Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2004 07:51:41 -0600 From: Jim Raper <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: New printer for Mac 637CD
Hi, Listers,
Can someone tell me about a printer other than the old StyleWriters that I can use on my 637CD. I've upgraded the RAM to 64MB and installed a 3 gig HD. It is running OS 8.1 flawlessly. BUT the old StyleWriter 2400 is shot. Is there a "modern" HP or Epson printer that can be used on this machine?
I have recently been through a circus getting an inkjet printer for our house. The issues were to get the best printer I could while still being compatible with at least back to OS 7.6.1 and preferably networkable because I like to have all my printers networked. The house is well wired, so networked printing is convenient.
The current crop of inkjet printers (and printers in general) do not have serial ports. They have USB ports and a good many of them still come with a parallel port. There are no USB cards or adapters for the 637CD nor for any other machine which lacks Cardbus and PCI slots.
1) So, you could get one of the adapter kits that lets you connect your Mac to a parallel port printer through the Mac's serial port. The thing is that the kit must come with a driver for your printer or for a language that your printer understands. I think one such kit was called the Orange Grappler?
2) Another option is to get a printer with a network port. Now days that means an ethernet print server or ethernet card. This can get expensive but it can also be very convenient. A printer which is $70 by itself seems to suddenly gain $150 in price the moment you add an ethernet adapter. I miss affordable LocalTalk printers, which USB killed. Darn USB. USB isn't a network media, so it's silly, but there you go. Of course, you need either an ethernet card in your 637 or a LocalTalk to Ethernet bridge such as the Asantetalk in order to connect your 637 to an ethernet capable printer.
The last time I checked, Epson had one of their network ready printers on their clearance list for a decent price, but I think it was wifi rather than cabled ethernet.
3) Get an older printer. Here, your choices branch again into an older printer with a serial port or an older printer which is networkable.
A) Older printer with a serial port. For example, the Epson Stylus Color 850 was pretty nice and it has a serial port. But, it's resolution is only 1440 X 720 which is not so good by today's standards. It's fine for text. It's not so great for printing photos, but okay. You could check Epson's documentation to find the highest resolution printer which came with the serial port and then buy that one on the used market.
The 850 BTW, often goes on Ebay for under $20, but the shipping is about $20.
B) An older printer with a network port. Many of the older printers have a LocalTalk port, which looks like a serial port but functions differently. One line of the Epson inkjet printers has a "Type B" slot which is a proprietary Epson slot, but the cards are fairly available on the used market. The Type B slot can take a LocalTalk card, any of several models of ethernet card (including 10/100) and a few other cards which aren't relevant when you have a 637 on the other end.
For example the Epson Stylus Color 980 (there is also a very different Stylus Photo 980) has a type B slot and prints at 2880 X 1440, which is much nicer than the 850. It's also faster. One can install the Epson LocalTalk card or any of several ethernet cards in the B slot. The 980 only has USB and parallel, so you can't connect it to an older Mac without a network card of some type.
The documentation for the 980 claims that it requires OS 8 or greater, but that's because it only has the USB port and the USB support requires OS8 or greater on the Mac. Once you install a network card, it works at least back to 7.6.1.
4) If you have a more modern Mac, you can buy a more recent printer, connect it to your recent Mac through USB or Firewire (depending on the printer) and then Share the printer on your network using the software for the printer which allows this. Again, this requires that your 637 be on a network with your other Mac. It also requires that the modern Mac be turned on whenever you wish to print to that printer.
Jeff Walther
P.S. In my case, I collected five Stylus Color 850s on Ebay intending to make one or two good working ones, and then found an SC 980 at Goodwill which works perfectly...
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