OT: printing PostScript files

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:22:10 -0800, "William Sommerwerck"
<grizzledgeezer@comcast.net> wrote:

However, the driver has dialog boxes have no
memory-size settings.

Trust me. It's there.
<http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/crud/hp4ram.jpg>

I went to a site that sould HP printer accessories, and the standard RAM
size seems to be 16MB. What the default it, I don't know.

That's the added RAM, not the total RAM that can be installed. The
usual increments are 2M, 4M, and 16m FPM SIMM's. (EDO won't work).

See chart at:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaserJet_4>

Please print the test page to see what you actually have installed.

The printer had no trouble with 22MB bitmap files. (That's the size the
spooler reported.)

We're not talking about bitmaps here. We're talking about oversized
Postcribble files or small PS files with huge embedded EPS
(encapsulated postscribble) images.

I'll pull out the manual and check, but at the moment there's no need for me
to upgrade the memory. With my luck, the printer will completely fail one
week after I install the expanded RAM.

Free advice: Recycle the printer and get something better and faster.

I wouldn't mind having a faster printer, but the 4M is such a good product,
that I have no intention of ever giving it up, until it can't be repaired or
cartridges aren't available.

I don't call limited memory, slow performance, a tenedency to wrinkle
paper, and 600 dpi to be a good product when for about $150, you can
get an HP2000dtn which doesn't have these problems.


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[William Sommerwerck]

However, the driver has dialog boxes have no
memory-size settings.

Trust me. It's there.
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/crud/hp4ram.jpg

Not under W2K.

Please print the test page to see what you actually have installed.

I did. I reported it. It's a bit over 6MB.

Free advice: Recycle the printer and get something better and faster.

Faster, no doubt. Better? No way.

I recently had to print out a discount coupon with fine (decorative) print
in the 2- or 3-point range. It was clean and perfectly legible. The newer
printers have 1200dpi RET. Is that visibly better (except under a loupe)? I
don't know. I doubt it.

I don't call limited memory, slow performance, a tendency to wrinkle
paper, and 600 dpi to be a good product when for about $150, you can
get an HP2000dtn which doesn't have these problems.

The paper wrinkling stopped after I bought the repair kit. (It had never
been a problem.) As for the rest... Show me a laser printer with better
print quality, and I' might consider switching. The 4- and 5-series printers
are classic Canon products. If people weren't happy with the results, HP
wouldn't have the demand needed to justify supplying cartridges.

If I were going to buy a new printer, it would be something like this...

http://www.shopping.hp.com/product/printer/LaserJet/1/storefronts/CE459A%2523ABA

How much would you care to bet that toner cartridges for the 4- and 5-
series printers will still be available long after carts for the P2055dn is
not longer available?

I really don't need a new printer. Maybe... Maybe... when this toner cart is
empty, I might think about a new model. But as long as the printer continues
to work, why should I?

 

[William Sommerwerck]

GhostScript is your friend.

Why? I have a "real" PostScript printer, and the driver outputs a "real"
PostScript file. What is the problem with that?

I used to do user manuals for a company in Colorado. I sent them PostScript
PRN files for their service agency's PostScript-based Agfa photosetter. Once
in a while there would be a glitch and I'd have to re-do a particular
chapter. (I don't know what causes this.) But otherwise, there were zero
problems, and the final document looked /exactly/ like what came out of my
LaserJet 4M. To paraphrase Otis... "What more could a writer want?"

 

[William Sommerwerck]

You mustn't be using the correct driver. Under PS options, you can
tell it how much RAM your printer has. My guess is that you have it
configured to use the PCL driver, rather than the PS driver.

Not on mine. It specifically says "PS" in the dialog box. And PS options are
available.

I'm definitely not using the PCL driver. I can create a PRN file, and the
Acrobat Distiller will convert it to a PDF.

My "problem" with PCL is that it doesn't render the page the same as PS. The
printout does not exactly match what I see on the screen -- page breaks are
different, for example.

Before you say "Yes, but the driver affects the display" (which it does),
remember that the page layout itself -- in terms of margins, line spacing,
etc -- is independent of the driver. If I create a document in Ventura
Publisher, it should print out identically with any driver. It doesn't. I
stick with PostScript, because it's a widely used standard. I don't know any
photosetting machine that uses HP's PCL.

