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Apple II FAQs Printers
The comp.sys.apple2 Usenet newsgroup Apple II FAQs originate from
the Ground Apple II archive, 1997-1999. Administrator: Steve Nelson
Csa2 FAQs-on-Ground ref: Csa2PRINTER.txt rev019 9/27/1999
Printers & Interfaces
001- What is pin-out for a GS to ImageWriter I cable?
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 pin-out?
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. Whats wrong?
From: David Empson
001- 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: Rubywand
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.
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 it is open. When a
switch is Down it is closed.
The settings for SW-1 #1-#8 have to do with printout format. On SW-1 all
of the switches are normally open (UP) except #6 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. (This enables
automatic skipping over perforations between pages).
Character Set
SW-1 #1 #2 #3
American U U U default
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 default
12 inches D
Auto Perforation Skip
SW-1 #5
No U default
Yes D
Character Pitch
SW-1 #6 #7
10 cpi U U
12 cpi D U default
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
The settings for SW-2 #1-#6 are concerned with hardware interfacing. #1
and #2 set the baud rate the printer will expect:
#1 #2
UP UP- 300 (on IW-II) 19200 (on IW-II LQ) 'LQ default
DOWN UP- 1200
UP DOWN- 2400
DOWN DOWN- 9600 IW-II default
You should set the switches to match the speed of your printer interface.
SW-2 #3 is usually set UP to enable DTR hardware handshaking. If your
interface wants to use XON/XOFF handshaking, set #3 DOWN.
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 on the IW-II LQ are used to set the number of cut sheet
feeder bins attached to the printer. (The standard default setting for SW-2
#5-#7 is UP UP UP.)
'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 allignment of dots in
bidirectional printing mode.
----------------------------
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.
____________________________
From: Mitchell Spector
010- I bought a Grappler+ printer interface card at a swap meet.
Where can I get a cable? What is the pin-out for the cable?
The cable you need is the very common "Centronics cable". It is sold by
several Apple II vendors. The pin-out 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: Scott G
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.
____________________________
From: Supertimer
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: Ronald Clark
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. Send email to joko@crl.com to order.
____________________________
From: Owen Aaland
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.
____________________________
From: Jim Pittman
016- When I run Platinum Paint I get error $1301. Whats 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.)