27 Jan
2023
27 Jan
'23
4:23 p.m.
On 1/26/23 19:13, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote:
Interesting. I maintained a bunch of Versatec 1200A
printers at work, and ended up with a couple of them at
home. horrible paper, like a dirty chalkboard, smelly
toner, if the paper was handled before it dried the toner
could come off on your hands, etc. But, I had never seen
the issue with gaps in graphics, and our drivers, especially
on the Nat Semi 16032 system was VERY slow in graphics mode.
When laser printers came out, I was VERRRY glad to move into
the future!
Jon
On Jan 26, 2023, at 6:29 PM, Chuck Guzis via
cctalk <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
I take that back about Versatec, CHM has a document from 1970 on their
electrostatic printer:
https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/X163.83A
I know that Lawrence Livermore had one and used it quite a bit back in
the day.
--Chuck
I worked with one of those on the PLATO system in 1976, where it was used
in bitmap graphics mode to print music scores. That at first worked very badly because
the paper transport was chain driven, with enough slack in the drive that if you'd
stop and start it, you'd get irregular paper feeding with as a result gaps in the
graphics. I fixed this by writing a new driver that was designed to stream, so it would
never stop in mid-job.