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La '''LaserWriter''' è stata una [[stampante laser]] che utilizzava come [[linguaggio di descrizione di pagina]] il [[PostScript]] immessa sul mercato dalla [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] nel [[1985]]. È stata una delle prime stampanti laser disponibili sul mercato. Assieme al programma [[Adobe PageMaker|PageMaker]], la LaserWriter ha avuto un ruolo fondamentale nell'avvio della rivoluzione del [[desktop publishing]]. La stampante era progettata per essere utilizzata in congiunzione con un Macintosh; Apple non ha mai rilasciato driver per altri computer.<ref name="tucker">{{en}}H. A. Tucker: ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=YlmafkntEqIC&pg=PA296 Desktop Publishing.]'' In: Maurice M. de Ruiter: ''Advances in Computer Graphics III.'' Springer, 1988, ISBN 3-540-18788-X, P. 296.</ref><ref name="spring">{{en}}Michael B. Spring: ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=_MV46vFUrI4C&pg=PA46 Electronic printing and publishing: the document processing revolution.]'' CRC Press, 1991, ISBN 0-8247-8544-4, Page 46.</ref>. La stampante era progettata per essere utilizzata in congiunzione con un Macintosh; Apple non ha mai rilasciato driver per altri computer.
==Storia==
===Sviluppo della stampa laser===
Laser printing traces its history to efforts by [[Gary Starkweather]] at [[Xerox]] in 1969, which resulted in a commercial system called the Xerox 9700. [[IBM]] followed this with the [[IBM 3800]] system in 1976. Both machines were large, room-filling devices handling the combined output of many users.<ref name=e>Benji Edwards: ''[http://www.macworld.com/article/144880/2009/12/five_important_printers.html Apple's Five Most Important Printers.]'' macworld.com, December 10, 2009.</ref> During the mid-1970s, [[Canon (company)|Canon]] started working on similar machines, and partnered with [[Hewlett-Packard]] to produce 1980's HP 2680, which filled only part of a room.<ref name=j>Jim Hall, [http://www.hparchive.com/seminar_notes/HP_LaserJet_The%20Early%20History_by_Jim_Hall_110512.pdf "HP LaserJet – The Early History"]</ref> Other copier companies also started development of similar systems.
L'inizio dello sviluppo della stampa laser risale al [[1969]] ed al lavoro di [[Gary Starkweather]] alla [[Xerox]], che portò alla produzione della Xerox 9700 nel [[1977]]<ref>{{en}}{{cita web|http://www.digibarn.com/collections/printers/xerox-9700/stories.html|Personal Recollections of the Xerox 9700 Electronic Printing System|30-05-2013}}</ref>. Parallelamente, l'[[IBM]] portò avanti la ricerca nel settore, arrivando nel [[1976]] all'elaborazione del sistema IBM 3800<ref name=e>{{en}}Benji Edwards: ''[http://www.macworld.com/article/144880/2009/12/five_important_printers.htmlApple's Five Most Important Printers.]'' macworld.com, December 10, 2009.</ref>.
HP introduced their first desktop model with a Ricoh engine for $12,800 in 1983. Sales of the non-networked product were unsurprisingly poor.<ref name=j/> In 1983 [[Canon (company)|Canon]] introduced the LBP-CX, a desktop laser printer engine using a [[laser diode]] and featuring an output resolution of 300 dpi.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/reference/pcr/engine/1311 |title=Canon LBP-CX Engine |publisher=fixyourownprinter.com |date= |accessdate=2009-09-23}}</ref> In 1984, HP released the first commercially available system based on the LBP-CX, the [[HP LaserJet]].<ref name=e/>
Intorno alla metà degli [[anni 70]] anche la Canon cominciò ad investire sulla produzione di stampanti laser, avviando una partnership con la [[Hewlett-Packard]]; così, dieci anni dopo, fu prodotta la HP 2680<ref name=j>{{en}}Jim Hall,[http://www.hparchive.com/seminar_notes/HP_LaserJet_The%20Early%20History_by_Jim_Hall_110512.pdf "HP LaserJet – The Early History"]</ref>. Il primo modello desktop di stampante laser fu introdotto dalla HP nel 1983 e lanciato sul mercato al prezzo di 12800 [[$]], ma le vendite furono pochissime<ref name=j/>. Sempre nel [[1983]] la [[Canon]] mise a punto la LPB-CX, una stampante laser dotata di un [[diodo laser]] che stampava con una risoluzione di 300dpi<ref>{{en}}{{cite web|url=http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/reference/pcr/engine/1311 |title=Canon LBP-CX Engine |publisher=fixyourownprinter.com |date= |accessdate=2009-09-23}}</ref>. Nel [[1984]] la HP lanciò sul mercato la prima stampante laser commerciale basata sulla LBP-CX: la [[HP LaserJet]]<ref name=e />.
