PostScript
PostScript (PS) is a page description language and dynamically typed, stack-based programming language. It is most commonly used in the electronic publishing and desktop publishing realm, but as a Turing complete programming language, it c ...
laser printer
Laser printing is an electrostatic digital printing process. It produces high-quality text and graphics (and moderate-quality photographs) by repeatedly passing a laser beam back and forth over a Electric charge, negatively charged cylinder call ...
, sold by
NeXT
NeXT, Inc. (later NeXT Computer, Inc. and NeXT Software, Inc.) was an American technology company headquartered in Redwood City, California that specialized in computer workstations for higher education and business markets, and later develope ...
from late to for the
NeXTstation
NeXTstation is a high-end workstation computer developed, manufactured, and sold by NeXT from 1990 until 1993. It runs the NeXTSTEP operating system. The system was designed to be a lower-cost option compared to the company's upscale product, t ...
and
NeXTcube
The NeXTcube is a high-end workstation computer developed, manufactured, and sold by NeXT from 1990 to 1993. It superseded the original NeXT Computer workstation and is housed in a similar cube-shaped magnesium enclosure, designed by frog design ...
workstation
A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or computational science, scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by a single user, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating syste ...
s and manufactured by
Canon Inc.
Canon Inc. (; Hepburn: ) is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, specializing in optical, imaging, and industrial products, such as lenses, cameras, medical equipment, scanners, printers, and semiconductor manu ...
News: Software Makers Pledge Support for Next Machine By Rachel Parker and Martin Marshall, InfoWorld, 3 Apr 1989, Page 5, ''...The 400-dpi Next laser printer will sell for $3,495....'' It included an adjustable paper tray, which enabled it to print on several paper sizes including A4, letter-size, and those of legal and envelope varieties. It was very similar to other printers based on the Canon SX engine, such as the Apple LaserWriter II series and HP LaserJet II/III, although those other printers only printed at 300x300 dpi. Some parts (such as the toner cartridge and input paper tray) are interchangeable with the LaserJet II/III.
The printer used a proprietary high-speed serial interface, and was in essence a predecessor of the software-rendering approach, as it used the DisplayPostscript renderer in NeXTStep rather than a hardware PostScript renderer. Regardless of the lack of dedicated rendering hardware, it usually achieved close to its rated speed of 8 ppm, as the NeXTStation had a much faster CPU (25 or 33MHz 68040) and greater memory capacity (up to 128 MB in Turbo models) than the rendering engines of contemporary printers. Because NeXTStep used DisplayPostscript extensively in its windowing system, the PostScript rendering path was optimized; thus, printed documents had a true output
WYSIWYG
In computing, WYSIWYG ( ), an acronym for what you see is what you get, refers to software that allows content to be edited in a form that resembles its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product, such as a printed document, web ...
corresponding to the screen.
NeXT also produced a color inkjet printer, the SCSI-I-connected, Tabloid-capable, 360 DPI Color
Bubblejet
Inkjet printing is a type of computer printing that recreates a digital image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper or plastic substrates. Inkjet printers were the most commonly used type of printer in 2008, and range from small inexpensiv ...