Printers & Interfaces. .
..
...
Printers
& Interfaces.
......
001- How do I do the Imagewriter II self-test?
002- What are the DIP switch settings for IW-II
and IW-LQ printers?
003- How do I do the ImageWriter-LQ alignment
test?
004- Can I use a 'straight-through' cable to connect
my IW-II?
005- My ImageWriter II doesn't print! What's wrong?
006- How can I keep paper from jamming in my Imagewriter
II?
007- The bottoms of letters don't get printed.
How can I fix this?
008- What is the 'trick' for restoring a printer
ribbon?
009- How do I connect a "Centronics interface"
printer to my Apple?
010- Where can I get a Grappler+ cable? What is
the pinout?
011- What are the DIP switches on my Grappler+
for?
012- What printers will the Harmonie drivers work
with on my GS?
013- What's the best GS interface for connecting
a parallel printer?
014- How can I use my Epson Color Stylus 800 with
my IIgs?
015- Why aren't fonts found after being moved
to a new GS volume?
016- When I run Platinum Paint I get error $1301.
What's wrong?
017- Can I clean the nozzles on an Epson Stylus
printer?
018- What is the pinout for a GS to ImageWriter
I cable?
019- Where can I get Imagewriter II ribbons?
020- How can I connect my Imagewriter II to a
PC?
001- How do I do the ImageWriter II self-test?
With the printer OFF, hold the Form Feed button
down while pressing down the
ON switch. Release both buttons when the print head starts to move.
To stop, turn
the printer OFF.
002- I bought an Imagewriter II and an ImageWriter LQ. What are
the DIP switch settings for these printers?
While a number of settings are the same; there
are some differences
between IW-II and IW-II LQ in DIP switch settings as well as which
DIP switches
are present. Unless there is a note attached or a setting is labeled
"IW-II" or "'LQ",
the indicated setting applies to both printers.
IW-II DIP switches are located near the left
front side, inside the printer. Lift
the cover to get access. 'LQ DIP switches are located near the left
rear of the
printer under the rear cover. When changing switches, power should
be OFF.
ImageWriter II & II LQ DIP Switch Settings
In Imagewriter manuals, "SW-1" refers to DIP
switch module 1. Each such
module has several individually numbered switches. For example SW-1
#5 refers
to switch #5 on the SW-1 module.
When a switch is UP (pointing toward the back
of the printer) it is
open or OFF.
When a switch is DOWN (pointing toward the
front of the printer) it is
closed or ON.
When a setting is labeled "usual" this refers to the usual setting at
the time
a printer is shipped in the USA.
The settings for SW-1 have to do with
printout format. ImageWriter control
codes can override these settings. The codes for a particular setup
could be sent
in a character string by your program or an application.
On SW-1 all of the switches are normally open
(UP) except #8 which is
closed (DOWN). These settings work for printouts under Appleworks and
several
other programs which take care of page breaks. For tasks like listing
a program,
doing a hex dump in the monitor, etc. you may want SW-1 #5 to be DOWN
for
automatic skipping over perforations between pages.
Character Set
SW-1 #1 #2
#3
American U U U
usual
Italian D U
U
Danish U D
U
British D D
U
German U U
D
Swedish D U
D
French U D
D
Spanish D D
D
Form Length
SW-1 #4
11 inches U usual
12 inches D
Auto Perforation Skip
SW-1 #5
No U usual
Yes D
Character Pitch
SW-1 #6 #7
10 cpi U U
12 cpi D U usual
17 cpi U D
160 dpi D D (proportional)
Line Feed with Carriage Return
SW-1 #8
No U CR only
Yes D CR plus LF
usual
The settings for SW-2 are concerned
with hardware interfacing. #1 and #2 set the
baud rate the printer will expect:
SW-2 #1 #2
300 (on IW-II)
U U
19200 (on IW-II LQ) U U
usual for 'LQ
1200
D U
2400
U D
9600
D D usual for IW-II
You should set the switches to match the speed of your printer interface.
For the IIgs
serial Printer Port, the Port and the DIP switches would normally
be set for the
maximum speed the printer can handle (e.g. IIgs Port at 9600 baud
and DIP switches
set DOWN DOWN for the IW-II).
SW-2 #3 is usually set UP to enable DTR hardware handshaking. If
your
interface wants to use XON/XOFF handshaking, set #3 DOWN.
SW-2 #4: If you have the 32K Memory Option, LocalTalk card, etc.
installed, SW-2 #4 should be set DOWN. Otherwise, it should be
set UP (the usual setting).