 

[Bob Larter]

D Yuniskis wrote:

William Sommerwerck wrote:
Great information -- I like paper copies, but some manuals
are too big to waste paper. Four per page is the only reasonble
way and using bitmap is fine.

I goofed. It's actually "Print as image" -- same difference.

Part of the problem is that when you print four to a page, you have to
render four pages, rather than just one. This slows down the process.

Use a postscript renderer (i.e., a piece of software *in*
the PC) instead of a postscript *printer*. Printers usually
don't have the same horsepower available to them as modern
PC's. You also have all of the PC's memory to exploit for
this purpose (fonts, etc.).

The tradeoff is you now have to send an *image* of the page
to the printer which is usually more data than using an
abstract PDL.

GhostScript is your friend.


--
W
. | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because
\|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Bob Larter]

William Sommerwerck wrote:

Not only did every page print, but it printed more quickly.
Apparently, the computer renders the image much more
quickly than the processor in the printer. And it can
render things the printer gets stuck with.

But you are still printing to a PostScript printer *encapsulating*
the bitmap as a PostScript file. So, the printer has to treat
it as such.

But it doesn't have to /render/ anything -- just dump the bits to the drum.

Yep, but the driver has to convert the bitmap into a hex-encoded format
to print it via the printers PS interpreter, which slows things down.
If you want to send a bitmap anyway, you're better off sending in PCL
instead. It'll be at least twice as fast.

you can usually get faster throughput
as non-postscript printers don't have the same overhead as
PostScript (i.e., "PostScript" itself takes up memory in
the printer).

No, it doesn't. It's in ROM, and "consumes" zero memory.

The PS interpreter reserves a couple of meg of RAM. You can confirm this
by using the printer control panel to print a PCL status print, then a
PS status print.

--
W
. | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because
\|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Bob Larter]

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:53:39 -0800, "William Sommerwerck"
grizzledgeezer@comcast.net> wrote:

How much [RAM] memory does the 4M printer have?
I don't know (and don't care at the moment to print a test page). I assume
it's around 64MB.

Standard RAM for the HP4m is 6 MBytes. I used one in the office for a
few year. It's also slow (8 ppm). With only 6MB of RAM, I could
barely print anything from my office Mac Cube. It would frequently
spend 10-15 minutes uploading some gigantic file, and then just quit.
Maximum RAM for the HP4m with the Postscribble (Level 2) SIMM
installed is 26MBytes. If you have an HP4m+, it will take up to
50MBytes. If you have some Fast Page Mode SIMMs, they should work. I
loaded mine with something less than 26MB (I forgot the exact amount)
and still managed to over flow the buffer.

Yep. I have 24MB in my HP 4M+. I stole it from my equally ancient SGI Indy.

Also, if you're using Windoze, go to the properties for the print
driver and tell it how much RAM you have installed. The HP4m will not
return config info to the driver. If you forget to do that, the
Windoze driver will default to 2MB and your printing performance (and
reliability) will suffer.

Good advice.

--
W
. | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because
\|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Bob Larter]

William Sommerwerck wrote:

I don't know (and don't care at the moment to print a test page).
I assume it's around 64MB.

Standard RAM for the HP4m is 6 MBytes. I used one in the office for a
few year. It's also slow (8 ppm). With only 6MB of RAM, I could
barely print anything from my office Mac Cube. It would frequently
spend 10-15 minutes uploading some gigantic file, and then just quit.
Maximum RAM for the HP4M with the Postscribble (Level 2) SIMM
installed is 26MBytes. If you have an HP4m+, it will take up to
50MBytes. If you have some Fast Page Mode SIMMs, they should work.
I loaded mine with something less than 26MB (I forgot the exact amount)
and still managed to over flow the buffer.

Also, if you're using Windoze, go to the properties for the print
driver and tell it how much RAM you have installed. The HP4M will not
return config info to the driver. If you forget to do that, the
Windoze driver will default to 2MB and your printing performance
(and reliability) will suffer.

Thanks for the suggestions. However, the driver has dialog boxes have no
memory-size settings.

You mustn't be using the correct driver. Under PS options, you can tell
it how much RAM your printer has. My guess is that you have it
configured to use the PCL driver, rather than the PS driver.

I went to a site that sould HP printer accessories, and the standard RAM
size seems to be 16MB. What the default it, I don't know.

