PostScript Driver Update

Adobe will release a new print driver in July that enables users of mainstream applications such as Microsoft's Office on Windows Vista to output to PostScript printers at a higher-quality than they can currently, according to the company.

"Adobe is committed to supporting our customers on the latest operating systems," said Don Walker, senior director of product marketing and business development at Adobe. "Providing the best PostScript print technology for Vista is part of that commitment."

Adobe says that the driver delivers higher quality print output for Office files with transparency and gradients than printing the same files using the standard PostScript driver bundled with Windows -- and that printer manufacturers can support the new Vista print path without making any changes to their devices.

Adobe PostScript is the page description language standard for tens of millions of high performance printing systems, print workflow solutions and desktop printers. It provides core functionality for rendering complex images, text, graphics and color, and provides reliable, high-quality output across devices, from office printers to high-end digital production systems including the latest and most advanced digital color presses.

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Multifunction inkjet printers with built-in Wi-Fi have traditionally cost at least $250, and optional Bluetooth attachments for wireless printing add, on average, about $50 to the price of a printer. But Lexmark's 2007 printer line seeks to change that.

Of 12 printers the company says it will announce by year's end, 6 will include integrated 802.11g Wi-Fi capabilities, while 2 will provide it as a $50 option. The company has now launched the first five of these printers, including three that support Wi-Fi printing, which lets you share the printer among multiple computers.

Each printer supports Windows Vista, and supports the major Wi-Fi security schemes--WEP, WPA, and WPA2.

X4550 Wireless All-in-One: Currently priced at about $130, this model sits underneath Lexmark's $280 X9350 Wireless All-in-One , which provides more office-centric features such as two-sided printing and fax capabilities. Nevertheless, the X4550 also includes built-in Wi-Fi networking, and it has a variety of photo-oriented features, including media card slots and the ability to print directly from digital memory card slots, PictBridge-compatible digital cameras, or USB thumb drives. Six-color printing is possible with an optional photo cartridge, and Lexmark rates output at 26 pages per minute for monochrome (black) printing and 18 ppm for color.

X3550 All-in-One: Like the X4550, the $80 X3550 includes media card slots, PictBridge support, and a 48-bit flatbed color scanner/copier. Supplied optical character recognition software lets you use the scanner to turn text pages into editable documents. Wi-Fi printing, though, is a $50 option for the X3550, and Lexmark also rates its print speeds as slightly slower than those of the X4550: 24 ppm for black and 17 ppm for color.

X2500 All-in-One: Lexmark touts the entry-level $60 X2500 as the fastest multifunction printer in its class. It may lack media card slots, but if Lexmark's ratings are on target, it certainly will be speedy: The company says it prints black text at up to 22 ppm and color at 16 ppm.

Z1420: If you don't need all the bells and whistles of a multifunction unit, but you like the idea of budget wireless printing, you might want to check out this unit.

The company claims that the $80 Z1420 is the least expensive printer on the market to include built-in Wi-Fi as a standard feature. The Z1420 also provides the option to print photos using six colors, and includes technology to help minimize paper jams and automatically align cartridges. Lexmark rates its speed at 24 ppm black and 18 ppm color.

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(The above is provided for your information only.  It does not imply an endorsement by Cartridge World San Diego.  We do not endorse any particular printer manufacturer over the others.  Your needs will determine which brand and model of printer is best suited to your situation.)