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1999-04-27
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From: Paul@desktopp.demon.co.uk (Paul Walker)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
Subject: Color Printers (again)
Date: Fri, 21 Oct 1994 17:50:05 +0000
Last time I looked, jtown@fossa.navy.mil.nz (you) wrote:
> I posted a question about colour printers, (which one, how good they
> are etc) a while ago and received only one response (Thanks Ian!)
I would like to point out the following to all those interested in
Colour Printers as there are quite a few things to consider which
might not at first appear obvious?
1. Printers to consider
As far as I'm concerned there are only two A4 colour printers to
consider, the BJC-600 and the Epson Stylus Colour. The reason being that
they are the only cheap, true 4 colour printers available. (The BJC-4000 may
be included eventually, but I don't know the full spec yet!)
2. Quality of Output
Our sales of colour printers show that not even 10% of purchasers actually
use the special coated paper, which is the only method by which you can
achieve the best results. The colours on plain paper immediately become
washed out and fade over a period of time whilst printouts on the coated
paper remain vivid and bold. Believe me, the differences are very
noticeable.
With the Epson Stylus Colour it is essential, although not compulsory, that
you use the coated paper when printing at 720dpi, because lets face it, its
no good taking the time and money in purchasing a high resolution printer
and then severely compromising the quality of output by printing on poor
quality paper. Therefore unless you are prepared to buy the special coated
paper the Epson Stylus may not be the best option.
Also there are two grades of coated paper for the Epson Stylus Colour,
namely 360dpi coated paper and 720dpi coated paper and with no doubt, quite
a substantial difference in cost.
Regarding mono printing only I *think* the Stylus colour is a bit faster
than the BJC but by how much I'm not sure.
3. Size
There is no doubt that the BJC-600 has the smallest footprint (about 2/3rds
the size of the stylus and for use at home where space is generally limited,
it is definitely the one to go for.
The Epson Stylus on the other hand is rather large and therefore its large
size may be a limiting factor.
3. Cartridges
Whilst the BJC-600 have only small cartridges, they remain individual and
each are simply replaced individually as necessary.
The Epson Stylus Colour on the other hand, has a large black and Tri-Colour
cartridge and therefore suffers from the same limitations as the HP Deskjets
when only one of the CMY colours runs out.
The print head of both printers is independant of the ink reservoirs so
there is nothing to choose between them in this respect.
As to the price of the cartridges I cannot comment as I do not know the
prices yet.
The most important factor regarding consumables is making sure that you buy
a printer that is popular and will be around for a reasonable length of
time. It's no good raving about a printers specification/performance when it
is released only to be frustrated/ripped off in a very short space of
time for the consumables which become increasingly difficult or even
impossible to purchase.
4. Price
There is little difference between the two on price but on a value for money
basis the 720dpi Epson surely wins. Again, unless you are prepared to buy
the coated paper then this advantage disappears and they thus remain the
same.
5. Driver Availability
I know there are standard RiscOS drivers now available for the Epson Colour,
but my experience using a BJC with the standard drivers is that it is
painfully slow when compared with the TurboDrivers. Put it this way, when
I used the standard driver it was so slow in comparison with the TurboDriver
that I thought there was something wrong with the computer and/or printer
and that was only printing at 360dpi! This discrepency will disappear though
when CC release the Stylus Turbo.
6. Speed
720dpi printouts have four times the amount of dots and therefore
printing will be slower when compared to 360dpi and there are many of you
out there who groan at the speed of 360dpi printing.
If quality is of paramount importance then the speed doesn't matter of
course.
7. Conclusion
All printers have their pros and cons, its just a case of accounting for the
major cons and the circumstances under which you will use the printer.
8. Footnote
I do not personally own any of the above mentioned printers and I would hope
that my opinions are without bias, although HP DeskJet owners may not think
so? It's a good job backdraught is on telly tonight!!??
Hope this is food for thought and this may achieve more of a response to
your original item.
Cheers
Paul
--
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Paul@desktopp.demon.co.uk (Paul Walker)
Desktop Projects Ltd 0161-474- 0778
This sig is as concise as Impression Publisher!
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