A lot smaller than that! Just use the printer front panel to print a
test page, & it'll tell you how much RAM is installed.

I wouldn't mind having a faster printer, but the 4M is such a good product,
that I have no intention of ever giving it up, until it can't be repaired or
cartridges aren't available.

Me either. I love my 4M+.

--
W
. | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because
\|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Bob Larter]

William Sommerwerck wrote:

The problems you pointed out are common with too little RAM.
I have several older laser printers with 2 MB (or less) of RAM that
are only good for text. Any graphics look like crap, because there
isn't enough RAM to properly render the PostScript. One was an
IBM 4019. I used it for a text only printer for over five years, till the
fuser failed.

But I've been using the printer ever since it was introduced without
problems. (I had the LJ II and LJ III prior to that.) And I've been printing
pages with complex graphics all that time, including my own documents, and
the manuals for the Olympus E-500 and Canon 5D2. The Canon 1V manual is the
first document that has ever caused this problem.

I finally gave up and printed the Self Test page. Total RAM is 6144KB. The
PS Configuration page reports Global memory as 2308796 bytes and Local as
1530752 bytes.

Considering how cheap 16MB of RAM is ($8), perhaps I should add some.

Maybe so. 6MB is enough for the basics, but it'll drop your jobs if you
hit it with anything very complex. On the bright side, if you can find
compatible RAM for it (Kingston would be a good place to start), it'll
be cheap.

--
W
. | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because
\|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

Bob Larter wrote:

William Sommerwerck wrote:
The problems you pointed out are common with too little RAM.
I have several older laser printers with 2 MB (or less) of RAM that
are only good for text. Any graphics look like crap, because there
isn't enough RAM to properly render the PostScript. One was an
IBM 4019. I used it for a text only printer for over five years, till the
fuser failed.

But I've been using the printer ever since it was introduced without
problems. (I had the LJ II and LJ III prior to that.) And I've been printing
pages with complex graphics all that time, including my own documents, and
the manuals for the Olympus E-500 and Canon 5D2. The Canon 1V manual is the
first document that has ever caused this problem.

I finally gave up and printed the Self Test page. Total RAM is 6144KB. The
PS Configuration page reports Global memory as 2308796 bytes and Local as
1530752 bytes.

Considering how cheap 16MB of RAM is ($8), perhaps I should add some.

Maybe so. 6MB is enough for the basics, but it'll drop your jobs if you
hit it with anything very complex. On the bright side, if you can find
compatible RAM for it (Kingston would be a good place to start), it'll
be cheap.

http://www.memoryx.net/laserjet.html


--
The movie 'Deliverance' isn't a documentary!

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:35:29 -0800, "William Sommerwerck"
<grizzledgeezer@comcast.net> wrote:

However, the driver has dialog boxes have no
memory-size settings.

Trust me. It's there.
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/crud/hp4ram.jpg

Not under W2K.

I don't have a W2K machine handy but it's my understanding that the
W2K and XP printer delivers are the same. I just realized that the
above screen grab is from the HP LJ4, not the HP LJ4m. So, I loaded
the HP4m driver instead and got exactly the same thing. It's
identical to the HP4 except that it says HP LJ4m at the top of the
page, and oddly, the selection of RAM starts at 6MB but ends at 68MB.
I didn't think the HP LJ4M could handle that much.

Oh wait... I have an W2K Server available with remote access. Now, if
I can only remember the password.... Got it. Installing HP LJ4m.
Checking Settings.... Yep, exactly the same as XP. Please look again.

I did. I reported it. It's a bit over 6MB.

That's the default. Find some FPM RAM and add it.

Faster, no doubt. Better? No way.

The HP LJ4 series has a really good EX printing engine. However, I
consider the paper handling mechanism to be marginal.

I recently had to print out a discount coupon with fine (decorative) print
in the 2- or 3-point range. It was clean and perfectly legible. The newer
printers have 1200dpi RET. Is that visibly better (except under a loupe)? I
don't know. I doubt it.

Easy enough to test. Find a 1200 dpi printer and compare the output
in 300, 600, and 1200 dpi mode. For use, 1200 dpi is far better for
rendering pictures and photos. I would expect tiny print to also be
better, but I've never tried it.

