Complete Bookshop/CompleteWorkshop.iso/lists/reviews/lq570.txt

Text File | 1991-08-10 | 4KB | 60 lines

                        Epson LQ-570 Dot Matrix Printer
                         Copyright 1991 David Batterson


     Someone once accused me of always giving rave reviews of new hardware and
software.  Obviously they haven't read some of my reviews where I gave the
product a "not recommended" tagline.
     In looking over my reviews recently, I have noticed that most of them are
indeed favorable.  It isn't that I've changed my reviewing policies but rather
that PC products are actually better than ever.
     Marginal hardware and software products simply do not last long in today's
volatile computer market.  It's tough enough for companies with high-quality
offerings to be profitable.  So the "junk" products we used to see are now gone
for the most part.
     The customer has become wiser, and companies must now produce great
products, or they'll go out of business.  It's that simple.
     So on to the review of Epson's new LQ dot matrix printer, the LQ-570.
The LQ-570 is the latest in the popular 500 series, and replaces the LQ-510.
It's a sister printer to the new LQ-870 and LQ-1170.
     These 3 new printers have one major difference over earlier ones.  They
support a new printer control language called Epson ESC/P 2.  The ESC/P 2
language allows scalable fonts from 8 to 32 points and an enhanced graphics
mode for 360x360 dpi output.
     ESC/P 2 also incorporates new compression algorithms to speed up data
transfers from PC to printer.  The new language provides expanded foreign
language support, and page formatting via software commands too.
     Three major software publishers (WordPerfect, Microsoft and WordStar
International) have written new drivers, for WordPerfect 5.1, Windows 3.0,
Microsoft Word 5.5 and WordStar 6.0.  The drivers are provided on disk with the
printers.  More software vendors are expected to update their drivers also.
     Let's look under the hood and see what the LQ-570 has to offer in the
horsepower department.  In high speed draft mode, the LQ-570 prints at 225
characters per second (cps) at 10 characters-per-inch (cpi).  At 12 and 15 cpi,
the draft speed is even faster:  252 cps and 315 cps, respectively.
     In normal letter quality mode at 10 cpi, the printer purrs along at a
respectable 70 cps.  The resident fonts include Roman, Roman Proportional, Sans
Serif, Sans Serif Proportional, Courier, Prestige, Script, Script C, Orator,
Orator-S and OCR-B.  That's something for everybody.
     The LQ-570 also supports double-wide, double-high, condensed, double-
strike, superscript, subscript, emphasized, underline, score, outline, shadow,
italic, strike-through and double underline styles.  Whew!
     You can choose among four paper paths: rear, front, top or bottom.  There
a convertible push-pull tractor for continuous paper and forms.  Single sheets
can be loaded from either the top or front (by opening the front cover).
     The review unit came with the optional standard capacity cut sheet feeder.
This holds up to 50 sheets of standard paper, and works quite efficiently.  You
can still load single sheets if you wish.
     Although the printer comes with a standard nylon ribbon, you can buy film
ribbons that provide higher quality printouts, like you get with electronic
typewriters and daisy wheel printers.  This avoids any smearing too, and I
recommend getting the film ribbons ($8 list).
     I still haven't mentioned all the features of the LQ-570.  Needless to
say, Epson has another winner on its hands.
     The suggested list price is $499; I've seen it advertised for $299.  For
more information, contact Epson America, Inc., 20770 Madrona Avenue, Torrance,
CA 90509-2842; 213-782-0770, FAX: [phone].
                                       #
     David Batterson reviews PCs, software and peripherals.  Contact him via
MCI Mail: 273-7218.