Good topic, Bruce. I'm new to vitage Macs and vintage Apple printers, so
I'm looking for advice along those lines, too.
Vintage Mac printers use a serial interface and most PC printers use a
parallel interface (although USB is becoming common). If the 'PC'
printer had a serial interface, I would suppose an appropriate serial
interface cable and printer driver could be produced, although there's
no certainty that they have been for any particular model printer. I
remember when we used to have to build custom serial cables for
PC-to-printer connections, based on the brand of PC and the brand of
printer. Standards can be a nice thing.
I would suspect that even the level of OS release on your Mac would make
a difference as to which printer you can use. I picked up a Stylewriter
II that I have yet to get to work on any of my vintage Macs, ranging
from Mac Plus to LC-475, with OS from 7.x to 8.x. The printer self-tests
fine, but doesn't respond to the printer - various error messages
appear, depending upon which system I use. Some day I'll find the right
combination of system, OS, and cable that will let me use it.
Fellow at my local Computer Renaissance says that the Canon bubble-jet
printers have the same engine as the StyleWriters; only the interface
circuitry is different. In fact, Canon actually was the manufacturer of
the StyleWriters.
Sp00ky
[...snip...]
> Now just in the past few weeks I have seen a slew of cheap old Mac printers
> in thrift shops & pawn shops, and wonder if it's time to move on. But I'm
> so printer inexperienced! Can someone take a few moments to expound on the
> relative merits of such printers as Personal LaserWriters (could have had
> one for $5 yesterday), Color Stylewriters, old Canons and Epsons, etc. etc.
> Also, this may sound ignorant but I'm confused about whether a PC printer
> such as DeskJet or Canon can be hooked up to a Mac provided you have the
> correct cable and drivers, or are printers strictly Mac or PC?
>
> Bruce (in Orlando)
--
Spiritus ex Machina
No matter how paranoid you are, it isn't paranoid enough.
--
Quadlist is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and...
Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Enter To Win A |
-- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299 | Free iBook! |
Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html>
Quadlist info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/quadlist.shtml>
The FAQ: <http://macfaq.org/>
Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/quadlist%40mail.maclaunch.com/>
Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