Might as well see what my HP LJ2000dtn can do. Running a test page
under Open Office Writer 3.1 with lines starting at 10pt and working
my way down to 1pt. 2pt requires a magnifying glass to read, but is
perfectly clear. Same with everything larger. I pt comes out the
same size as 2pt suggesting that 2pt is the minimum font size. Also,
there are 3 levels of 1200 dpi resolution:
Prores 1200 at 141 lpi
Prores 1200 at 180 lpi
Fastres 1200
I can't see the difference between any of them using my test page.

Switching down to 600 dpi and running the same test page, it appears a
bit darker, but the 2pt readability is about the same. I have a
microscope in the office if you want to see the result blown up, but
with just a magnifying glass, I can't see much difference between 600
dpi and 1200 dpi. Oh well.

Incidentally, I've found the type and quality of the toner to have
huge effect on print quality.

The paper wrinkling stopped after I bought the repair kit. (It had never
been a problem.)

It's been a problem with every HP LJ4 I've ever played with. It
usually starts with occasional wrinkled pages, and turns into a paper
crumpler. New rear rollers solve the problem for the next 60K or more
pages.

As for the rest... Show me a laser printer with better
print quality, and I' might consider switching.

What's my commission for the sale?

The 4- and 5-series printers
are classic Canon products. If people weren't happy with the results, HP
wouldn't have the demand needed to justify supplying cartridges.

True. They also tend to run forever. However, HP's business plan
seems to have forked. At the low end, they're selling printers that
will survive perhaps 5-10 cartridges and then just wear out. Like
most inkjets, they're junk on arrival and don't last. On the other
foot, HP's high end machines are make for production environments. My
only real complaint is that parts tend to be outrageously expensive.
Unfortunately, there's a large number of in between printers that
don't fit well in either category. The 4000 and later 4200/4300
series printers are mix of junk and quality. At least the prices are
stratified accordingly so one has a clue which class of printer is
appropriate.

If I were going to buy a new printer, it would be something like this...
http://www.shopping.hp.com/product/printer/LaserJet/1/storefronts/CE459A%2523ABA

$350 to $400. I was recommending a $120 (used) printer. I don't have
a problem with buying a better printer, but I assumed that you wanted
something cheap based on your attachment to the ancient HP LJ4m.

How much would you care to bet that toner cartridges for the 4- and 5-
series printers will still be available long after carts for the P2055dn is
not longer available?

Agreed. There were a large number of printers based on the EX and EX+
engines, which justify the availability of toner carts. HP's toner
cart strategy seems to be to have a different cartridge for each
model, thus marginalizing the replacement toner market. Some printers
(i.e. 4200/4300) complain bitterly when a non-HP toner cartridge is
inserted, but will print anyway. Let's just say that HP (and others)
are not particularly friendly towards 3rd party vendors.

I really don't need a new printer. Maybe... Maybe... when this toner cart is
empty, I might think about a new model. But as long as the printer continues
to work, why should I?

Speed, resolution, speed, reliability, speed, power consumption,
speed, paper handling, etc. Oh yeah, speed.


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[William Sommerwerck]

http://www.memoryx.net/laserjet.html

I've bought from them before. They're cheap and good.

 

[William Sommerwerck]

Incidentally, I've found the type and quality of the toner to have
huge effect on print quality.

No surprise. The HP cartridges cost "too much", but the refills aren't
particularly reliable.

The paper wrinkling stopped after I bought the repair kit.
(It had never been a problem.)

It's been a problem with every HP LJ4 I've ever played with. It usually
starts with occasional wrinkled pages, and turns into a paper crumpler.
New rear rollers solve the problem for the next 60K or more> pages.

Ah, well... My printer has gone through less than 22,200 pages. And I've got
the spare rollers.

As for the rest... Show me a laser printer with better
print quality, and I' might consider switching.

What's my commission for the sale?

A laurel, and hearty handshake.

If I were going to buy a new printer, it would be something like this...

http://www.shopping.hp.com/product/printer/LaserJet/1/storefronts/CE459A%2523ABA

$350 to $400. I was recommending a $120 (used) printer. I don't have
a problem with buying a better printer, but I assumed that you wanted
something cheap based on your attachment to the ancient HP LJ4M.

Yes, but $120 would buy me a new cartridge.

Speed, resolution, speed, reliability, speed, power consumption,
speed, paper handling, etc. Oh yeah, speed.

I don't use the printer heavily. So, as with the car ads, I'll imagine it
blowing nickels into my face...

