Mac Laser Jet Up Rev

Date: Fri, 29 May 1992 04:18:35 -0400 (EDT) 
From: Richard Sucgang <rs54@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
Subject: Mac/LaserJet UpRev v1.1 


This is an update to the current article in info-mac/report
It should replace the file mac-laser-jet-up-rev.txt.

The Mac/LaserJet UpRev is a review kept current which 
addresses the problem of using a Hewlett Packard LaserJet
with Macintoshes, concentrating primarily on the original
LaserJet series II. This is version 1.1, and is a major revision.
More than twice the number of products are described and reviewed.

-rich
Richard Sucgang : Dept. of Anatomy and Cell Biology
Columbia University (sucgang@cuhhca.hhmi.columbia.edu; 
de slime god         rs54@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu)

begin Mac/LaserJet UpRev v1.1:

The Uneasy Marriage : using an HP LaserJet series II with a
Macintosh

Introduction:

The LaserJet series II is a sturdily built machine, and many of the
originals been humming along for quite some time. The one we have
in the lab served us quite well for basic word processing with some
PC clones for some years. With the arrival of the Macintosh IIsi,
however, we were suddenly confronted with the problem of printing
using the LaserJet. The option of purchasing a new printer was out
of the question, and, in the process of determining the best
solution for the current dilemma, I found out that there are many
users in similar situations. This documents the different solutions
I have found to using a LaserJet II (and other low end models) with
a Macintosh in what I call an updatable review: a simple text
document with version numbers to keep it up to date. 

This is version is 1.1, first released on May 28, 1992. There are
many new revisions in this version, particularly descriptions of
some new products, and very helpful responses from other people.
While I probably did not expend much time programming this, I did
spend quite some time researching and calling and writing to
companies and reading to write this, so, if this up-rev has helped
you, please drop me a line. If you have any further information,
please forward them to me. Contact information at the end of this
document. In the future, I plan to write this into a Hypercard
stack, so hang in there!

Background:

The primary obstacle in getting older LaserJets to communicate with
a Macintosh is that Macintoshes communicate with laser printers
primarily using PostScript, Adobe's industry standard page
description language, and Hewlett-Packard pioneered the use of PCL
as the page description language of LaserJets. Officially, HP never
intended the original LaserJet series II to interpret PostScript,
and, in effect, do not really support it in this respect. HP makes
PostScript cartridges as upgrades for the LaserJets IIP and IID,
and distributes drivers for them. Call them at (800) 752-0900
(customer service), (208) 323-2551 (printer support), or (303) 353-
7650. Printer drivers are also available at Compuserve under GO
HPPER. [thanks to Isako Hoshino (isako@mtl.mit.edu) for this
information].
 
To start figuring out how to use our Mac IIsi with our LaserJet
series II (the original, discontinued), I checked out a good review
of connecting Macintoshes to LaserJets that was published in an
early issue of MacUser (May, 1991). However, the review seemed to
concentrate on the currently supported LaserJets (IIp, IId, III,
etc.), and not the more vintage models. Further, opinions were
light, and not as thorough as I would have liked. It does provide
a good listing of company as sources of solutions. In addition to
this, Tom Lane (Tom.Lane@g.gp.cs.cmu.edu) used to maintain a FAQ
(fequently asked questions) list in sumex-aim.stanford.edu
(36.44.0.6) as info-mac/report/hp-laserjet.txt which is still an
excellent introduction and overview of the problems and solutions.
Tom has kindly given me permission to use the article; I will be
using excerpts throughout this version. Thank you, Tom!

<begin Tom Lane's introduction to Mac printer drivers>

A LITTLE BACKGROUND: MAC PRINTER DRIVERS

The key piece of Mac software for printing is a "printer driver".
A printer driver takes drawing commands produced by a Mac
application and translates them into commands understood by a
printer.  The icons you see when you open the Chooser DA correspond
to different printer drivers.  When you say "Print", the
application sends its drawing commands to the printer driver
currently selected by the Chooser; the printer driver in turn sends
commands to the physical printer.  This lets the application be
independent of the printer you use (in theory, anyway).

