["\"BUCKMAN%ALAN.kahuna.decnet.lockheed.com\"%ALAN.KAHUNA.DECNET.LOCKHEED.COM"@Warbucks.AI.SRI.COM: What's the reccommendation for color hardcopy.]

["Keith W. Schindler" <Schindler%white.sww.symbolics.com@RELAY.CS.NET>]

	We're front ending our connection machine with Symbolics computers.  We create
	color displays on the CM (using it's frame buffer).  We would like to be able to
	make good quality color hardcopies.  Is there any reccommended equivalent to
	the laser printer for color?  Or do you reccomned some other method?  Is the
	softare for printing color images available somewhere??
 
	thanks.
 
	eric buckman (Lockheed 805-295-4792)
	buckman@alan.kahuna.decnet.lockheed.com
 


According to one of the members of the development staff:

"The QMS Colorscript 100 is the only Color PostScript 300-DPI laser
printer of which I am aware.  That is, it is the only color version of
the LaserWriter.  It runs about $22K.

The only other 300-DPI laser printer is the Tektronix 4693D.  It is
about $9K, but only talks Color QuickDraw to a Macintosh.

There is a rather larger selection of lower resolution printers, most of
which do not use laser technology.

The cost-per-page is often several dollars for the current technology,
which can add up.

Here is what I can say about software on the Symbolics:

The 7.4 system and the by-now well-known screen-hardcopy patch for 7.2
add support for color images in PostScript.  It also supports color
quickdraw images.  Which means, if you can produce a color image either
in IMAN format or as a raster and color table, we can convert it to a
file that will be understood by one of the above printers (you'll need a
Macintosh too in the QuickDraw case).


If high volume is not required, the other alternative is to produce
four-color separations and send them off to a print shop.  I would also
recommend calling around to larger printing firms in their local area.
I know there are some in Greater Boston that will take PostScript."