The Computer Chronicles - Low Cost Laser Printers (1990)

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[@captainkeyboard1007]

I have been using a Canon color laser printer since 2002. It gives me satisfactory results that can almost resemble to typeset quality. As a keyboard specialist, I print a variety of business documents and files right in the privacy of my home. I enjoy these shows because I enjoy watching people use microcomputers and peripherals, even though I use them myself.

[@beakt]

0:00 I loved software that came in big colorful boxes, with several books describing everything that can be done, and the registration card.

[@sjn7220]

"Had to get the girl to type it up" ah the good old days.

[@RetroFett]

Gary Kildall's presence was sorely missed RIP

[@JJVernig]

That 2P was a nice workhorse. It wasn't fast (4 pages a minute and had no powermanagement) but it worked. With the standard amount of RAM you couldn't print a complete graphics page, but if it was half text and half image you we're good to go. Problem was that later in time most software just made every print as graphics. The sound 19:56 brought back some memories. That was minute waittime over, now it's going. And of course the smell of ozone...

[@bloqk16]

I had a 2P dating back to the 1990s. Living in a dry climate it was much better than the inkjet printers. It was remarkably compatible with succeeding OSs, until the apps in Windows 7 overwhelmed it. But by that time the laserjet printers were selling for under $300 when on special by retailers. That replacement laserjet has lasted me over a decade.

[@notanfningain]

How I dreamed of owning a Laser Printer.

[@jozefbania]

used samsung for 30$ - 40 pages per minute, prints or both sides without user interaction , 1200 dpi, 128mb

[@beakt]

3:17 Diane Fairbanks of Hayward, Calif. It appears she's 78 years old now and lives in St. Louis. 3:32 Denton C. John of Portage, Utah. I can't find any record of him being an M.D., let alone any kind of doctor. 21:17 Both the marketing company and their client were fictitious, immediately given away with the 555 prefixes in the phone numbers. Also reference to a geodesic domed shower stall!

[@beakt]

12:00 Interesting. In 1990, no one had Internet. If you had WordPerfect for MS-DOS, and used the Canon drivers for WordPerfect to print to the Canon printer, then you bought a major version upgrade for WordPerfect, the Canon drivers might not work anymore. So naturally the host asked if there would be updates available. In her answer, she seemed to say "We put them on a list and automatically upgrade them." I wonder what exactly that means. Maybe when you register your printer they'll have your address and then send you a postcard? Or mail the discs?

[@8BitNaptime]

BBS, CompuServe...

[@CanadianHitman08]

True!

[@HikikomoriDev]

18:51 holy cow!

[@Alpha8713]

Good show. I am thinking about upgrading from dot-matrix. $1500 for 4ppm sounds like a deal. Where I can get that HP Laserjet 2P?

[@RonJohn63]

You joke, but I remember how tiny and inexpensive the LJ 2P was compared to the original, very huge, very expensive -- HP LJ.

[@bloqk16]

The 2P was selling for under $1K by 1994, as I bought one back then.

[@datanoster]

some extra fonts $1000 lol

[@beakt]

It seems the NEC mainframe mentioned in the news segment at the end was the ACOS System 3800. I can't find how many were sold. Anyone know?

[@albear972]

7:30 that has to be the tackiest looking thing ever printed on a laser printer ever.

[@jkadoodle]

What is the last episode which had Gary kildall as co-host/guest?

[@megabojan1993]

+jkadoodle "The Computer Chronicles - High Tech France Part 2" was the last episode in which Gary Kildall was a co-host.

[@TestTubeBabySpy]

wow, the price of toner is insane now, but computers are cheaper, thats odd

[@werkis2]

Lol ink for ink jet is most expensive substance even more expensive than gold or human blood ! I have hacked (monochrome) laser printers so i refill toners, good for 10x but than i sacrifice quality.

[@CanadianHitman08]

Low Cost Laser Printers in 1990's = About $1,000.00 Low Cost Laser Printers in 2012 = Less then $80.00 LMAO!

[@Moon___man]

Low cost laser printer in 2020, $100... we're going in the wrong direction

[@RonJohn63]

@@Moon___man he confused Laser with Ink Jet. (Laser printers are a bit more expensive, but there's no *insanely expensive* ink to dry out when you don't use it for a few months.)

[@ghost-user559]

@@RonJohn63 No he’s right unfortunately. I was on a forum the other day and they were saying the toner for their Brother laser printer was 30$ a cartridge. You can spend 45$ to 80$ if you buy the branded cartridges now. Inflation I guess?

[@RonJohn63]

​@@ghost-user559 toner (a powder) does not -- cannot -- dry out like ink. (I've had a Brother laser printer for 3 years. It still works fine on the original toner cartridges.) Thus, it's _much_ cheaper, since home users print so much less than they used to.

[@ghost-user559]

@@RonJohn63 I agree. But the costs have still gone up. They add like a hundred dollars to the purchase price for that “starter cartridge. I have also read many threads of unused cartridges that “stop working” after a firmware update where it appears Brother has been up to some shady doings by invalidating third party replacements. I have heard this isn’t an issue with older models.

[@DJKinney]

Calling something a "laser" printer when it is something else is illegal and gross.

[@8BitNaptime]

Often the fine print calls it "laser-class"

[@lastofusclips5291]

someone in my local craigslist was giving away a laserjet printer the other day

[@misterkrad]

I didn’t like dr johns explanation of cga vs ega vs vga

[@jaridcool]

i bought my laser printer for 178$ I think it prints at 15-20 pages a minute :-)

[@elgeneralxx]

wow you really need to poop those big old grandma pants

[@okaro6595]

I paid 50 €.

[@dallase1]

Charging for letters how evil! almost one thousand bucks for Fonts a fancy name for letters. I remember printers that had the demo page it would print that listed all the built in fonts, now I don't think printers have built in fonts because the OS contains all the fonts. What is the benefit of fonts? Letters are letters, there is no maintenance or production fees for fonts.

[@oldtwinsna8347]

The font market was something Bill Gates personally hated with a passion and would drum up his support of Truetype fonts to quash the font market out of existence. It worked.

[@misterkrad]

Oh yeah. Just go ahead and throw away that toner cartridge No one will care

[@elgeneralxx]

that man with Stewart cheifet was shot and killed during another attempted robbery. top cops

[@elgeneralxx]

WHO JAMMED UP THE PRINTER AGAIN??