===Lo sviluppo in casa Apple===
Steve Jobs had seen the LPB-CX while negotiating for supplies of 3.5" floppy disk drives for the upcoming [[Apple Macintosh]] computer. Meanwhile, [[John Warnock]] had left Xerox to found [[Adobe Systems]] in order to commercialize [[PostScript]] in a laser printer they intended to market. Jobs was aware of Warnock's efforts, and on his return to California he started working on convincing Warnock to allow Apple to license PostScript for a new printer that Apple would sell. Negotiations between Apple and Adobe over the use of Postscript began in 1983 and an agreement was reached in December 1983, one month before Macintosh was announced.<ref name="pfiff-2003" /> Jobs eventually arranged for Apple to buy $2.5 million in Adobe stock.
Steve Jobs vide la LPB-CX mentre trattava per delle forniture di [[floppy disk]] da 3.5" per l'[[Apple Macintosh]]. Nel frattempo [[John Warnock]] aveva lasciato la [[Xerox]] per fondare la [[Adobe (azienda)|Adobe]] e mettere in commercio una stampante laser basata sul [[PostScript]]. Jobs era al corrente del lavoro di Warnock e riuscì a trattare con lui ed ottenere la licenza d'uso del [[PostScript]] dalla [[Adobe]] per produrre una stampante laser in casa Apple. Le trattative tra Apple ed Adobe si conclusero nel [[dicembre]] [[1983]], appena un mese prima che venisse annunciata l'uscita del [[Macintosh]]. Steve Jobs alla fine fece comprare alla Apple 2.5 milioni di [[dollaro|dollari]] di azioni della [[Adobe]].
At about the same time, Jonathan Seybold ([[John W. Seybold|John W]]'s son) introduced [[Paul Brainerd]] to Apple, where he learned of Apple's laser printer efforts and saw the potential for a new program using the Mac's [[GUI]] to produce PostScript output for the new printer. Arranging his own funding through a [[venture capital]] firm, Brainerd formed [[Aldus]] and began development of what would become [[Adobe PageMaker|PageMaker]]. The VC coined the term "desktop publishing" during this time.<ref>David Wilma, [http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=7657 "Brainerd, Paul (b. 1947)"], HistoryLink, 22 February 2006</ref>
===Rilascio===
The LaserWriter was announced at Apple's annual shareholder meeting on January 23, 1985,<ref name="bart-1985">Jim Bartimo, Michael McCarthy: [http://books.google.com/books?id=7S4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15 "Is Apple's LaserWriter on Target?"], ''InfoWorld'', Volume 7 Issue 6 (11 February 1985), pp. 15-18.</ref> the same day Aldus announced PageMaker.<ref>''Aldus Announces Desktop Publishing System ...'' BusinessWire, January 23, 1985.</ref> Shipments began in March 1985<ref>[http://www.macworld.co.uk/mac/news/index.cfm?newsid=24596 Macintosh Timeline]</ref> at the retail price of US$ 6,995, significantly more than the HP model. However, the LaserWriter featured [[AppleTalk]] support that allowed the printer to be shared among as many as sixteen Macs, meaning that its per-user price could fall to under $450, far less expensive than HP's less-advanced model.
Il rilascio della LaserWriter fu annunciato all'incontro annuale degli azionisti Apple il [[23 gennaio]] [[1985]]<ref name="bart-1985">{{en}}Jim Bartimo, Michael McCarthy:[http://books.google.com/books?id=7S4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15 "Is Apple's LaserWriter on Target?"], ''InfoWorld'', Volume 7 Issue 6 (11 February 1985), pp. 15-18.</ref>, lo stesso giorno in cui Aldus rivelò [[PageMaker]]<ref>{{en}}''Aldus Announces Desktop Publishing System ...'' BusinessWire, January 23, 1985.</ref>.
The combination of the LaserWriter, PostScript, PageMaker and the Mac's GUI and built-in AppleTalk networking would ultimately transform the landscape of computer desktop publishing.<ref name="pfiff-2003">Pamela Pfiffner: ''Inside the Publishing Revolution. The Adobe Story.'' Adobe Press, 2003. ISBN 0-321-11564-3. Chapter ''Steve Jobs and the LaserWriter.'' Pages 33-46. A PDF of the chapter is available at {{cite web|url=http://www.creativepro.com/article/inside-publishing-revolution-how-laserwriter-and-photoshop-changed-world |title=Inside the Publishing Revolution|publisher=CreativePro.com |date=2002-12-03 |accessdate=2009-09-23}}</ref> At the time, Apple planned to release a suite of AppleTalk products as part of the [[Macintosh Office]], with the LaserWriter being only the first component.<ref name="linz-1985">{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=mXnw5tM8QRwC&pg=PA143
|author=Owen W. Linzmayer
|title=Apple Confidential 2.0
|publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2009-09-23
|ISBN= 978-1-59327-010-0}} Chapter ''Why 1984 Wasn't like 1984.'' Pages 143-146.</ref>
Le vendite iniziarono nel [[marzo]] [[1985]]<ref>[http://www.macworld.co.uk/mac/news/index.cfm?newsid=24596 Macintosh Timeline]</ref> al prezzo di 6.995 [[dollaro|dollari]], molto più alto rispetto al modello della [[HP]]. Comunque, la LaserWriter aveva una peculiarità: il supporto [[AppleTalk]], che permetteva di condividere la stampante con ben sedici Mac.