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:13:18 -0800, "William Sommerwerck"
<grizzledgeezer@comcast.net> wrote:

Incidentally, I've found the type and quality of the toner to have
huge effect on print quality.

No surprise. The HP cartridges cost "too much", but the refills aren't
particularly reliable.

True. I've had good luck on random cartridges from eBay. I
originally expected to find HP carts that had been refilled. Instead,
they're new plastic molded clones from China with some rather marginal
tolerance issues. I've had some that worked just fine, but had to
filed or tweaked slightly to fit. I can't see any difference in toner
other than the tendency for some vendors to overfill. The incentive
is that I can buy 3 or 4 clone carts for the price of one genuine HP
cartridge. The few that have had obvious problems were graciously
exchanged by the vendors, so I'm too worried about buying clone carts.

However (insert drum roll), I can't say the same with refill kits.
I've been refilling toner carts since about 1990, when it was
economically necessary. At one point, I had a 50lb drum of toner for
refills. At about $2 per cartridge (plus scrubber) it's tempting. I
don't do many monochrome refills because of the availability of clone
carts. However, color carts are still expensive, so bulk toner
refills are still a temptation. Results have been ummmm... marginal.
Sometimes it works just fine. Other times, not so fine. The usual
problem is when I don't replace the scrubber, and end up with vertical
streaking. Such defects are almost invisible with b&w text printing,
but look horrible on color photos.

Ah, well... My printer has gone through less than 22,200 pages. And I've got
the spare rollers.

Only 22K? That's a fairly new printer. At the rate you're using it,
I would expect it to last forever if you keep it clean.

As for the rest... Show me a laser printer with better
print quality, and I' might consider switching.

What's my commission for the sale?

A laurel, and hearty handshake.

My usual sales method is to loan the customer a better, but used
printer. I make sure they only have enough toner for about a month of
printing. When they run out of toner, I usually get a phone call,
which invariably results in a sale of either a new equivalent, or the
used printer. I make more money on the used printer so it's no big
deal. I also get my empty cartridge back for "recycling" (which I
actually partly refill). They get to buy a new cartridge, which often
costs them more than the printer. Unless money is a major problem,
nobody ever wants to go back to the old laser printer.

Fly before you buy is an effective sales tool. You might want to
borrow a better printer and see what it does for you. I'm sure you'll
find something. In my case, it was not making any fan noises when in
standby, not sucking power when in standby, and very fast warmup. I
didn't realize how much time I spent waiting for the first page to
print. 300dpi would have been good enough for most of my applications
(invoicing, reports, Quickbooks, copies of web pages, knowledge base
instructions, manuals, etc.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/product/printer/LaserJet/1/storefronts/CE459A%2523ABA
$350 to $400. I was recommending a $120 (used) printer. I don't have
a problem with buying a better printer, but I assumed that you wanted
something cheap based on your attachment to the ancient HP LJ4M.

Yes, but $120 would buy me a new cartridge.

I think I paid about $30 for the 96A used by the HP2200dtn printer.
<http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260491255413>

I don't use the printer heavily. So, as with the car ads, I'll imagine it
blowing nickels into my face...

When I first saw that commercial, I figured their vehicle was burning
dollar bills for fuel. I rarely buy current technology for my own
use. Mostly, I get previous generation products. My customers get
the latest, while I often inherit older technology from the upgrade.
The cost savings of buying used is substantial, but one has to be
willing and able to fix and maintain things. While you're saving
nickels, I'm saving dollars.



--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[isw]

In article <hdmse1$acd$1@news.eternal-september.org>,
"William Sommerwerck" <grizzledgeezer@comcast.net> wrote:

GhostScript is your friend.

Why? I have a "real" PostScript printer, and the driver outputs a "real"
PostScript file.

I'd be interested to know why GhostScript's output isn't "real".

Isaac

 

[William Sommerwerck]

Ah, well... My printer has gone through less than 22,200 pages.
And I've got the spare rollers.

Only 22K? That's a fairly new printer. At the rate you're using it,
I would expect it to last forever if you keep it clean.

That's my expectation.

As for the rest... Show me a laser printer with better
print quality, and I' might consider switching.

What's my commission for the sale?

A laurel, and hearty handshake.

What's the point in making jokes if no one gets them?

