Editing HP LaserJet (section)

===1980s===
[[File:HP C2053A C02.jpg|thumb|upright|HP Microsoft Font Cartridge for LaserJet 2000, IIP, IIIP, etc.]]
[[File:HP 33439P.jpg|thumb|upright|PostScript Cartridge for LaserJet IIP, IID, III, IIID, etc.]]
HP introduced the first laser printer for [[IBM PC compatible]] [[personal computer]]s in May 1984 at the Computer Dealers' Exhibition ([[COMDEX]]). It was a 300-[[Dots per inch|dpi]], 8 [[Printer (computing)#Printing speed|ppm]] printer that sold for $3,495 with the price reduced to  $2,995 in September 1985.<ref name="hall" /> It used an 8&nbsp;MHz [[Motorola 68000]] processor and could print in a variety of character fonts.<ref name="hp.com">{{cite web
 |url=http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/museum/imagingprinting/0018/index.html |title=HP LaserJet Printer 1984
 |access-date=6 June 2011 |publisher=Hp.com}}</ref> It was controlled using [[Printer Command Language|PCL3]].  Due to the high cost of memory, the first LaserJet only had 128 kilobytes of memory, and a portion of that was reserved for use by the controller.

The LaserJet printer had high print quality, could print horizontally or vertically and produce graphics.<ref name="hp.com"/> It was ideal for printing memos, letters, and spreadsheets. It was quiet compared to other contemporary printers, hence people could use the telephone while sitting near the LaserJet.<ref name="hp.com" />

The first LaserJet was a high-speed replacement for text-only [[Daisy wheel printing|daisy wheel impact printers]] and the noisy [[Dot matrix printing|dot matrix printer]]s. By using control codes it was possible to change the printed text style using font patterns stored in permanent [[Read-only memory|ROM]] in the printer.  Although unsupported by HP, because the Laserjet used the same basic PCL language (PCL Level III)<ref name="printerworks.com"/> spoken by HP's other printers it was possible to use the Laserjet on [[HP 3000]] multiuser systems.

The LaserJet Plus followed in September 1985, priced at US$3,995.<ref name="hall" /> It introduced "soft fonts", treatments like [[Emphasis (typography)|bold]] and [[Italic type|italic]] and other features including a [[IEEE 1284|parallel]] ([[Centronics]]) interface. It also included 512 kilobytes of memory, which was sufficient to print graphics at 300 dpi that covered about 70% of the letter-size page area.

* In March 1986 HP introduced the LaserJet D+, which included the LaserJet print engine and formatter but with two paper trays.<ref name="hall" /> The original MSRP was $4,495.<ref name="printerworks.com"/> In 1986, [[desktop publishing]] came to the world of [[IBM Personal Computer|IBM PC]]s and compatibles, after its origin on the [[Macintosh|Apple Macintosh]] and [[LaserWriter|Apple LaserWriter]]. The LaserJet family, along with [[Adobe PageMaker|Aldus PageMaker]] and [[Microsoft Windows]], was central to the PC-based solution and while the design was more plebeian than Apple's product, this multi-vendor solution was available to a mass audience for the first time.
* HP introduced the [[mass market|mass-market]] laser printer, the LaserJet series II, in March 1987. The LaserJet II was designed as a laser printer with correct order page output as opposed to being leveraged from the Canon PC-20 personal copier.<ref name="hall" /> The LaserJet II used PCL4, improved features, more memory and fonts for a market price of $2,695.<ref name="hall"/>
* Also in March 1987, the LaserJet 2000 was launched. A high-end, networkable printer, the LaserJet 2000 offered a duty cycle of 70,000 pages per month and the standard 300-dpi output, initially priced at $19,995. In the same month, the company unveiled the [[HP ScanJet|ScanJet]], their first [[image scanner]].<ref name=beeler>{{cite journal | last=Beeler | first=Jeffrey | date=March 2, 1987 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SZ4AAehqfn0C&pg=PA4 | title=HP revamps LaserJet Plus, adds high-end unit | journal=Computerworld | publisher=CW Communications | volume=XXI | issue=9 | page=4 | via=Google Books | access-date=September 3, 2024 | archive-date=September 4, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240904001538/https://books.google.com/books?id=SZ4AAehqfn0C&pg=PA4#v=onepage&q&f=false | url-status=live }}</ref> It allowed them to round out their portfolio of desktop publishing products and itself was very successful commercially.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Schuster | first=Jonathan | date=June 16, 1987 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A4986217/GPS?u=wikipedia | title=Scanner market prognosis is healthy growth | journal=PC Week | publisher=Ziff-Davis | volume=4 | issue=24 | pages=108 ''et seq'' | via=Gale | access-date=September 3, 2024 | archive-date=September 4, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240904001614/https://galeapps.gale.com/apps/auth?userGroupName=wikipedia&origURL=https%3A%2F%2Fgo.gale.com%2Fps%2Fi.do%3Fp%3DGPS%26u%3Dwikipedia%26id%3DGALE%257CA4986217%26v%3D2.1%26it%3Dr&prodId=GPS | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=visions>{{cite journal | date=August 1994 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U88jAQAAMAAJ&q=%22scanjet+was+the%22 | title=Peripheral Visions | journal=Computer Buyer's Guide and Handbook | publisher=Computer Information Publishing | volume=12 | issue=8 | pages=33–47 | via=Google Books}}</ref>

The LaserJet IID was released in the fall of 1988, It was the first desktop laser printer capable of duplexing.<ref name="hall"/> It was also the first LaserJet with an HP-designed and manufactured formatter.<ref name="hall"/>

In September 1989, HP introduced the first "personal" version of the LaserJet printer series, the LaserJet IIP.<ref name=IIPNYT1989>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/19/science/personal-computers-a-milestone-in-laser-printers.html
|title=PERSONAL COMPUTERS; A Milestone in Laser Printers
|author=Peter H. Lewis |date=September 19, 1989 |access-date=January 12, 2023}}</ref> Priced at US$1,495 by HP, and half the size and price of its predecessor, the LaserJet II, it offered 300-dpi output and 4 ppm printing with [[Printer Command Language|PCL 4]] enhancements such as support for compressed bitmapped fonts and raster images. It was also the first '''no ozone''' print engine.<ref name="hall" />  Retailers predicted a street price of $1000 or less, making it the world's first sub-$1,000 laser printer. The LaserJet IIP (and its very similar successor, the IIIP) were reliable.<ref name=OLreliableIIPtechrepublic>{{cite web
   |url=https://www.techrepublic.com/pictures/cracking-open-hewlett-packards-iip-the-original-personal-laserjet-printer
   |title=Cracking open Hewlett Packard's IIP, the original personal LaserJet Printer
   |author=Erik Eckel |date=April 20, 2007 |access-date=January 12, 2023 |quote=years later it still worked}}</ref>

Aftermarket replacement scanner assemblies remain available today. {{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}