IW-II: SW-2 #5-#6 on the IW-II are factory-set to optimize hammer
firing and should be left alone by the
use (On my IW-II #5 is DOWN and #6 is UP.)
'LQ: SW-2 #5-#7 (#7 is only on the 'LQ) on the IW-II LQ are used
to set
the number of cut sheet feeder bins attached to the printer.
'LQ SW-2 #5 #6 #7
1
U U D
1 and 2
D U D
1, 2, and 3
D D D
1 and envelope
U U U usual
1, 2, and envelope D
U U
1, 2, 3, and envelope D D
U
'LQ: SW-2 #8 (only on the 'LQ) sets Auto Paper Load position.
To print line U usual
To paper bail D
'LQ: SW-3 #1-#5 (only on the 'LQ) are factory-set to optimize
printer
operation and should be left alone by the user.
'LQ: SW-3 #6-#8 (only on the 'LQ) control vertical alignment
of dots in
bidirectional printing mode. Set for best alignment.
003- How do I do the ImageWriter II LQ alignment test?
The 'LQ Alignment Test
With printer OFF, press Select, Line Feed,
Form Feed. Hold them pressed,
turn ON printer, and release buttons after printer head starts to move.
The printout shows four possible switch settings
with six lines of
vertical bar printouts for each setting.
Settings are indicated like this: 1 0
0 (which means DOWN UP UP).
An asterisk by a setting means it is the current setting.
Set the switches to the setting which best
lines up the vertical bars in
the printout.
004- Will a 'straight-through' cable work for connecting
an
ImageWriter II to my GS?
No. In the ImageWriter cable, Pins 1 &
2, 3 & 5, and 6 & 8 are supposed to
be swapped from one end of the cable to the other.
005- My ImageWriter II doesn't print! The head
moves, and I can hear
the pins striking the paper, but I get
nothing. What's wrong?
Check ribbon positioning. If the ribbon is
properly positioned, then, you
may need to adjust the the print head - to - roller distance (sometimes
called
the "paper width" adjustment). There is a small lever near the lower
right side
of the roller. Click-position it in a notch or two.
006- How can I keep paper from jamming in my Imagewriter II?
A surprising number of Imagewriter users go
for years putting up with
paper jams during long printouts. A nearly 100% cure is to just pop
up the top
rollers so that they do not press the paper against the roller.
007- I notice that the bottoms of letters on my
ImageWriter II's
printout are not showing up. How can I
fix this?
A likely explanation is that the printhead
needs to be moved in (toward
the big roller) a notch. This is a standard "Paper Thickness" adjustment
on
many printers. On IW, you do it with a lever to the right of the roller.
Another possibility is that the printhead needs
cleaning. Be careful what
you use to clean a printhead because some solvents can dissolve the
mask which
lines up the pins. Light oils and gasoline seem to be especially bad.
A fine
bristle toothbrush plus some standard detergent in warm water or a
household
cleaner (like Fantastik, etc.) should remove most dust and gunk. Whatever
you
use, avoid soaking the printhead in anything very long-- i.e. get it
reasonably
clean and then blow/blot dry.
Changing settings on the DIP with the factory
settings which "users should
leave alone" _may_ have some effect on firing of the bottom pins. I
don't know.
Probably, you would want to try everything else first.
008- What is the 'trick' for restoring a printer ribbon?
For cartridge ribbons, such as the one in ImageWriter
II, it is easy to
'restore' a ribbon to dark printing with a few spritzes of WD-40. Using
a
pocket knife, pry off the lid of the cartridge, and, as evenly as possible,
lightly spritz the bunched-up ribbon. Restore the lid and roll the
tape back
and forth a few inches. Let the cartridge sit for several days in a
plastic
bag.
The idea is that the WD-40 spreads unused ink
into the ribbon's print
area; so, it will not work for restoring multi-Color ribbons. Since
you are
adding no ink, this trick is good for only one or two 'restorations'.
009- Can anyone tell me how to connect a printer
with a "Centronics
interface" to my Apple II?
The Centronics interface is the standard parallel
interface for many
printers. To connect such a printer to an Apple II, you need a printer
interface card and cable. Since the cards were a popular item in the
early 80's
and were produced by several different companies you should be able
to get a
good one without too much trouble.
The cards turn up fairly often at swap meets,
should be easy to find on
comp.sys.apple2.marketplace, and are still sold by regular A2 vendors.
MC Price
Breakers (360-837-3042 Mon-Fri 9:30am-5:30pm Pacific Time) offers a
"Full Text
& Graphic Interface" w/cable for Centronics type parallel printers
for $29.95.