Mac applications can produce two kinds of drawing commands:
Quickdraw commands and PostScript commands.  All printer drivers
accept Quickdraw commands, but interpreting PostScript commands
requires a large and complex piece of software (the "PostScript
interpreter", which is built into PostScript printers).  Currently,
printer drivers for PostScript printers simply pass PostScript
drawing commands straight through to the printer; drivers for
non-PostScript printers reject PostScript drawing commands
altogether.  Hence you cannot print PostScript images on
non-PostScript printers.  [Some printer drivers containing
PostScript interpreters are starting to appear; one is "Freedom of
Press" from Custom Applications. These interpreters are not real
Adobe PostScript, and so probably have compatibility problems.  I'd
appreciate getting details on how well FoP and the others work.]

Apple includes printer drivers for all its printers with the
regular Mac system software.  The Apple ImageWriter drivers and the
LaserWriter IISC driver are each specific to one kind of printer
(all of these are non-PostScript printers).  But the regular
LaserWriter driver can be used with any PostScript printer, because
the PostScript printer command language is standardized.

To use a non-Apple printer, you can either make it look like one of
the Apple printers at the hardware level (and then use that Apple
printer driver), or you can use a non-Apple printer driver that
emits the right kind of commands for that printer.  Products exist
that take each of these approaches.  Hardware-level approaches can
be further broken down into "PostScript" and "other" (other being
ImageWriter or IISC compatibles). The advantage of PostScript is
that you get to use PostScript graphics. PostScript fonts used to
be restricted to PS printers, but with the appearance of Adobe Type
Manager (ATM), PS fonts can be used with other printers too; so
that advantage is less significant than it used to be.

VERY IMPORTANT FACT:  Many Mac applications do not work very well
with non-Apple printer drivers.  (HyperCard and many Microsoft
applications are particularly blatant offenders.)  This is partly
Apple's fault; they never published a well-defined standard for
printer drivers.  Because of this, if you have a compatibility
problem between an application and a non-Apple printer driver, it's
hard to fix the blame for the problem.  In my experience, it's
tough to get satisfaction from either the application's
manufacturer or the printer driver's manufacturer; you tend to get
finger-pointing on both sides.  This is a very strong reason for
taking the hardware-level adaptation approach; then you use an
Apple driver, and you can blame the application if it has trouble
printing. It is rumored that Apple is working on a new,
better-documented printer driver definition.  When that appears (at
last report it will not be in time for System 7.0), compatibility
problems should lessen, but not until application *and* printer
driver writers revise their code to use the new definition.  In the
short run the new definition will probably create compatibility
problems of its own --- another reason to stick to hardware-level
solutions.  [If anyone out there knows specifics about the new
print architecture and can talk, I'd appreciate hearing about
possible compatibility problems.]
<end excerpt>

PRODUCTS THAT ARE IN THE MARKET

Without resorting to PostScript, solutions generally involve
converting QuickDraw images into TIFF equivalents, and transmitting
this through the serial connection. This, of course, means that
these solutions are very slow. When resorting to PostScript, there
are two paths, either to interpret the code on the Mac, and
transmit the resulting image as TIFF (even slower) or upgrading the
hardware to include a PostScript interpreter.

I have tried to provide as extensive a description of each of the
products available. Unless indicated, I do not claim to have
directly tested each product. As much as possible, though, I read
the user manual, and correspond with the maker to make as accurate
a summary as possible.

Each product description/review is separated with two periods (..).
The products described here are:

QuickDraw:

     a. MacPrint
     b. Grappler
     c. MacJET and PacificConnect 
     d. GDT JetLink Express

PostScript:

     a. Freedom of Press Lite
     b. TScript
     c. HP PostScript cartridges
     d. Adobe's PostScript cartridge
     e. PacificPage and PacificConnect and/or PacificTalk
     f. BridgePort

QuickDraw:

.. 
A. MacPrint : I got this piece of software at an incredible $31
sale price from Mac's Place (800-367-4222); I doubt if it has
remained at this price. MacPrint 1.2 is the version I used, and
comes with drivers for a variety of non-Macintosh printers,
including the LaserJet II, IIp, IId, LaserJet+, and other PCL
printers, and the necessary DIN-8 to DB-25 connector for hooking up
to the serial port of the LJ II. An upgrade to 1.3 has appeared
since (although Insight has failed to inform me of the upgrade,
take this as a hint about customer support), so some new features
may have been added, most notably on the System 7 compatibility
front. The manual was fairly easy to follow, although I think it
fails to provide any usable technical information on the workings
of the program. For example, an extremely useful piece of
information that was missing was the pin configuration of the
cable. 

