How much RAM ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Alain191
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A

Alain191

Hello,

I seek a rule to determine the quantity of RAM which is
necessary to install in a laser printer to print my documents, where can
I find that ?

Alain
 
I'm assuming this is a black and white printer. You need to determine
the resolution of the printer and the size of the document, for
starters. A 300 dpi printer needs a lot less memory than a 600 or 800 or
1200 dpi printer.

But that still won't necessarily supply you with the numbers you need.
Other issues are if fonts are held in memory of the printer, if the
printer uses postscript, if you wish more than one document to be held
in memory of the printer, and so on.

Further, some types of printers have drivers developed for them which
compress the image raster before it is downloaded to them printer, which
can reduce the amount of memory within the printer.

Art
 
Arthur Entlich said:
I'm assuming this is a black and white printer. You need to determine
the resolution of the printer and the size of the document, for
starters. A 300 dpi printer needs a lot less memory than a 600 or 800 or
1200 dpi printer.

But that still won't necessarily supply you with the numbers you need.
Other issues are if fonts are held in memory of the printer, if the
printer uses postscript, if you wish more than one document to be held
in memory of the printer, and so on.

Further, some types of printers have drivers developed for them which
compress the image raster before it is downloaded to them printer, which
can reduce the amount of memory within the printer.
Click to expand...

Thank you, my need is to print one picture, at 1200dpi with a post
script monochrome A4 printer (IBM3116), do I need more than 16Mo ?

Is it useful to put in it 32Mo ?

Alain
 
Alain191 said:
Thank you, my need is to print one picture, at 1200dpi with a post
script monochrome A4 printer (IBM3116), do I need more than 16Mo ?
Click to expand...

Without adta on what "1200dpi" means in actual print data (there is _no_
standard way of specifying this), it's impossible to say just how large
the image file may be.
Is it useful to put in it 32Mo ?
Click to expand...

Possibly. Depends onn whether the printer hiccups while printing a large
file - if that botehrs you, put in more RAM (it doesn't bother me.:-))
Alain
Click to expand...

The printer is actually a small computer. Any computer will run faster
if it has more RAM, up to a surprisngly low limit in the case of the
printer. NB that printing is very slow compared to data transfer, so
that your printer actually receives data much faster than it can print
it, hence RAM to store print data. It is usually useful to have lots of
RAM in a networked printer, so that it can receive (and print) all of a
given print job before accepting the next, but just how useful the extra
RAM may be has more to do with the server software than with the amount
of RAM in the printer.

In your situation, if you have no network, your computer's spooling
capability together with the printer driver will handle the print-data
storage and transfer tasks, so extra RAM will make little if any
difference. You might notice occasional pauses in printing if you are
running several other programs while printing, so if that bothers you,
get more RAM - as much as you can afford.
 
If my internal "biological" memory is working correctly, in the most
simplified method of figuring out the memory required for a black and
white bitmapped image 8.5" x 11" (which is slightly larger then you
would be doing) at 1200 dots per inch would require 1 bit per dot, in
the raster (being either on (black) or off (white). Laser printers,
like inkjet printers don't create "shades" for each dot. It can only be
one pure color (in the case of a monochrome laser printer, either black
or not black (white). By making a pattern of dots within an area the
perception of shades of gray can be created.

Anyway, assuming no compression on the way to the printer, or within the
printer raster development, the above scenario requires just about 13
megs of memory. PostScript can reduce the size, depending upon the
implementation and contact of the image.

Now, that's just to retain the full rasterized image in memory. The
printer may require more memory for other needs within it, which I can't
know about. If you plan to print more than one image, having double the
memory may allow for one image to be downloading to the printer while
another is being rasterized or printed.

Art
 
Arthur said:
If my internal "biological" memory is working correctly, in the most
simplified method of figuring out the memory required for a black and
white bitmapped image 8.5" x 11" (which is slightly larger then you
would be doing) at 1200 dots per inch would require 1 bit per dot, in
the raster (being either on (black) or off (white). Laser printers,
like inkjet printers don't create "shades" for each dot. It can only be
one pure color (in the case of a monochrome laser printer, either black
or not black (white). By making a pattern of dots within an area the
perception of shades of gray can be created.

Anyway, assuming no compression on the way to the printer, or within the
printer raster development, the above scenario requires just about 13
megs of memory. PostScript can reduce the size, depending upon the
implementation and contact of the image.
Click to expand...

^^^ that was supposed to read "content of the image"
 
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