010- I bought a Grappler+ printer interface card at a swap meet.
Where can I get a cable? What is the pinout
for the cable?
The cable you need is the very common "Centronics
cable". It is sold by
several Apple II vendors. The pinout is shown below:
Grappler+ Pin Assignments
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
STB 1
D0 3
D1 5
D2 7
D3 9
D4 11
D5 13
D6 15
D7 17
ACK 19
BUSY 21
P.E. 23
SLCT 25
N/C -
GND all others
011- What are the DIP switches on my Grappler+ for?
The DIP switches are used to configure your
card for a series of different
printers out there. I'll list those settings:
DIP switch settings:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DIP SWITCH POSITIONS
1 2 3 4
Epson Series and Star Gemini OFF
ON ON ON
NEC 8023/C, Itoh 8510/DMP 85 OFF
ON ON OFF
Centronics 739-1
OFF ON OFF ON
Anadex Printers
OFF ON OFF OFF
Okidata 82A, 83A, 92, 93, 84 OFF
OFF ON ON
Okidata 84 w/o Step II Graphics OFF OFF
OFF ON
Apple Dot Matrix
OFF OFF ON OFF
IDS Printers
(Any position)
Notes: DIP switch ON = "+" side or set to right.
Switch 1 controls MSB, the 8th bit. Setting switch 1 to 'ON'
makes MSB _not_ transmitted...
From: Joe Kohn
The Harmonie printer drivers are available from Shareware Solutions
II. As the
publisher, the most frequently asked question I get is "Which Grappler+
dip switch
setting should I use for an HP DeskJet?"
According to those who use a Grappler+ to connect a DeskJet, the dip
switch settings are:
1-ON (up)
2-OFF (down)
3-OFF (down)
4-ON (up)
From: Beverly Cadieux
Joe, I've checked hundreds of Apple II Mail Group messages, and every
time
Grappler+ dip switches are mentioned in connection with DeskJets,
people say
they use OFF ON ON ON-- i.e. - + + +
Since you are calling ON "up," we are probably using about the same
setting.
We call ON "down," (pushed in, toward the +). So your ON is probably
our OFF.
When switch 1 is ON the MSB is not transmitted to the printer. When
Switch 1 is OFF, MSB is under software control. AppleWorks requires
that
switch 1 be OFF to allow high ascii characters (enabled with a Control-I
H
in the interface code) to print. If it were ON, they would be prohibited.
Switch one doesn't matter unless you want to send a high bit through.
If you
don't care about printing high ASCII (language characters, legal and
math
symbols, box edges), then it can be set either way.
012- What printers will the Harmonie drivers work with on my GS?
The 4550 automatically senses Epson LQ code
and turns on emulation. It is
like if the DIP switch were set to automatic in older BJC models.
From: Jim Stafford
My Canon BJ 600 works fine with the above driver.
The only thing the
driver doesn't do is color!!! Make sure you have the epson dip switch
set on
your printer(see the manual).
From: Joe Kohn
I know for a fact that Harmonie supports HP
LaserJets, DeskJets, and
DeskWriters.
Tony Diaz (of Alltech Electronics) brought
home an Epson Stylus 600 and
connected it to the IIGS. Of all things, the first thing he tried was
Print
Shop GS, and he said it printed out beautifully, in full living color.
The
margins were all correct, and everything else about it was right...using
the
PSGS Epson LQ driver.
He was also able to output text at 360 x 360
from EgoEd, using Harmonie's
Epson LQ4000 driver; and, he could dump text to the printer with a
PR#1 from
the Applesoft prompt. So, apparently these Epson Stylus printers do
have
internal fonts and can be used from ProDOS-8.
Tony was able to print out a graphic from Platinum
Paint at 360 dpi; but,
only in grayscale. In Fact, so far, everyone reports that they can
print in
full glorious color from Print Shop GS, but that, when printing from
GS/OS via
Harmonie's EpsonLQ drivers, the printout is limited to grayscale.
See also Q&A 011 above.
013- I have recently acquired an Apple IIGS and I want to use my
Panasonic PanaPrinter parallel dot matrix
printer with it.
What is the best parallel card to use with
my IIGS?
The best parallel card is no parallel card.
The IIGS is has serial ports
and the best way to use parallel printers is with a serial to parallel
converter.
Global Computer Supplies, http://www.globalcomputer.com/
, has a
bi-directional model (TAC6180) that is excellent. It supports serial
rates of
300-57600 bps, so using a fast serial driver on the GS can get you
printing at
57600 bps. I doubt most printers go faster than this.
