NEC announced four Japanese-language page printers in November 1991, including one model that was the first computer printer in Japan to print at 400 dpi on A3 paper. The four models were the NEC PC-PR4000/4, which supported A3 paper, the PC-PR2000/4, which supported 400 dpi printing on B4 paper, PC-PR2000/2, which supported 240 dpi printing on B4 paper, and the PC-PR1000/2, which supported 240 dpi printing on A4 paper.
- The new models had the following features:
- （1）The PC-PR4000/4 and the PC-PR2000/4 made it easy to obtain fine-quality documents because they could print at 400 dpi on paper sizes up to A3 and B4, respectively.
- （2）The models included SET (sharp edge technology), a newly developed function that smoothed edges in printed images. The SET function improved the print quality by 125 percent over existing 240 dpi printers at 240 dpi and 200 percent at 400 dpi.
- （3）The printers used Level 2 of the NEC printer description language (NPDL) to allow for more text and illustration creativity, since this language level permitted characters to be rotated to any angle and printed at any size.
| PC-PR4000/4 | PC-PR2000/4 | PC-PR2000/2 | PC-PR1000/2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largest paper size | A3 | B4 | B4 | A4 |
| Print resolutions | 400 dpi 240 dpi |
400 dpi 240 dpi |
240 dpi | 240 dpi |
| Edge smoothing function | SET | SET | SET | SET |
| Print speed (A4 sheet) |
18 pages/min. | 8 pages/min. | 8 pages/min. | 6 pages/min. |
| Notes | High-speed page printer suitable for server applications | Upgrade from previous model | Replacement of previous model | Replacement of previous model |