Re: Laserwriters

[ddoms@tyrell.net (Dennis Doms)]

In article <1995Apr5.175510.1@vaxc.stevens-tech.edu>,
khorster@vaxc.stevens-tech.edu wrote:

>         Can you get the Laserwriter to work with IBMs?

I'm saying "yes", but the only way I've actually done it is over an
AppleTalk network using an AppleTalk PC (now evolved into Farallon's
PhoneNet PC) card and software. You print to the LaserWriter as a
PostScript printer from IBM applications. Since this was posted in the
comp.sys.apple2 group, maybe you're already sharing the printer, so this
would be the logical way to incorporate the PC (though not cheap; I think
the PhoneNet PC card runs $200+).

If you don't have an AppleTalk/PhoneNet PC card, aren't concerned about
network connection, and have one of the LaserWriter models that supports
multiple connections (parallel/serial/AppleTalk) and PostScript or PCL
language support, then I would expect you could connect via a parallel or
serial cable (but the best place to ask might be in the IBM-related
newsgroups). Details would vary with the printer; for example, the
LaserWriter IINT I used could be configured with DIP switches to use
serial as opposed to AppleTalk communication while still recognizing
PostScript. Some of the newer models are supposed to have automatic
protocol switching among the interfaces and driver languages (PCL versus
PostScript, etc.)

If you have one of the QuickDraw-based printers (no PostScript/PCL), I
don't know of a way to make it work on anything but a Mac.

-- 
===========================================================================
Dennis Doms     | "Into this night I wander, it's morning that I dread
ddoms@tyrell.net|  Another day of knowing of the path I fear to tread..."
                | Sarah McLachlan ("Possession", _Fumbling Toward Ecstasy_)