While competing printers and their associated control languages offered some of the capabilities of PostScript, they were limited in their ability to reproduce free-form layouts (as a desktop publishing application might produce), use [[Computer_font#Outline_fonts|outline fonts]], or offer the level of detail and control over the page layout. HP's own LaserJet was driven by a simple [[page description language]] running on the host computer, known as [[Printer Command Language]], or PCL. The version for the LaserJet, PCL4, was adapted from earlier [[inkjet printer]]s with the addition of downloadable bitmapped fonts.<ref name=j/> It lacked the power and flexibility of PostScript until several upgrades provided some level of parity.<ref>[http://www.csgnetwork.com/hppclhist.html "HP's History Of Printer Command Language (PCL)"], HP</ref> It was some time before similar products became available on other platforms, by which time the Mac had ridden the desktop publishing market to success.
==Caratteristiche==
==Modelli==
{{See also|List of Apple printers#Laser printer series}}
Building on the success of the original LaserWriter, Apple developed many further models. Later LaserWriters offered faster printing, higher [[dots per inch|resolution]]s, [[Ethernet]] connectivity, and eventually color output in the [[Color LaserWriter]]. To compete, many other laser printer manufacturers licensed Adobe PostScript for inclusion into their own models. Eventually the standardization on Ethernet for connectivity and the ubiquity of PostScript undermined the unique position of Apple’s printers: Macintosh computers functioned equally well with any Postscript printer. After the LaserWriter 8500, Apple discontinued the LaserWriter product line in 1997.
La prima LaserWriter prodotta ebbe un notevole successo e così la Apple decide di produrne nuovi modelli, con risoluzione maggiore ed addirittura in grado di stampare a colori.
In 1988, to address the need for both an affordable printer and a professional printer, the LaserWriter II was designed to allow for complete replacement of the computer circuit board that operates the printer. Across all the different models, the print engine was the same.
* For low-end users, there was the LaserWriter II SC,<ref>http://support.apple.com/kb/SP474</ref> a host-based [[QuickDraw]] printer connected via SCSI that did not use PostScript and did not require a license from Adobe. It had two SCSI ports to allow [[Daisy chain (electrical engineering)|daisy-chaining]] of the printer with other SCSI devices such as hard drives. It did not support AppleTalk.
* For midrange users, the LaserWriter II NT<ref>http://support.apple.com/kb/SP475</ref> provided PostScript support and AppleTalk networking.
* For high-end users, the LaserWriter II NTX<ref>http://support.apple.com/kb/SP476</ref> also included a SCSI controller for storage of printer fonts on a hard drive dedicated for use by the printer.
Nel [[1988]] uscirono nuovi modelli di LaserWriter:
Three years later in 1991, two updated versions of the LaserWriter II were produced.
* Laser Writer II SC: sviluppata per essere più economica dei precedenti modelli. Significativo infatti è l'abbandono dell'interprete [[PostScript]] per l'interprete [[QuickDraw]] che essendo di proprietà Apple non richiedeva il pagamento di licenze ;
* The LaserWriter IIf<ref>http://support.apple.com/kb/SP477</ref> had a faster processor than the IINTX, a newer version of PostScript and also HP PCL, and included the SCSI interface for font storage on an external hard drive
* LaserWriter II NT: il processore scelto è il [[Motorola 68030]], l'interprete [[PostScript]] passa alla versione 2 e viene incluso l'interprete PCL 4+ per facilitare l'interoperabilità con le macchine non [[Macintosh]];
* The LaserWriter IIg<ref>http://support.apple.com/kb/SP478</ref> had the capabilities of the IIf, and was also the first LaserWriter with a built-in Ethernet network interface.
* LaserWriter II NTX: dotata di un processore a 32 bit come il[[Motorola 68020]] in modo da poter elaborare più agevolmente i comandi degli interpreti [[PostScript]] e LaserJet forniti con la stampante;
* LaserWriter IIg: è dotata del più veloce processore disponibile allora ([[1991]]), dei migliori interpreti di pagina ef è il modello che supporta più RAM, 32 MByte al massimo della espansione.;
▲===* LaserWriter II ===IIf.
== Note ==
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