Typophile - HP LaserJets: 1022 vs P2015? - Comments

“Chris, I can send you

dezcom — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:30:01 -0700

“Chris, I can send you samples later if you’d like.”

Thanks, Dan!

ChrisL

Well, thank you everyone for

dan_reynolds — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 07:33:27 -0700

Well, thank you everyone for all your comments! After much looking, I’ve ordered the P2015. If it is good enough for Peter Bruhn, then it is good enough for me, I guess.

I spent a while looking for Ricohs, Xantes and Xeroxes. None of these were carried in stores. I had heard some good things about real PostScript Xeroxes, but online, I could only find a single b/w Xerox Phaser in my price range, and just had PostScript 3 emulation. I could get a big Ricoh, but only if I had it shipped from the US. That would surely take too long, and I’d have to pay import duties as well, which in my experience seem to average about 20% of the cost. I couldn’t find any Xantes in country either.

Since I’m proofing unhinted type, I think that I’ll be allright for now. I’ve had good experiences with the HP 3005, so I have my fingers crossed. Wish me luck!

Chris, I can send you samples later if you’d like.

Yep, the “e.g.” before

k.l. — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:37:57 -0700

Yep, the “e.g.” before “overshoot” was nonsense. The overshoot issue is serious enough for type designers who want to see the overshoot and evaluate whether it is sufficient or not. What bothers me is that type designers who use a HP (one without original Adobe RIP) should need to find out by themselves that the error is not in their drawings.

Btw, I still use a HP printer, my third or fourth, because I like the printing quality.

I knew about HP’s

Thomas Phinney — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:52:09 -0700

I knew about HP’s PostScript clone incorrectly applying overshoot suppression at sizes beyond what it should. Do we actually know anything specific about any other bad hint processing on their part? I certainly don’t.

Although the overshoot processing bug *is* a big one for type designers working with Type 1 or OpenType CFF, it bothers me when a very specific problem starts to be represented as being broader and more nebulous than it is. Then again, maybe Karsten knows something I don’t - certainly possible!

Cheers,

And I though type designers

SuperUltraFabulous — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:45:59 -0700

And I though type designers were rich :op ...

I can dream of selling like

dezcom — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 09:17:40 -0700

I can dream of selling like hotcakes but first I have to get them off of the griddle :-)

ChrisL

Likewise. But when those

Eben Sorkin — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 09:07:13 -0700

Likewise. But when those fonts start selling like hotcakes... nevermind.

Actually, if you are proofing for office use I think the P2015 is not bad at all. ;-)

I would love a 2400 dpi

dezcom — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 08:34:48 -0700

I would love a 2400 dpi Xante but $4000 is more than I can spare.

ChrisL

Thanks Karsten! Now I

Eben Sorkin — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 08:32:59 -0700

Thanks Karsten! Now I don’t have to go & link to the thread where you said that.

Maybe one day I will have a Xante...

:-)

No problem with unhinted

k.l. — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 08:10:04 -0700

No problem with unhinted fonts.

HP’s PS-interpreter applies hints even at resolutions/sizes that don’t need hints. E.g. overshoot is suppressed, so round letters are smaller than they actually are. Not really useful for evaluating type design.
It’s amazing that HP still hasn’t done anything about it — they know about the problem for a couple of years now.

HP uses postscript

pattyfab — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 08:01:21 -0700

HP uses postscript emulation, rather than true postscript. For true postscript I recomment the Ricoh that James mentioned above, or a Xante machine. I have the Ricoh and think it’s a great machine. They also make a smaller version, I can’t remember the exact name.

Hey Eben, I’m curious

andyclymer — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 07:31:08 -0700

Hey Eben, I’m curious about this HP hinting glitch, what exactly happens?

Thanks, Eben! What about

dan_reynolds — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:26:17 -0700

Thanks, Eben! What about unhinted fonts?

I have a P2015 too. The main

Eben Sorkin — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 19:56:00 -0700

I have a P2015 too. The main drawback already - noted else where - is that hinted fonts don’t proof properly with it. It’s some kind of HP rendering engine glitch. I have been meaning to see if they patched it in some kind of firmware update or something for a while! But if you can proof sans hints then you are alright. I really like it’s speed and the quality is good. I compared it against many other new printers looking at actual output last year and I felt it was the best compromise in the price range. Paper has a definite impact on quality. I have had no issues with it in the past year.

I always use very good paper

dezcom — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:42:44 -0700

I always use very good paper and it really helps but 600dpi just doesn’t cut it for type.

ChrisL

HP LaserJets: 1022 vs P2015?

dan_reynolds — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 04:52:42 -0700

Hello everyone… I know that the “what printer should I buy for typeface proofing” question has been done to death over and over on Typophile, so I will try to keep my question really specific.

I’m about to buy a laser printer in Berlin. I’ve narrowed my search down to two possibilities: the HP LaserJet 1022 and the HP LaserJet P2015.

In England, I’ve inherited an 1022, but I don’t have it with me when I am in Germany, and I will be leaving it in Reading (hello Reading MATD class of 2008–2009!) when I relocate back to Germany for good at the end of September. The 1022 is nice, but it doesn’t render outlines 100% perfectly. It is close though.

So I need to buy a printer for the longer haul. I can easily afford another 1022, but the twice-as-expensive P2015 (300 euro vs. 130 euro) looks good as well. I don’t care about printing speed, since I only proof a few pages at a time. Both printers print 1200 x 1200 dpi. But if I can get better (really) outline rendition on 12 point type, the price increase of the P2015 would be worth it, I think.

Does anyone here use the P2015? Would you recommend it? Thanks!

P.S.: At Linotype, I used a P3005, which I just love, love, love! If I can find one in my price range, I’d probably buy it instead. But this isn’t really my question.