Basically, the program claims to work by translating QuickDraw into
PCL, first creating the raster image on the Mac, and transmitting
it to the LaserJet. The user has the option of generating 75 dpi,
150 dpi or 300 dpi printouts (I guess screen, 24 pin dot matrix and
laser printer resolutions), requiring progressively longer amounts
of time to finish printing. Higher resolutions, then, come from
scaling the page 4 fold to generate the 300 dpi output from a 72
dpi screen QuickDraw display. Bitmapped fonts can only be used if
there is a size version 4x the size of the original; with the use
of System 7 and TrueType, one could print fonts at any size with
glee. The program *does* come with support for built in and
cartridge supported fonts, and mixing fonts on the same page is
possible.

With increasing resolution comes increasing demands printer RAM; we
had to upgrade to 2.5 Mb before full page graphics would print.
With 512 Kb, usually the page would print until the current memory
is full, at which time the printer will spit the unfinished page
out, and finish it on another page. Using internal and cartridge
fonts will lower the RAM requirement, but that wastes the wide
array of fonts available for the Macintosh. We generally could make
do with text, though, and 150 dpi is not too shabby. 

Paint objects, of course, print out at 72 dpi all the time,
although draw graphics can print out at 300 dpi. As with all
QuickDraw to TIFF translators, an interesting bug appears with fill
patterns : as resolution goes up, fill patterns become smaller
instead of just becoming higher in resolution. For example, a fill
pattern of a dot every 16 dots in screen will print as a dot every
4 dots at 300 dpi.

The biggest problem with MacPrint and similar software is that it
really ties up your Mac. The program does not have its own
background printing and does not indicate if 3rd party spoolers
will work. I have not tested any.

Known bug: the driver should be left in the *root* System folder
under Sys 7.*. This could not be more strongly stressed. Many
people curse and scream just because the smart System folder files
it under Extensions, and the manual does not point out this flaw
(actually, the manual does not make a lot of mention of System 7).
Version 1.3 is the most current version, and I do not know if this
has been fixed.

<opinion mode> In some ads (most notably, from MacZone or
MacWareHouse), it is claimed that MacPrint does not need
PostScript. Of course, since it does not SUPPORT PostScript. If you
have ATM or TrueType, this is a good product for $31, tho. In
general, it is a good product, with lots of fairly satisfied users,
and pretty much bug free. It makes a good standby as a printer
driver, although one should be prepared to wait awhile to get
printouts.

MacPrint : Published by Insight Development Corp., (415) 652 4115.
Latest version : 1.3

MacConnection price, as of April, 1992: $92

..
B. Grappler

<begin excerpt from Tom Lane>

Grappler is an external box that converts Apple ImageWriter print
data into LJ commands.  (There are Grappler versions for other
popular printers too.) It uses the Apple "ImageWriter LQ" printer
driver, but modifies the driver slightly so that it uses the
correct page size and resolution for the printer.  (For example,
with an LJ a 300dpi image needs to be produced, not the 216dpi used
by the ImageWriter LQ.  Apparently the driver is written in such a
way that this change is easy to make.)

The data being sent to the printer is bitmaps, so speed leaves
something to be desired, and you need adequate memory in the
printer (Orange Micro recommends 1Mb minimum).  

<end excerpt>

There are currently two models of the Grappler, the 9pin for 9 pin
dot matrix printers, and the IIsp, for 24 pin, inkjet and laser
printers. I will disregard the 9pin; LaserJets can be used through
the IIsp. I did not test a Grappler; the manufacturer, Orange Micro
Inc., was kind enough to provide a copy of the user's manual.

Strictly speaking, the Grappler is the cable itself that connects
the serial port of the Mac to the parallel port of the LaserJet. It
converts the serial signal to parallel at 57.6K baud; much higher
than is possible with other QuickDraw solutions. It also has four
TrueType fonts built in (Times, Helvetica, Courier and Symbol),
which would speed up text printing. 

On the software side, as Tom mentioned, the Grappler modifies
Apple's own ImageWriter LQ driver for use with different printers.
In addition, Orange Micro also incorporates a spooler and support
for AppleTalk networks. This is controlled from a cdev after
choosing the ImageWriter LQ driver from the Chooser. It is possible
to choose to use either the best (slowest) 300 dpi mode, faster (72
dpi) mode, or draft, which simply utilizes built in fonts in the
LaserJet. There is no support for PostScript, although it is fully
compatible with ATM.

