Colour StyleWriter 2200

[Concorde1993]

I own two Colour StyleWriter printers. They were on the free section on Craigslist not too long ago, and I figured I would pick them up (they came with three 13.5 volt adapters, and I required one for my StyleWriter 1500).

Bottom line- neither 2200s seem to function. They are in both great cosmetic condition, no cracks, or anything to indicate that it was abused. Even the internal parts look brand new.

When I turn it on, the error light on both 2200s blink. According to the information I found on the Internet, these printers were notorious for having a "waste ink full error," which would enable the printer to print a document. I went on the Apple website, and found a document on how to reset the waste ink amount, but no success. The 2200s still show the error light upon startup.

I have a Performa 5215CD. When I attempted to print a test document on Word 5.1, the computer gives me a dialog box with an error that states that the printer is not responding, paper jammed, or is out of ink. The printers both came with Canon-branded cartridges (non-colour).

Any thoughts on how to fix this? BTW, the StyleWriter 1500 still works. I just need to buy ink for it.

 

[applefreak]

using driver Color_SW_2500_2.2.1 ?

possible to print a nozzle check test page ?

 

[Concorde1993]

Hi Applefreak:

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, I am using the 2500 driver for the 2200, as OS 8.1 (the operating system I am currently running on the 5215CD) does not have the 2200 drive preinstalled. The fellow I got it from did not have the original boot disks for the printers.

In regards to the print nozzle test, I cannot accomplish that as the StyleWriter 2200 does not respond at all to the 5215 (I get the "Printer is not responding" dialog box). The printer cable I have is not faulty, as it works perfectly with my 1500, LW 300, and ImageWriter IIs.

I am assuming at this point that the main circuit board on either 2200s no longer function. Before I take out the cheque book, I want to make certain that this is not the case, and if there are any self-repair options to fix this problem.

 

[applefreak]

'QuickDraw GX' installed ?

not mac os 8 compatible

------

Printing the test page without the printer cable connected.....

do you have the Service Source and the Setup Guide for the Color StyleWriter 2200 ?

 

[beachycove]

The 2500 driver is the right one to use. There was indeed a 2200 driver in the beginning (which I have archived somewhere), but Apple shifted very quickly to using the 2500 driver with the 2200. It is standard under MacOS8.

I have one of these and it is a great little QD printer. I got mine maybe 5 years ago from a junkshop. Although I did not have your problem, as far as I remember, I do recall having to take it apart and clean it up to make it work. I cleaned up the dry ink and put some "Rubber Renue" on the rollers etc. and afterwards it worked fine.

 

[Concorde1993]

Thanks for the replies.

Beachycove- thanks for the info on the printer drivers, and for confirming that the 2500 driver actually works with the 2200 series. I appreciate that very much. In regards to cleaning the 2200s, I examined the rollers, and the circuit board. I cleaned the rollers with some rubbing alcohol just to remove some potential residue that maybe creating clogging. There does not appear to be any charring/burn on either of the circuit boards. According to the previous owner, these printers were forgotten, and hardly ever used. The only apparent cosmetic damage would be on the 13.5v Apple transformer box, but nothing serious (minor scuff marks). Besides replacing some capacitors, my next theory is that the master switches on the 2200s have been altered (sort of like on the ImageWriter II), which has been removed from its "default setting," and is generating an error message. If this can be confirmed, I would gladly appreciate that.

Applefreak- I have the original Apple manual for the 2200s, and the service manual, but they do not provide any insight on how to repair this problem. The closest Apple document I found pertaining to this problem was the one I mentioned earlier on the "Waste Ink error." Currently, I cannot generate a test page, even with the printer disconnected from the 5215CD. It does not respond at all.

If I bring this printer to a service depot, would it be worth repairing (cost wise), or should I toss them out?

 

[Bunsen]

IIRC, holding down the power button for a few seconds at powerup should prompt it to auto-print the test page.

 

[beachycove]

I do recall having taken rubbing alcohol in a straw (dip in bottle, put finger over top etc., not suck it and [not] see) in order to clean the printhead. Try cleaning the thing. It is not onerous; just get the printhead into the middle, remove the ink cartridge, and drop some cleaning solution down into the works. Soak up underneath with a paper towel. I suspect that's what I did.

I don't think a service depot would be "cost-effective," but you never know. Rather than throw it all out, however, I might be interested in an Apple power supply for the 2200. The one I have is from the Canon equivalent and it's not in the best of shape.

Or sell them on here — Newton users, for instance, like them, as it is one of the relatively few printers to which Newtons can natively print.

 

[applefreak]

cleaning the printhead with some warm water and a cotton stick can be useful

the ink is water soluble

---------

moved my 2200 out of the box (stored since aug 2005)

powered up ... error light blinks.........

changed the printhead to full black

replaced the ink cartridge by a new one

didn't connect to a computer

Printing the test page

To print the test page and clean the print head, follow these steps:

1 Turn off the printer.

2 Make sure you’ve loaded U.S. Letter or A4 paper into the printer.

3 Press and hold down the power button until the amber error light turns off.

4 Release the power button and wait for the test page to print.

works fine

now i try to load the CANON NK-300 Battery kit

 

[Concorde1993]

Thanks again for the replies.

Bunsen & AppleFreak- I followed your instructions on printing out a test page on the 2200. On one of my 2200s, the printer did not show an error light at startup, and after holding the power button for several seconds, then releasing it, the printer attempted to feed the single sheet of paper, but failed, and automatically shut itself off. I attempted to help guide the sheet through the feeder, but no success after several attempts. The other 2200 simply shows the error light, even after holding down the power button for over 30 seconds. It does not load the sheet of paper at all, but does not shut itself off.

Beachycove- I will look into bringing in both 2200s to a printer repair depot. The only advantage with these units is that they are rebranded Canon printers, so parts availability should not be scarce. If the cost is unrealistic (i.e., $60 just to examine what the problem is), then I will most definitely consider selling both units on the forum, in addition to one of the 13v adapters. I just realized, however, that the 2200's power supply is rated at 13v, while the 1500's is rated 13.5v. I don't see why there would be a difference in voltage rating. This was clearly a stupid move on Apple's engineering part.

I own an eMate 300, and by far it has been a pleasure to use in school for lectures. The battery life is phenomenal (I have not charged it in over 2 weeks, and it still works!), and the text quality is great when I print off of my LW300. BTW, I know this is a bit off topic, but would it be possible to hookup an ImageWriter II to an eMate? Did the driver for that printer ever come with the eMate connectivity disk, or software in general?