My usual sales method is to loan the customer a better,
but used printer. I make sure they only have enough toner
for about a month of printing. When they run out of toner,
I usually get a phone call, which invariably results in a sale
of either a new equivalent, or the used printer.

Heh, heh, heh. <rubbing his hands with Glee, a Scottish dishwashing liquid>

When I first saw that commercial, I figured their vehicle was burning
dollar bills for fuel. I rarely buy current technology for my own use.
Mostly, I get previous-generation products. My customers get the
latest, while I often inherit older technology from the upgrade. The
cost savings of buying used is substantial, but one has to be willing
and able to fix and maintain things. While you're saving nickels, I'm
saving dollars.

But I've owned the printer for nigh-on to 17 years, young'un.

At the rate I'm currently printing, my toner cartridge (purchased in early
2008) will probably last another couple of years (assuming the toner doesn't
start deteriorating). At that point I can think about a new printer. "Well
done, thou good and faithful servant."

 

[William Sommerwerck]

GhostScript is your friend.

Why? I have a "real" PostScript printer, and the driver outputs
a "real" PostScript file.

I'd be interested to know why GhostScript's output isn't "real".

I'd be interested to know why I'm supposed to switch to GhostScript.

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:27:12 -0800, "William Sommerwerck"
<grizzledgeezer@comcast.net> wrote:

What's the point in making jokes if no one gets them?

Sorry. I got the joke, but lurched onward to expound on my sales
technique. If you read my various rants (in various newsgroups) I
avoid offering specific product recommendations. It's like asking a
lawyer or doctor for advice. You'll never get a single specific
recommendation. Instead, you'll receive an assortment of options, and
you get to decide which is best. If the advice fails, it's your
fault, not the fault of the doctor or lawyer. Were they to offer a
single recommendation, it would obviously be their fault. Think of it
as defensive advice.

Heh, heh, heh. <rubbing his hands with Glee, a Scottish dishwashing liquid

Not available in the colonies. We use paper plates and plastic
utensils. Dishes and dish washing are so old world.

While you're saving nickels, I'm
saving dollars.

But I've owned the printer for nigh-on to 17 years, young'un.

I've had similar love affairs with old HP calculators, various lady
friends, several businesses, and a 1983 Dodge D50 diesel pickup truck.
All of them lasted about 25 years which seems to be some kind of time
limit for me. Perhaps your relationship with your laser printer will
survive somewhat longer, but I predict you will eventually demand a
divorce. I note that you've already selected a suitable replacement,
which is the first step.

At the rate I'm currently printing, my toner cartridge (purchased in early
2008) will probably last another couple of years (assuming the toner doesn't
start deteriorating). At that point I can think about a new printer. "Well
done, thou good and faithful servant."

Ok, let's do the math. It took you 17 years to print 22,000 pages,
your consumption is approximately 1,300 pages per year. The HP LJ4m
98A carts are good for about 8000 pages (at 5% coverage). At your
present rate of toner consumption, I get a predicted life of about 6
years, of which you've already consumed 2 years. I would expect you
to be shopping for a new printer in late 2013. Please mark your
calendar. I'll remind you as I'm still expecting a commission on the
sale.


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:32:41 -0500, "Michael A. Terrell"
<mike.terrell@earthlink.net> wrote:

William, printers don't use standard RAM. It has to match the
printer.

That's true of later printers. Printer RAM tends to be weird.

However, the HP LJ4 series uses common Fast Page Mode SIMM memory,
that was common on 386, 486, and early Pentium motherboards. EDO
won't work. The maximum for the HP LJ4m is adding three 8MByte SIMM's
as the Postcript module occupies the first slot. The 4M+ will take
16MB SIMM's.

If you have some old RAM floating around, just try it. If you get an
error message, or it doesn't display the correct amount of RAM, try a
different SIMM.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[William Sommerwerck]

Ok, let's do the math. It took you 17 years to print 22,000 pages,
your consumption is approximately 1,300 pages per year. The HP LJ4M
98A carts are good for about 8000 pages (at 5% coverage). At your
present rate of toner consumption, I get a predicted life of about 6
years, of which you've already consumed 2 years. I would expect
you to be shopping for a new printer in late 2013. Please mark your
calendar. I'll remind you as I'm still expecting a commission on the
sale.

I tend to greater than 5% coverage, so it'll likely be sooner. All I know is
that I'll be in the market for a new toner cartridge.