A BYTE SHORT TAKE: QMSWriter PM10
 
QMS Brings Presentation Manager to Paper
 
Microbytes Daily News Service
Copyright (c) 1989, McGraw-Hill, Inc.
One of the biggest problems with OS/2's eye-popping Presentation
Manager (PM) is that it's been a GUI that was all dressed up with
no place to go. Just try to translate all those spiffy colors and
multitudinous fonts that you see on the screen to paper. WYSIWYG
it ain't.
 
But QMS has taken a giant leap in bringing the possibilities of
PM to paper with their QMSWriter PM10, a full-color thermal
printer that interfaces directly with OS/2's GPI (Graphical
Programming Interface) layer. The GPI, which is responsible for
the "look and feel" of PM and its applications, is a complex and
powerful part of OS/2. Other printers can't communicate directly
with the GPI and require an intermediary printer driver. But
developers have found to their chagrin that writing full-featured
printer drivers for OS/2 is what's politely termed a
"non-trivial" undertaking.
 
Of course, connecting a printer directly to the GPI requires an
abundance of processing power. The PM10 comes with its own custom
add-in card (either AT bus or Microchannel) that uses Texas
Instrument's powerful TMS34010 graphics processor running at
60 MHz. There's also a very-hefty 7 megabytes of RAM on the board
for preparing images for the print engine.
 
Setting up the PM10 is easy; however, for those of us used to
traditional toner cartridges or printer ribbons, loading the huge
rolls of wax-based ink film is an unfamiliar, but far from
difficult process. And there's no mess either; the ink can only
melt from the extreme heat used by the thermal printing head.
 
I found installing the software easy too; although I had to
"fool" OS/2 by associating the PM10 with an unused printer port.
Once in a PM application, it takes about a minute for the PM10 to
print a page. And although that sounds like a long time, the
printer starts to work almost immediately. With all that on-board
processing power (and no intermediate driver), there are none of
the pre-print pauses that I've come to expect when working with
graphics images using laser printers.
 
If you think that thermal printers mean low-quality images, the
PM10 is a big surprise. With its 300 dpi resolution and color
capabilities, images produced by the PM10 almost literally jump
off the paper. Admittedly, the specially coated heavy glossy
paper that you need for the PM10 adds a touch of class. But the
high-resolution color is the kicker.
 
The pre-release software that came with the unit I tested was a
bit limited in its capabilities. But by the time you read this,
QMS says it will be shipping the final version, which will
include 35 built-in fonts. And of course more and more developers
will be including direct GPI printer capabilities in their
applications. And for more mundane printing jobs, the PM10 will
also include standard HP LaserJet and PostScript emulators.
 
With a budget-busting price tag of $9995, the PM10 certainly
isn't for everyone. And the expendables (special paper and ink
film) aren't inexpensive either. It's obviously a natural for
serious graphics arts and presentation applications. The printer
can also use special transparency film for overhead projection
slides that are sure to impress. And using black ink film and the
transparency sheets, the PM10 (along with special software) can
even produce 4-color separations for color printing.
 
The PM10 is another step in making OS/2 and its still increasing
repertoire of applications truly useful tools with real
advantages over the routine world of DOS. And if ten grand is out
of your ballpark, QMS says they'll ship a black-and-white only
version of the printer this spring. It's expected to sell for
about $5000.
 
 
The Facts:
 
SmartWriter PM10
$9995.
 
Requirements:
IBM PC AT, PS/2, or compatible running OS/2 1.1 or above
 
QMS, Inc.
1 Magnum Pass
P.O. Box 81250
Mobile, AL 36689-1250
(205) 633-4300
 
                              --- Stan Miastkowski
 
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