European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 28, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Home front Light makes write laser printers for the Home Jerry Kidder l ast month we started looking at printers and briefly discussed Dot matrix printers and Printer Drivers. As mentioned then there Are Many Pitfalls when dealing with printers. My first mistake when i bought my first Commodore 64 was to Purchase a Thermal Printer which also doubled As a typewriter. This combination is still available but the shortcomings should be recognized. Thermal printing requires that the heated pins in the print head strike the chemically treated paper causing a series of dots that make up the character. Of you say that a what All printers do. The trouble is that the Thermal paper costs More it yellows with age and its crinkly. Some Thermal printers will also accept Normal paper when a ribbon is inserted. However my experience was that the ribbon was a film Type ribbon that would Transfer the Ink from the ribbon to the paper when struck but could Only be used one time and in my Case would print Only about six pages. It was not a very satisfactory solution for my needs. So i started looking at laser printers the Cadillac or Mercedes if you prefer of printers. Until recently the Price of this Type Printer was too Steep for the Normal computer user. The Exchange system offers one Model for less than $1,000 and some mail order companies arc even lower. The laser Printer used in Normal Home use puts 300 dots per Inch onto paper. A laser beam is turned off and on and strikes a Light sensitive drum. The drum turns through a Toner and the Toner Sticks to the area of the drum that was struck by the Light beam. The drum continues turning paper is fed under the rotating drum and the Toner is transferred to computers the paper. The paper then is pressed against a heated roller that bakes the Toner onto the paper. Simple Isnit it for commercial use and the Home user with the big Check boo there Are laser printers that Range from 300 dots per Inch to More than 3,000. The laser Printer output is expressed in pages per minute As opposed to the Dot matrix rating of characters per second. The Page per minute rating is easier for me to understand. The Normal laser Printer will have a Speed of about six pages per minute. One specification that is also sometimes Given is the time it takes for the first Page to print after it is received from the computer. Again be careful when buying a laser Printer if you arc going to use it with programs you already own. Make sure that you have a Printer Driver in your program that will produce the product on paper you want to Sec. Another thing to consider when buying a laser Printer is the cast of the Toner Cartridge that replaces the ribbon of the Dot matrix Printer. Most lower priced laser printers contain a Cartridge that has the Light sensitive drum and Toner in one unit. The life of the Toner Cartridge is expressed in printed pages. The loner Cartridge is not cheap but the Price can be reduced by having the Cartridge recharged this process can be repeated More than once on some cartridges. There arc of course other types of printers. The Ink Jet Printer produces High Quality print by squirting Ink through a Jet therefore the name onto the paper. By using several Ink containers Quality color printing can be produced. This Type of Printer has not received a High level of acceptance because of technical problems and the Price but is an alternative to be considered. Again make sure that your program will be Able to print with such a contraption the it tar Quality Printer has been around for a Long time. It uses a Type wheel also called a Daisy wheel and a Small Hammer like device that is activated when the required character is rotated into position. The Hammer strikes the character which strikes the ribbon which strikes the paper. Voila a letter is produced. This Type Printer produces High Quality documents but is slow because of the mechanical operations and quite often is noisier than other types of printers. This wraps up the Printer portion of our trip through the world of computers. Next time to will Start to bring a Little sanity into the operation of computers beginning with Dos. Jerry Kidder is a computer technician at the stars and  should Start with manual camera Carl Kramer Washington Post c i my son has enrolled in a photography course. His teacher says that he has to have a fully manual camera with of stops and shutter Speed control. Can you Tell me if fully manual cameras Are still made Isnit this concept a throwback a. / \ i fully manual cameras do still exist. I have just discussed this subject with several retailers and have two choices the Pentax k-1000 and the Rich kr5 Sumerll. The k-1000 has been around for years and has proved itself to be a great beginners single Lens reflex. The Rich Sumerll is a newer Model and extremely easy to use. Rich cameras Are also built to last. I do agree that a beginner should Start with a manual camera. If a student is serious about pursuing photography he has to learn the basics first. He has to see that when you open the aperture you need to increase your shutter Speed. Until All of the nuances of exposure Are studied and Learned there will be less Opportunity for creativity. I i have a single Lens reflex camera with a 35-70mm zoom. I keep an ultraviolet filter on the Lens at All times. My problem is that i keep misplacing my Lens Cap. What can i do a / \ i there Are a couple of ways to attach your Lens Cap to the camera Drill a tiny Hole in the Center of your Cap insert some heavy duty fishing line into it tie a knot so it wont slip Back through and cover the knot with some Clear epoxy. Leave about 3 inches of line and tie it into the strap ring of your camera. Another Way is to pick up some velcro strips at the hardware store. Place a strip on the inside top of your camera bag and a Matching piece in the Back of your Lens Cap. When you remove the Cap just press it onto the strip in the bag. There is a commercial product called fast Cap that i like. It screws onto your Lens and when you want to take a picture the Lens cover flips up out of the Way. It snaps Back Down again when you re done. Its very effective and Only costs about $7. I i recently purchased several Rolls of fun Nichrome film with processing included from a company that advertises in a photography Magazine. Imagine my Surprise to find that they had to be sent to Diss Oldorf Germany for processing. I sent one Roll and found it to be completely unsatisfactory. Are there any Fuji processing labs in the United states and would they process my film with the Disseldorf envelope if 1 re addressed it a. / \ i there Are Fuji processing labs in Ameri Ca but they will not take that Diss Oldorf processing envelope. You have been dealing with what is called the a Gray  its not illegal but causes problems. A film supplier can buy film at a great Price by watching the International financial exchanges and moving on the Best Exchange rate. The manufacturer can to be held responsible for the handling or shipping of this material or the conditions under which its stored. In fact they wont be held responsible for anything to do with it. October 28,1990 sunday to plus c Page