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#1
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Postscript still important for laser printers? How much RAM is enough? LexMark?
I need to buy a "small office" laser printer to replace my Samsung
ML-2150, which has gotten very erratic lately. This printer has Postscript emulation and 16 MB of RAM. (Years ago, I tried to upgrade the RAM, but could not find a compatible third-party memory stick.) Is Postscript emulation still important. I do mostly text, but also a lot of PowerPoint, including graphics, plus the usual Excel graphics, webpages, etc. How much memory is really needed? I would like to be able to spool off a 5 or 10 MB PowerPoint preso to the printer as soon as I click on PRINT. Right now, my PowerPoint jobs often take several minutes to complete, before PowerPoint is ready to do other tasks. Finally, I have found a LexMark printer for about $200 that does PostScript, has Ethernet support, etc. But I have the impression that LexMark is not a quality brand. Is this correct? Thanks, -AH |
#2
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Postscript still important for laser printers? How much RAM isenough? LexMark?
Andrew Hamilton wrote:
I need to buy a "small office" laser printer to replace my Samsung ML-2150, which has gotten very erratic lately. This printer has Postscript emulation and 16 MB of RAM. (Years ago, I tried to upgrade the RAM, but could not find a compatible third-party memory stick.) 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. How much memory is really needed? I would like to be able to spool off a 5 or 10 MB PowerPoint preso to the printer as soon as I click on PRINT. Right now, my PowerPoint jobs often take several minutes to complete, before PowerPoint is ready to do other tasks. 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. Finally, I have found a LexMark printer for about $200 that does PostScript, has Ethernet support, etc. But I have the impression that LexMark is not a quality brand. Is this correct? I've been advising people to stay away from Lexmark for a long time. Their high-end lasers are supposed to be good, but I may never know because their anti-customer policies of years ago combined with their terrible disposable low-end printers convinced me that giving money to Lexmark will just encourage them. You may be able to find a good deal on a used business-class laser which will not have the problems of a low-end model: http://www.wonkity.com/~wblock/docs/...sedlasers.html |
#3
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Postscript still important for laser printers? How much RAM is enough? LexMark?
On 24 Jul 2010 15:11:56 GMT, Warren Block wrote:
I've been advising people to stay away from Lexmark for a long time. Their high-end lasers are supposed to be good, but I may never know because their anti-customer policies of years ago combined with their terrible disposable low-end printers convinced me that giving money to Lexmark will just encourage them. 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. Replacement feed units were often refurbed, which is OK, but many had the same problem you were trying to fix, so they probably were never touched in the repair depot. Their inkjets were absolute junk |
#4
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Postscript still important for laser printers? How much RAM is enough? LexMark?
On 24 Jul 2010 15:11:56 GMT, Warren Block 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. 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? Finally, I have found a LexMark printer for about $200 that does PostScript, has Ethernet support, etc. But I have the impression that LexMark is not a quality brand. Is this correct? I've been advising people to stay away from Lexmark for a long time. LOL! Especially what MD34 said and he used to service the things! Their high-end lasers are supposed to be good, but I may never know because their anti-customer policies of years ago combined with their terrible disposable low-end printers convinced me that giving money to Lexmark will just encourage them. What a shame. I'm enough of an old-timer to remember that Lexmark was an IBM spinoff, for printers, keyboards, and other stuff (?). The old IBM keyboards were my all-time favorites, and say what you might about IBM, they usually didn't produce junk or have anti-customer policies. Quite the opposite. Maybe they needed to expel this "foreign organism" from their overall organization. You may be able to find a good deal on a used business-class laser which will not have the problems of a low-end model: http://www.wonkity.com/~wblock/docs/...sedlasers.html Thanks, but I'm nervous about buying used stuff like printers. when I used to work for companies, I saw plenty of printers that were simply worn out, like a Hyundai with 200,000 miles! |
#5
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Postscript still important for laser printers? How much RAM is enough? LexMark?
On Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:37:51 -0500, MD34 wrote:
On 24 Jul 2010 15:11:56 GMT, Warren Block 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. Replacement feed units were often refurbed, which is OK, but many had the same problem you were trying to fix, so they probably were never touched in the repair depot. All good reasons to avoid them. In some ways this sounds like the situation with my Samsung ML-2150. That printer has been to the shop twice, because both mainboards failed, costing more money than the money I saved by not buying the equivalent HP unit. And don't get stared on the lousy treatment I got from Samsung when I had some problems with a Samsung cellphone. Their inkjets were absolute junk |
#6
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Postscript still important for laser printers? How much RAMis enough? LexMark?
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? |
#7
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Postscript still important for laser printers? How much RAMis enough? LexMark?
On 07/24/2010 02:41 PM, Andrew Hamilton wrote:
On 24 Jul 2010 15:11:56 GMT, Warren 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...1-5034678.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? |
#8
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Postscript still important for laser printers? How much RAMis enough? LexMark?
On 07/24/2010 02:44 PM, Andrew Hamilton wrote:
All good reasons to avoid them. In some ways this sounds like the situation with my Samsung ML-2150. Oops, I din't know this. I almost bought a Samsung printer instead of my HP since it was a bit cheaper, but the store manager told me to go for the HP eyes closed. I thought if he was wrong I'd have better reason to kick his ass if I went for HP |
#9
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Postscript still important for laser printers? How much RAM isenough? LexMark?
Tim Okergit wrote:
On 07/24/2010 02:41 PM, Andrew Hamilton wrote: On 24 Jul 2010 15:11:56 GMT, Warren 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. 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. It's resolution-independent: the same file can be printed on a 300 DPI laser or a 2400 DPI phototypesetter. PCL, by contrast, is only text or bitmap. If you get a PostScript printer, you generally get PCL included for free. |
#10
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Postscript still important for laser printers? How much RAM isenough? LexMark?
Tim Okergit 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. Good ink and photo paper is still expensive, though. Another option would be local or online photo printing services like mpix.com. That can be a lot cheaper than maintaining your own inkjet. |
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