beachycove
Well-known member
I picked up one of these today, for parts basically, because the LaserWriter Pro, Pro 630, and 16/600 are all based on the same Canon engine, and because I have a Pro 630 that I have used for the past 10 years. I also hope soon to lay my hands on the much faster 16/600, with a few spare 98x cartridges. Either is an extremely reliable and cheap to run printer, but they are getting on in years, so parts machines are good to have. So out I went and got me an HP, which has identical mechanicals.
The main point of interest for me about the Laserjet, however, turned out to be that it came with a duplexer. Now, though there was never a duplexer option for the LaserWriters mentioned, there is a slot in the printers' PPD for it. I noticed this a couple of months ago when (manually) adding Appletalk-only printer PPDs to a X.8 MacBook Pro (I print to them through an IP print server, which works perfectly). The PPD controls what the computer looks for in the machine mechanically (essentially the possible configurations, like Envelope Feeder, yes or no), and is a simple text file that can be easily edited. So if I can get the duplexer to fit physically (which will be a bit of a fiddle, but the similar 500 sheet paper trays from these machines certainly do fit), I want to see if I can get an old LaserWriter to print double-sided for me. If it doesn't work, then I still have the Laserjet. For speed, it lies somewhere between the Pro 630 and the 16/600, at 12 pages per minute, which is not too bad.
The use of the Laserjet is not what I had planned when going out to get it today, but the surprise is that this printer, which has an expensive (and for 1994, high-end) optional duplexer attached, is pretty much pristine, and reports that it has printed a grand total of -- wait for it -- 30 pages. They are rated for a minimum of 500,000. I don't know if it is possible to reset the page count, but as the owner did not know that it was possible even to get a page count out of the machine, I doubt that he did any resetting himself. The machine looks so clean internally that a 30pp. count is almost conceivable.
Bought it for $20. Alas, it did not come with a Postscript SIMM, which means that it is no good with a Mac -- yet. But that can be changed.
Anyone happen to have a Laserjet 4 Plus Postscript SIMM to sell/ trade? I know, it's a lot to ask someone to remember from a box of parts, but you never know....
The main point of interest for me about the Laserjet, however, turned out to be that it came with a duplexer. Now, though there was never a duplexer option for the LaserWriters mentioned, there is a slot in the printers' PPD for it. I noticed this a couple of months ago when (manually) adding Appletalk-only printer PPDs to a X.8 MacBook Pro (I print to them through an IP print server, which works perfectly). The PPD controls what the computer looks for in the machine mechanically (essentially the possible configurations, like Envelope Feeder, yes or no), and is a simple text file that can be easily edited. So if I can get the duplexer to fit physically (which will be a bit of a fiddle, but the similar 500 sheet paper trays from these machines certainly do fit), I want to see if I can get an old LaserWriter to print double-sided for me. If it doesn't work, then I still have the Laserjet. For speed, it lies somewhere between the Pro 630 and the 16/600, at 12 pages per minute, which is not too bad.
The use of the Laserjet is not what I had planned when going out to get it today, but the surprise is that this printer, which has an expensive (and for 1994, high-end) optional duplexer attached, is pretty much pristine, and reports that it has printed a grand total of -- wait for it -- 30 pages. They are rated for a minimum of 500,000. I don't know if it is possible to reset the page count, but as the owner did not know that it was possible even to get a page count out of the machine, I doubt that he did any resetting himself. The machine looks so clean internally that a 30pp. count is almost conceivable.
Bought it for $20. Alas, it did not come with a Postscript SIMM, which means that it is no good with a Mac -- yet. But that can be changed.
Anyone happen to have a Laserjet 4 Plus Postscript SIMM to sell/ trade? I know, it's a lot to ask someone to remember from a box of parts, but you never know....
