The Gestetner Data Systems arm of Gestetner Holdings Plc, where the tones of Golders Green are heavily modified by those of Surfers’ Paradise these days, had something of a first at last month’s Which Computer? Show with its showing of Aldus Corp’s Persuasion software as part of its Desk Top Presentation package. The package is the result of a real team effort, (parties involved include Apple Computer, Aldus, Agfa, Eastman Kodak, Tektronix, 3M and Reflex, and consists of an Apple Macintosh II, the new Tektronix 4693D thermal wax colour transfer printer and a choice of monochrome or colour scanner. Gestetner Data Systems has assembled the package and offers to tailor it to the needs of the end user. The Tektronix 4693D is Mac II compatible and is driven by a Motorola 68020 processor with 4Mb to 12Mb of memory and a print speed one page per minute at 300 dots per inch resolution. It supports software such as Apple QuickDraw, Aldus Pagemaker, Microsoft Excel and SuperMac PixelPaint. It will also support Aldus Persuasion software when that becomes available. The scanner on display was an Apple Dest PC2000 monochrome scanner, which functions at a resolution 400 dots per inch, although this can substituted with a Presentation Technologies ImageMaker colour scanner, which has resolution of 300 dots per inch. These are fed with Agfa or Kodak proof paper, which enables the images printed to be used as proofs for magazine photographs. Gestetner also provides an add-on facility of an LP-800 laser printer, including Adobe Systems PostScript, which has a Motorola MC68000 processor operating at 12.5MHz and 1.5Mb to 4Mb of memory. It comes with Apple and Tektronix emulations, and interfaces such as RS232C, RS422, AppleTalk Serial and Centronics parallel, making it compatible with Apple, Apricot Computers, Compaq Computer personal computers and Sun Microsystems workstations. Print speed is eight pages per minute. Prices for the basic Presentation Package range from UKP22,500 without software to UKP24,000 with basic software.
