i got this offer today from a LEMmer friend in WA state who 's helped me a lot in the past. for backstory, i have 2 IIfx'x a IIsi, and LCIII- all ethernet'able. I have 2 HP deskwriters [black only] and an offer for an epson color stylus 850NE with built in ethernet. and the RIP software with it. now: as per this hot discussion: does anyone know if what she's offereing me, plus the hardware i've listed, will succeed in letting me print color from the epson, using ethernet to network the macs to the 850Ne? or am I still gonna have to acquire a powermac from the same era as her powerprint software, to make this thing run all together? [and check out my crazy notion of separate printing runs for individual colors on the old deskwriter! it can be done! just like a big printing house! color separation at your own desk! fill separate cartridges with one color only, and run the paper thru 4 times, switching out ink tanks each time. ersatz-my specialty.] ------------------------------- J: i had a wicked thought the other day, and realized that if the microgrid embedded into the copper of the HP color cartridges are exactly the same as the black ones, I could probably print in ersatz rainbows-- by sticking a color cartridge in the black carriage-- and how the hell is the printer gonna know the difference? L: I think the copper tops are different for each color....[Hey, that's my son's nickname, Copper Top : ) Just had to add that in...] J: heh heh. for that matter, I could wash out all the remaining black ink in an empty one and refill it with all blue, or all yellow, or all magenta, or mix myself some green or purple, and have myself a whole arsenal of monocolor cartridges made from empties that i custom refilled myself, and how is the deskwriter gonna know what color is in the tank? it just zaps the microcircuitry as it goes across, and whatever's in the tank dispenses on command. so I could print in one color at a time by switching out the tanks for each print job. ersatz. my specialty. L: Hee, hee, now that might just work!! You would need to use high, high, high quality paper and let each color dry pretty well between runs. You could set the color separations easy if you were using PageMaker or Quark Express, set it up like it's going to a 4-color press. Or do spot color here and there, that would add a big "oomph" to the rest of a plain black & white sheet. J:i do have a parallel to serial cord that fits all my printers. the angst is gettings drivers that can go in the 68k's that can talk to the parallel printers. L:Is this a PowerPrint cable or something else? If it helps, I could snail mail you the PowerPrint 4 software so you can play around with it. Mine (4.0) doesn't specify that it's PowerPC only. But the drivers would be 5 or so years old, I wouldn't have any current ones for printers manufactured in the last 5 years : ( J:your tales of powerprint are discouraging. gregg alan eshelman has been telling me to look into that, along with another lister, who was cool and got me the ftp drivers off epson's site--they were hidden from the casual surfer--but until i get the machines online, I can't download them and try them with the printers. L:Give me links of anything you need and I can snail mail it you, still want to get that 7.5 cd out to you anyway. Mail is cheap with Media Mail. J: i spent last night wandering thru the descriptions at LEM of the powermacs, cogitating on whether i should start watching the list for one, to solve this logjam over epson or powerprint needing a powermac in order to use their drivers. L: Watch the list, because all Macs are going cheap, cheap, cheap. There was a PM 6100 the other day for $5, another one for $10. Watch for ones that are close to you, so you don't have to do postage or worry about delivery. Even ask the list for freebies--a guy in WA asked for help and I offered him up to 3 that would have met his needs. (He just failed to come and get em, oh well.) If you were nearby, I'd give ya one. ------------------- so do i go for it? get the 850Ne? get the RIP software with it? take her powerprint offer? will it be enough, or wil i still need a PPC mac like a 6100 to finish the connection?
janet -- Vintage Macs 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> Vintage Macs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/vintagemacs.shtml> The FAQ: <http://macfaq.org/> Send list messages to: <mailto:vintage.macs@;mail.maclaunch.com> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:vintage.macs-off@;mail.maclaunch.com> For digest mode, email: <mailto:vintage.macs-digest@;mail.maclaunch.com> Subscription questions: <mailto:listmom@;lowendmac.com> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/vintage.macs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- >The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