From: Michael Pender
The later-model PanaPrinters included both
serial and parallel ports. They
shipped with an external parallel interface, but the interface is part
of a
parallel-to-serial daughterboard that plugs into an internal serial
interface.
It is not necessary to add a parallel card.
Open the case, remove the
daughterboard and plug the serial printer cable into the Dsub-25 serial
connector on the main board.
014- How can I use my Epson Color Stylus 800 with my IIgs?
I have an Epson 800 and it works with PrintShopGS
and Proterm 3.1 with a
Grappler+ card.
From: Supertimer
You can also use the Epson 800 on the GS serial
printer port. You need an
ImageWriter II serial cable and the Epson LQ4000 driver from the Harmonie
package of printer drivers sold by Shareware Solutions II.
015- I have a problem with getting fonts recognized. I copied the
entire contents of one PRODOS Volume (named
"AA") to another
hard drive with a different volume name
for use on another GS.
When I launch AWGS or any other GS word
processor on the second
GS, I am told to "insert disk AA" when
a font is requested. Is
this a Pointless problem? A Typeset problem?
Should I reinstall
the fonts or what?
Reinstalling them should make them work but
an easier thing to try first
is to go into the FONTS folder inside the SYSTEM folder and trash the
2 files
called TrueType.List and Font.Lists. When you restart your computer
it will
search through your Fonts folder and rebuild these lists. This is the
procedure
to use if you install fonts by dragging to the folder instead of using
an
installer.
From: Joe Kohn
If you are using Pointless, the problem is not a bug; it's a feature ;-)
When you open the Pointless Control Panel and
click on a font name, you'll
notice that pathname information (where the font is stored) is displayed.
So,
you could always open the Pointless Control Open, click on a font,
click the
Remove button, and then click the Add button in order to let Pointless
know
where on your other system the fonts are located.
016- When I run Platinum Paint I get error $1301. What's wrong?
Yes, I got the same error message when I tried
to run Platinum Paint with
Bernie ][ The Rescue on a G3 Power Mac. The error code refers to a
missing
driver, meaning, I assume, a printer driver. But even if the correct
printer
driver is present, what Platinum Paint really wants is for the D C
Printer
settings to be correct.
1) Be sure you have an appropriate printer driver in
*/System/Drivers.
2) Go to the Control Panel. Open D C Printer. Be sure the
appropriate port or slot is checked, as well as the
appropriate printer driver.
(If you have a cable connecting the printer port to the printer, then
"Select a
Port" would be "Printer" and "Select a Printer Type" would be "ImageWriter"
or
whatever you have. If you have a parallel card in Slot 1 then "Select
a Port"
would be "GrapplerPlus" or whatever, and "Select a Printer Type" would
be
"DeskJet560C.HAR" or whatever you have.)
017- Can I clean the nozzles on an Epson Stylus printer?
If you've got an Epson Stylus with clogged
ink nozzles (anyone with a
Stylus that sits idle for a couple of months), check out
http://www.weeno.com/art/0899/140.html
.
Basically, Blake W. Patterson explains that
you may be able to unclog the
nozzles using isopropyl alcohol. Here is a snip from the article on
WEENO:
"I simply removed the black print cartridge from the printer and dropped
7-10
drops of alcohol down in the ink-recepticle area where the ink cartridge
normally sits (there should be a little hole down in there where the
ink
actually flows from the cartridge into the head), replaced the ink
cartridge,
and ran a few sessions of the printers head-cleaning routine. It took
quite a
few cleaning sessions (probably 15-20) with a few pages of text prints
thrown
in there just to try and move some ink, before it cleared up."
"It actually had to sit overnight, with the last few cleanings done
the next
morning, before all was well--but well it is. Everything works perfectly
now,
and I don't have to go out and buy a new printer."
018- Can anyone tell me what the pin to pin throughput is on the
GS to ImageWriter I cable?
Looking at the IIgs serial connector, the pins are numbered as follows:
8 7 6
5 4 3
2 1
The signals on each pin are:
1 Handshake Out (DTR)
2 Handshake In (DSR)
3 Transmit Data minus
4 Signal Ground
5 Receive Data minus
6 Transmit Data plus
7 General purpose input (DCD)
8 Receive Data plus
Shield is frame ground.
