Versatec V-80 Review
sdcsvax!phil
for producing phototypesetter facsimiles. Aside from a couple of
hardware problems, we are satisfied with its performance.
The plotter costs $8,500 and the unibus interface is another $2000.
Included with the plotter was necessary cable, a documentation package
and some starter supplies. The model V-80 comes standard as a table top
configuration.
We were able to install the 2 interface boards in SPC slots (one slot
must be modified for DMA) and use vtroff immediately. The boards have no
dip switches so any change to the address, vector, etc. involves
cutting/soldering etches. Berkeley's software for running the typesetter
simulator required only a small amount of reconfiguration.
Modifications are available to the 4BSD Versatec software to support using
form feeds with fan-fold paper, this insures page alignment on long jobs.
There is also a "plot" filter that renders "graph" output on the V-80.
Our V-80 has suffered from a bad power supply and a flakey "write head".
In both cases, field service was only fair; they are slow getting
parts. (down for a full week each time)
I just learned that the V-80 power supply can be the source of several
problems and the Versatec engineers are working on a fix.
One thing we have observed is the difference in quality between the roll
paper and the fan-fold stock. The roll paper is much better; it produces
a clearer image with a pure white background. The fan-fold stuff is nice
because it easily bursts into pages, but the print quality is poor
compared to the roll paper. The background is slightly gray all the time
resulting in lower contrast. The fan-fold stock also comes out "slimier".
Anyone else experience this? Versatec swears the paper is all the same.