Article Abstract:
The LM-1000 laser printer for PCs, from LaserMaster, is a plain-paper (toner-based) 1000-x-400-dpi printer whose resolution is comparable to photo image-set type. Its printer controller is fast, especially when printing complicated documents, and its specialized printer drivers compact page information, thereby speeding document processing. LaserMaster software drivers and font utilities are menu-driven, reliable, and easy to install, and the LM-1000 is no more difficult to maintain than other popular laser printers. The LM-1000's low price, high resolution, and quick printing speed make it very attractive. The TypeStation Stage III system, $14,995 from Raster Devices Direct (RD2), is a fully integrated, turnkey desktop publishing system that uses printer and video technology licensed from LaserMaster. The 80386SX-based system is completely menu driven, includes both font and software libraries, and uses a LaserMaster 1000-dpi printer controller with a modified HP laserJet printer. The Stage III is priced far below comparable components purchased separately, and offers affordable quality as a professional tool.
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Article Abstract:
Marrs Printing, a printing company located in City of Industry, CA, selects processing hardware separately for each stage of the production workflow because its heavy job flow places different demands on different systems. It had seven Macintosh workstations and one Sun SPARCstation on a peer-to-peer network when new CIO Terry Hillock arrived, with one Mac serving as a scanning station, another dedicated to archiving jobs on DAT and none acting as a centralized preflight station. Marrs used a Jaz-drive sneakernet to transfer data and ran both raster image processing and OPI operations on the SPARCstation. Hillock noted that company business was growing 16 percent annually and complex graphics applications were generating ever-larger files that overloaded the RIP. Tracking revisions of files and images between workstations was difficult and often caused expensive mistakes. The CIO lead a move to a centralized network based on an Apple Workgroup Server running the AIX Unix operating system.
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Article Abstract:
A growing number of design and publishing sites now use a combination of Macintosh, Windows and sometimes Unix computer systems; 28 percent of sites in a recent survey have both Macs and Windows-based PCs, while 11 percent have Unix systems as well. Multiplatform networks account for the majority of sites with 25 or more employees and create an entirely new set of network and file-management issues. Large environments need multiple platforms because they handle many aspects of workflow in-house instead of sending them to service bureaus and have diverse computing needs. Most users prefer Macs as the publishing workstation platform of choice, but file and OPI servers are more technically demanding and demand the high performance possible with high-end PCs and Unix systems. Large firms generally choose Unix servers, while smaller ones purchase low-cost Pentium-based PC servers and less-expensive, easier-to-use administration software.
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