fill
instructions that are used for efficient creation of rules and shading. It
lacked macro capabilities, also necessary to efficient production of forms.
The 56k of user-available memory allowed for nearly full-page graphics at
75dpi, and about a 5cm-square
area of graphics at 300dpi. It did allow the entire page to be addressed.
 
>Maybe when the dot matrix printer scrolled the paper up and down to produce
>the form and then the data was put on. Which meant in order to keep the paper
>moving in one direction, I would personally merge the form and data for each
>page! But I really can't remember.
 
I thought "midrange" referred to a 20-40ppm printer. But having a
unidirectional print engine doesn't make any difference. After all, every
LaserJet has had a unidirectional print engine. Printers like the
DeskJet/DeskWriter 1200 and 1600 series are page printers, even though they
print just like the lower-end inkjet printers; these printers even support
PostScript -- which requires a page printer. Some inkjet printers do
support reverse paper motion; the ThinkJet
and QuietJet did within a limited range (2-3 cm, I think).
 
-- Bruce
 
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