Atari Corp this week crashed the marker price for bottom-end laser printer-based desk top publishing systems to around $3,000 with the launch of a low-end laser printer and a professional version of the 68000 family ST called the Mega ST. The new ST also offers a smaller footprint than its low-end counterparts. Dhe trick is to use the graphics software within the ST to create the fonts and designs for the printer, doing away with the need for a large processor and memory within the laser printer, enabling it to offer a $1,500 unit, the penalty being that it runs much more slowly. Atari also hotted up the battle with Commodore, cutting ST520 and 1040 tags 20%.