The ImageWriter I or DeskJet 500 has a female DB-25 connector, arranged
in the
standard order for DTE (Data Terminal Equipment):
1 Frame Ground
2 Transmit Data
3 Receive Data
4 Request to Send (output from printer, probably not used)
5 Clear to Send (input to printer, probably not used)
6 Data Set Ready (input to printer)
7 Signal Ground
8 Carrier Detect (input to printer, probably not used)
20 Data Terminal Ready (output from printer)
The pinout of the cable is:
IIgs (Mini-Din-8 male) Printer
(DB-25 male)
1 (HShk Out)
6 (DSR)
2 (HShk In)
20 (DTR)
3 (TxD-)
3 (RxD)
4 (Gnd)
7 (Gnd)
5 (RxD-)
2 (TxD)
6 (TxD+) no connection
7 (DCD) no connection
8 (RxD+) must be conected to signal ground (IIgs pin 4, printer
pin 7)
If you have a shielded cable, also connect the cable shield to the Mini-Din-8
plug's shielding, and to pin 1 and the shield of the DB-25.
From: Mike Ford, Sandra Warnken, michaelhint, Donald L Johnson
019- Where can I get Imagewriter II ribbons?
Several common printers use this same ribbon:
the NEC 8023, some Citoh,
etc.. Office Depot sells the black ribbons-- Nu-kote brand, part# NK160--
for
about $5 each. They also carry the Color ribbon. Sams Club may still
sell them;
or, you can order the ribbons through Staples and Hallmark stores.
Another source is michaelhint@wycol.com. In
a newsgroup posting he offers
to supply black ribbons for about $.75 each plus shipping ($3.55 for
up to
around 10) and color ribbons for about $3.00 each plus shipping.
From: Rubywand, M Kelsey, Mark, Glynne Tolar
020- How can I connect my Imagewriter II to a PC?
You can do Text printouts from your PC to IW-II by selecting
the C-Itoh 8510
as your printer in Windows 3.1 up through at least ME. (Just go to
settings: printers: new and select the c-itoh 8510.) The connection
from the IW-II
must go to a serial port-- e.g. COM-1 or COM-2.
The cabling information shown below is from the the Imagewriter
II manual. It's
the connection to an RS-232C port. Including pin 5 in the jumpered
pins on the
25-pin side is an addition. I'm not sure how important it may be. Perhaps
it is
added to allow diagnostic testing.)
If you make your own, you need an 8 pin mini-DIN circular
male connector,
a DB25 female connector, and 5-conductor shielded cable. Up to 20 meters
should be OK.
Cable details as follows...
8 pin 25 pin
DTR 1 --------- *- 5 CTS * 5,6,8 are jumpered
*- 6 DSR together at db25 end.
*- 8 DCD
DSR 2 --------- 20 DTR
TD- 3 --------- 3 RD
SG 4 **-------
7 SG
RD+ 8 **
** 4 and 8 are
jumpered
together
at 8-pin end.
RD- 5 --------- 2 TD
Connector SHIELD or pin 1 (PG)
is connected to cable shield
on DB25 end. (Only one end of
the cable shield needs to be
connected.)
One alternative is to use a IIe (SSC) to IW-II
cable (part #590-0335)
plus a standard NULL modem cable plus any gender changer connector
(or
25 to 9 changer) necessary to connect to the PC COM port you want.
The standard basic NULL modem 'cable' (or 'adapter')
is two
Dsub 25-pin female sockets, call them "A" and "B", wired back-to-back
as
follows (arrows indicate signal direction):
Socket-A Socket-B
TXD 2
-> 3 RXD
RXD 3
<- 2 TXD
RTS 4
-> 5 CTS
CTS 5
<- 4 RTS
DSR & DCD 6&8 <-
20 DTR
GND 7
-- 7 GND
DTR 20
-> 6&8 DSR & DCD
The two cables (plus gender/9-pin adapters
as needed) give you the
connection described in the IW-II manual.
A CrossWorks cable (plus adapters as needed) is supposed to work, too.
Either the homebrew cable or one of the combinations
of existing cables
mentioned should allow a hardware handshaking connection at 9600 baud.
For the C-Itoh 8510 printer, go to "Properties"
(in the Files menu). For
Port settings, select the correct COM port. Data bits, parity, stop
bits should
be the usual 8-N-1. Speed or baud rate should be 9600. Flow control
should be Hardware. On your IW-II, DIP switch 2-3 should be Up (open).
Yet another alternative is to use a IIgs or
Mac high-speed modem cable
(e.g. part 950-0109) connected to a NULL modem plus adapters
as needed.
This works fine; but, you will lose the hardware control lines and
need to
switch to Xon/Xoff handshaking. In "Properties", Flow control should
be
Xon/Xoff. On your IW-II, DIP switch 2-3 should be Down (closed).