<opinion mode> A combination hardware and software solution, the
Grappler is one of the better products in the market in terms of
bang for the buck. It is simple to use, and very well documented.
By directing output to a parallel connection, sharing a LaserJet
with PCs is a cinch with an external switchbox (HP's officially
discourages the use of manual switchboxes which can generate
current spikes; autoswitchers are okay). By introducing
GrapplerShare, sharing with other Macs can be done via LocalTalk
connections. The brief manual even describes the pinouts at both
ends of the cable. I recommend it for people who want the easiest
route to being able to use their LaserJets, without having to deal
with too many technical details, and will not be wanting
PostScript.

The Grappler IIsp is made by Orange Micro, Inc., 1400 Lakeview
Ave., Anaheim, CA 92807. (714)779-2772. Suggested list price :
$159.

..
C. MacJET and PacificConnect : 

Note: This is my current solution, and brought tons of relief from
other members of the lab. PacificConnect is not normally
recommended by Mac mavens, since it is usually classified as a DOS
product. It is an optional I/O board for the LJ II, which provides
the LJ with 4 serial connections via RJ-11 (telephone wire) jacks,
and a parallel port (standard DB-25). The serial ports are
configurable up to 115.2 K baud, although the Macintosh software
only supports 9.6 K and 19.2 K baud (more on this later). It also
comes with a built in buffer, with either 256Kb or 1.25Mb, and
automatic switching between serial and parallel ports. The package
came with what would be needed to connect 4 PC's and 1 Mac to the
LaserJet, containing both long cables and adaptors to convert DIN
8/ DB 25/ DB 9 to RJ-11's. Initially, I had some problems with the
hardware, which I traced to the RJ-11/Din 8 connector, but that was
a minor story that was fairly easily resolved.

For sharing PC's, the PacificConnect board is excellent, and has
quite a number of similar competitors. What sets it apart is the
software. The configuration and setup for the PC is fairly
straightforward. 

For Macintoshes, two drivers were provided: MacJET, a QuickDraw
driver written by Computer:Applications, and MacPage, the
PostScript driver for use with the PacificPage PostScript emulation
cartridge. In the absence of the cartridge, I was unable to test
the MacPage software, although technical support assures me that
only the PacificPage cartridge can be used with it.

MacJET: This software was for a large part a mystery to me until
recently. PDP's Customer Support insisted that it is incompatible
with System 7 and TrueType, and generally were of no help with
bugs. Recently, in a Boston trade journal, I noticed the
announcement of a major upgrade to a product called MacJET, and
remembered a similar announcement in MacWEEK a few months ago. I
checked the manual, and, in small print, it acknowledges that the
copyright of MacJET belonged to a company named
Computer:Applications. Calling up PDP, it appears that they ship a
version of it with every board, but do not support it thereafter;
in fact, the manual does not indicate where to contact
Computer:Applications, and PDP's technical support were even unsure
who wrote the software, and how the licensing agreement is like!
After an insistent phone call, I was called back, and given the
phone number and address of Computer:Applications. It appears that
PDP ships out MacJET version 2.3, and the the current shipping
version is 3.2, and is fully System 7 compatible. While PDP does
not seem to update this, owners of the PacificConnect board are
eligible for upgrades at $29.95 plus shipping. As of this writing,
I have sent for the upgrade, but I will give my impressions on
version 2.3.

MacJET comes in two pieces: a Chooser level driver, and a cdev to
control it. The control panel sets the baud rate which the
Macintosh communicates, which can be at 9600 or 19200 baud. It also
controls how printer memory and fonts are handled. The driver comes
with a set of PCL downloadable bitmapped fonts and it is possible
to substitute fonts to speed up printing. Unfortunately, we found
that this results in loss of WYSIWIG output, and that the
downloadable did not contain the full LW set of characters, so
special characters do not print. When fonts are not downloaded,
MacJET images the whole page as a TIFF file, and downloads it as a
graphic to the printer. This is slow in 300 dpi mode, but results
are acceptable. Supposedly, the latest version is able to create
downloadable fonts from TrueType, similar to what Windows 3.1 does.

Color can be printed as grays, although I found this to be rather
buggy. There is a 50% reduction option, as well as a draft mode
which uses whatever default font the LaserJet is on. The driver can
also use the built in line drawing routines in PCL4 of the
LaserJet, which helps accelerate certain graphic printing. 

Since PDP did not write this software, it is not possible to
configure the ports of the board using t…

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