Any tips on using an ImageWriter II with a Lisa?

[Huxley]

Probably a super basic question but just in case there's some esoteric knowledge needed: I have a Lisa 2/10 running Lisa OS and the 7/7 application suite. I've also got an Apple ImageWriter II printer which I brought back to life tonight (it was making horrendous noises but it was just in need of a deep cleaning).

I'd like to be able to print from LisaWrite or LisaDraw. Is there any inherent issue problem combining these two together? I've been poking around in some ancient USENET info-dumps and there's quite a bit of info about using the older ImageWriter 1, but I don't see much about using the II...

Thanks in advance for any tips!

Huxley

 

[Scott Baret]

As long as you can find the correct cable, it will work just fine. When I had a Lisa years ago, I used an original Imagewriter on it.

There were several revisions of the ImageWriter II owners manual. The earliest 1985 printings detailed how to connect it to a Lisa, so it's also officially Apple sanctioned.

The ImageWriter II was compatible with pretty much every Apple ever made except the Apple I (although it's getting tougher and tougher to use it on a modern Mac).

 

[Huxley]

As long as you can find the correct cable, it will work just fine. When I had a Lisa years ago, I used an original Imagewriter on it.

There were several revisions of the ImageWriter II owners manual. The earliest 1985 printings detailed how to connect it to a Lisa, so it's also officially Apple sanctioned.

The ImageWriter II was compatible with pretty much every Apple ever made except the Apple I (although it's getting tougher and tougher to use it on a modern Mac).

Super helpful info - thank you!

I'm delighted to report that a set of fresh ImageWriter II ink ribbons arrived today, and after some trial-and-error with various combinations of serial cables and null-modem adapters, the Lisa and ImageWriter are working beautifully!

Spoiler alert: if anyone is coming to the "Happy Birthday, Apple!" event at the Computer History Museum on March 28th, we're going to have this Lisa + printer set up for visitors to use in the creation of their own "birthday card" printouts. It should be a bunch of fun!

Huxley

 

[NJRoadfan]

The escape sequences/command set is backward compatible with the original ImageWriter and the "Apple Dot Matrix Printer" (basically a parallel port equipped lightly rebranded C-Itoh 8510), so yes... it'll work with the Lisa. Also of note, the Lisa supported color printing with the Canon PJ-1080A inkjet printer, but this unit is rare and any cartridges are long dried out.

 

[stepleton]

any cartridges are long dried out

I don't think this is so. My PJ-1080A still works and the replacement cartridges I have seem to be OK to me. I used mine with my Lisa to print xmas and valentines greetings in recent months (in colour of course).

Unlike with most modern inkjets, the ink cartridges and the print head on the PJ-1080A are separate. The cartridges are basically ink bags in a plastic box with a rubber access port (similar to those little bottles that people fill syringes from). When inserted into the printer, tiny needles pierce these ports. The needles are connected to thin hoses that feed the print heads. The hoses are clear, so you can see the ink moving inside of them. At first glance they look like a rainbow ribbon cable.

All of this is to say that I think the ink cartridges are fairly well-sealed. There is a chance that the rubber port could perish, which would be a bad thing (and probably cause a mess). But if that doesn't happen, I hope the ink will remain liquid for a while yet.

PJ-1080A printers are not as easy to find as ImageWriters, but they were also extensively rebadged by a number of computer companies --- eventually you get to recognise the shape of them. You may be able to find them if you search for the model numbers that those companies used. Ink cartridges can be more difficult to find; I've stocked up with some eBay saved searches and haven't been looking for a while. Given how simple they are, I think they might not be too hard to replicate if you really wanted to do that. Maybe I'll need to do it someday.

The PJ-1080A is my only retrocomputing item featuring either a Motorola 6809 processor or plumbing.