The Silicon Jungle by David H. Rothman

A friend described my Microprism’s supposed “near-letter quality” as looking like “an upscale grocery store receipt.” It was a long way from a daisy wheel. Still, Judith Axler Turner, a nationally syndicated computer columnist, says dot matrix might actually help her at times; she can print the letters larger than regular typewritten characters. Her manuscripts command more attention. A Washington lawyer fared worse using a dot-matrix machine without near-letter quality. A judge threw out his brief. We dot-matrix plebeians, before buying, should test the print quality on a number of people, especially colleagues or clients. Are they happy with the shapes, sizes, and quality of the characters? Do they feel that our dots blend smoothly into each other? Usually, the more pins a dot-matrix printer has, the better will be the printing. Many dot-matrix printers in late 1984 had a matrix of seven-by-nine wires. In 1984 Epson was selling the $1,500 LQ-1500 with twice that density and “letter-quality characters to rival fine office typewriters.” I looked one over. The typewriters were still winning. Sales reps will bill the LQ-1500 and many other dot matrixes as being capable of both (a) lightning speeds with draft-print quality and (b) slower speeds with good quality. Is it “good” enough for you? If not, consider buying a speedy dot matrix or ink jet for routine work and a daisy wheel for the times you want the best impression. The combined cost may be lower than that of a super-duper dot matrix. If you’re doing serious work with graphics, look for a printer capable of reproducing details as well as a good computer monitor does. Daisy wheels won’t suffice because of the tremendous number of strikes; doing one dot at a time is incredibly slow, and their preformed characters don’t include the variety of patterns that good graphics require. You really need an ink jet, dot matrix, or other alternative. COST With printer technology advancing so rapidly, I didn’t want to sink much into a machine—hence, the $489 Panasonic. Sometime in the 1980s I’ll forsake my cheapie dot matrix for a good ink-jet, thermal-transfer, or laser printer when the price is down. When pondering costs, don’t just look at a printer’s price tag. What about ribbons? How many pages will they print? And how much do they sell for? My IDS ribbons listed for around $12 apiece, but luckily I could get around that by (1) buying at a discount place and (2) eventually purchasing a little machine called a MacInker, which, for less than a dime, let me reink a ribbon. It’s messy. Don’t inflict a MacInker on a Fortune 500 secretary, or _any_ secretary, but think about one, maybe, as a way of being frugal at home. The MacInker is available from Computer Friends, 6415 SW Canyon Court, Suite #10, Portland, Oregon 97221. The telephone number is 1-800/547-3303, or 503/297-2321. The gadget as of mid-1984 was selling for around $60 if you included ink and shipping charges. PRINTING VOLUME I wanted to be able to churn out a book manuscript in one weekend without overwhelming the printer. Before you buy a printer, ask the manufacturer if it can handle not only your typical workload but also your peak one. Cheaper printers may overheat—just when you most need them. A DECENT REPAIR RECORD A printer is an electromechanical device. That’s a fancy way of saying it may break down a lot. An electromechanical device, after all, is partly mechanical—which makes it less reliable than the gizmos in your computer system that are purely electronic. If you can afford backup machines, naturally the repair record won’t be as crucial, but no matter what, do compare statistics on the mean time between failures. Remember, they’re like EPA ratings for automobiles. They’re wrong, frequently, and may not apply to the printer _you_ end up with. But don’t shrug them off entirely. QUIET (OR RELATIVE QUIET) My daisy—with the little hammer pounding away—was too noisy for the late hours. Older dot matrixes also can be offenders; they can almost shriek with high-pitched sounds. Some of the newer ones may be better behaved. Sharing an office-apartment or working from an ordinary office, however, you might buy a sound-muffling box and wrestle with pulling paper in and out of it. When good, cheap ink jets and laser printers hit the market, these noise hassles will end. SPECIAL FEATURES “Will it underline?” I asked. And would it offer =boldface=, the dark, heavy print that books often use for emphasis. And what about other special features? How about =proportional spacing=, for instance, which prints the “M” wider than a “j”—making the type look more like a book’s. That could make the print more readable. Another question is, “Does the printer offer =justification=?” It’s really a software issue. But we’ll group it here with the other special features. Justification evens out the spacing of both the right and left margins, though that’s a mixed blessing. Justified margins look more impressive. But =ragged right= margins, the normal typewriter kind, guide the eye more easily and may be better for long reports as opposed to short letters. I did _not_ justify this manuscript. But justification is just the ticket for correspondence with the status conscious. In the case of all these special features, keep remembering to ask: