I've been running an HP 6P with 9M RAM for about 6-7 years.  The amount 
of RAM generally needs to fit the following formula:

((<Printer DPI>^2 * 12) + (<Number of soft fonts> * 200k))/1048576 = 
minimum RAM in MB.

Some printers are more, or less, efficient when using RAM, but the above 
makes a good rule of thumb.

If you don't know how many soft fonts you'll generally use, assume 5 for 
business, 10 for home use, 20 for graphic artists or desktop publishing.

You can often get by with less, but really complex pages, or large 
graphics, may fail to print.

If you're using Postscript, add 8-16MB to the above for page processing

If the Laser supports color, quadruple the RAM required.

If you're using an HP with a JetDirect card, you should add another 
8-16MB, per HP's recommendations, for network spooling.


Alex Dean wrote:

> I'm considering getting away from my current Canon inkjet (which I 
> hate) and getting a laser printer.  I have one question for those of 
> you knowlegeable about such things...
> How much memory should I be looking for?  Most of the cheaper ones 
> come with 16MB, and some are not upgradable.  Is that enough?
>
> I know 'enough' is relative, so here's my situation.  The printer is 
> for home use.  It will be hooked up to a local network and serving 3 
> different computers.  (Win, Lin, and Mac)  I'll be printing less than 
> 500 pages per month, mostly text but also some graphics.
>
> thanks,
> alex
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