1237a580c9ca
tech



Hello Phil - 

>> 24 pin dot matrix did get to be almost indistinguishable from
>> laser printouts at one point. I think the noise was a factor
>> in their demise. They can be annoying when doing a long
>> print job. 

PM> Having come from the clickety-clack of the typewriter age,
PM> they are music to my ears [g]. 

At many places the dot matrix printed the paychecks to create
carbon copies. Employees liked that sound. :-) 

PM>> And then, these machines hold up fairly well, with very
PM>> little upkeep, a major concern here. 

>> Mixed feelings on this. I've had some strange failures of
>> plastic parts on dot matrix printers. :-\ 

PM> Mine are all so ancient I think they derive from a time
PM> before plastic was invented (g). I don't think that there
PM> are many plastic parts to break or crumble -- all metal
PM> construction -- with the weight to prove it. 

The clips that retain the paper onto the 'tractor' wheels would
chip and/or break on me frequently. :-\ 

--8<--cut 

>> First hassle is to have the proper drivers for them. If you
>> also use legacy hardware and software the laser printer may
>> be newer than your computer system. 

PM> Hmm. Hadn't thought of that yet. I was even considering
PM> setting some of them up on DOS boxes but I guess that's not
PM> a possibility? These are old HPs? Did they ever run on DOS. 

The HP laser I have was originally using only DOS and
WordPerfect drivers. I think it would allow a print from the
DOS command line but it's been a long long time now and I'm not
sure. 

>> Second hassle for most is the cost of the toner cartridges 

PM> I was thinking of finessing the refill methods mentioned in
PM> the laser thread here. Or is that to hope for too much? 

It's doable AFAIK. Seems many are doing that now. 

>> and third (for me) getting used to the idea that sweaty
>> fingers will smudge the printouts. 

PM> Do they? I thought laser printouts were as stable as xerox
PM> type copies. Are you thinking of ink/bubblejet? 

Apparently I was mistaken. I guess I was thinking of
bubblejets. Sorry. 

>> Inexpensive bubblejets are probably more common in homes and
>> can be purchased new for just a little more than the
>> cartridge will cost when the first one is used up. 

PM> I'm thinking of cost per page. Someone calculated and
PM> posted his calculations showing that inkjet ink cost more
PM> per weight than gold. That cost per page is: 

PM> DOT-MATRIX: CHEAPEST [Less than a penny if I recall] 

PM> LASER: VERY CLOSE [Equal if using refills] 

PM> INKJET: 5 to 7 cents / page, ie. off the map. 

Again, it's been a long time for me but I think the paper is
from 1/2 to 1 cent per page if you use 'good' quality bond
paper and I seem to recall something more like 3 cents per page
for dot matrix but I could be wrong. 

Laser was a bit more expensive at work because we only used the
better quality print paper for the laser. I think it was closer
to 5 cents per page using the better paper? 

Inkjet seems to be double laser costs mainly because each
cartridge runs out of ink quite rapidly from what I've seen. 

>
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