Low‐Cost Laser Printers
| Pages | 41-52 |
| Published date | 01 February 1985 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb047594 |
| Date | 01 February 1985 |
| Author | Phil Sticha |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Low-Cost Laser Printers
Phil Sticha
Advances in laser printer
technology have brought low-cost high-
quality printing within reach of most
microcomputer
users.
Major features of
laser
printers are examined, the
terminology of laser printers
is explained, and examples of high-
quality output are illustrated.
Accompanying the article are a
hardware profile for the popular
Hewlett-Packard LaserJet
printer,
a
description of ALMOST TYPESET,
and a brief bibliography.
The introduction of several low-cost laser printers
beginning in the last half of 1984 has begun to make
a major impact in the high quality printer market.
While the laser printer has been around for several
years as a high speed and high quality (and very
high priced) output device for computer systems,
it was not until the introduction of a laser print
engine by Canon in late 1983 that the cost of a high
quality laser printing system was brought within
reach of the average microcomputer user. Where
previously it was necessary for several dozen users
to share a laser printer with a price tag of $100,000
or more, it became possible for a device of compar-
able quality to be manufactured and sold to an
individual user at a cost which roughly equaled the
per user cost of the more expensive machine.
Laser printers have traditionally been valued for
their speed and print quality. While the new low-cost
lasers provide both these standard laser printer
features, their quiet operation is often the feature
of greatest interest in the office environment (where
laser printers are competing with high quality impact
printers). The ability to produce graphics of high
quality is another area where the laser printer gen-
erally out-performs its impact printer counterparts.
The laser printer and its technological relatives bring
a new level of quality and cost effectiveness to the
computer user, and should be seriously considered
whenever high quality output, speed, quiet operation,
or graphics capability are required.
To better understand the. potential uses of the
laser printer, it is first desirable to understand at least
some of the underlying principles of its operation.
Sticha is President of VIS Consultants, Inc., 20Q0
Century Plaza, Columbia, MD 21044, a supplier of
computerized materials scheduling and catalog
systems for media libraries.
ISSUE 10 41
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