Inkjet Printers and Memory [Archive] - HP Deals, Computer Coupons And Bargains

johnnymk

11-08-2002, 04:34 AM

Yesterday, I downloaded a 1.7 MB pdf file and it really screwed everything up when I went to print it (96 pages). After about 10 pages, I was getting all sorts of errors, one being that there was insufficient memory, close applications, blah, blah, blah.
It also seemed to corrupt the drivers for my HP printer, although that could have been coincidental.
At work, we had old HP laser printers with memory inside them. You could spool a hundred pages or more to the printer with no problem.
To be safe, after I reinstalled the drivers, I decided to only print 4-5 pages at a time. (FYI, I have 128 MB memory)
What's the story with memory and inkjet printers?

caribiner23

11-08-2002, 07:13 AM

Ever since the manufacturers started cheaping out on printers, this problem has become critical. You can buy an inkjet printer for under $30, but forget doing anything serious on it.

They pretty much stopped putting memory in lower-end printers, relying on the computer to buffer everything. The problem, as Johnny points out, is that things can get munged up this way.

The only printers I've seen lately with any kind of expandable memory are laser printers.

I have an HP DeskJet 1600c that has memory and JetDirect expansion, but HP stopped making this model a few years ago. I am not looking forward to the day when mine dies. Here's one for sale by a guy I don't know. (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2068704571)

In the old days of dot-matrix (and "line") printers, we had printer buffers. These were essentially memory boxes that you'd connect between your parallel port and the printer that would spoon-feed the data to the printer. This enabled you to go on to something constructive, like writing your next inventory system in QBasic.

My first job out of school was for a company that sold these things and devices like it. The company is no longer around (well, the name is around, but the company was bought out long ago), and I haven't seen a printer buffer in years. Maybe it's time to put together a business case. :)