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Mac Classic Printers?
- Thread starter Jaek_3
- Start date
converters, if you have drivers that will work with whatever printer your thinking of. Thats why I said search ebay for mac compatible printers, as system software and getting ink / laser cartridges will all be issues. Most printers Apple made are in the software for what they can use, some third party printers come with floppies. Some can be done over network, again with drivers. Your just gonna have to look.
I think your best option is to get a network laser printer which supports the Appletalk protocol (either over Localtalk or ethernet media) and the Postscript print language.
If you get an ethernet capable printer and do not have ethernet on your Classic, then you need an AsanteTalk or MicroAsantePrint or older AsantePrint or equivalent product from Dayna or Farralon. These devices are Localtalk - ethernet bridges.
Printers pretty clearly state if they support Postscript. The trick is finding one that supports Appletalk communications protocol. They don't advertise it any more but some still include it. HP printers which can use a Jet Direct interface card are good candidates as there are a variety of JD cards including ethernet and Localtalk with Appletalk support. However, I have not followed recent HP products and its possible they've updated the Jet Direct line to remove the useful features.
Some specific, but older(i.e. must be bought used) printer models that would work include the HP LaserJet 4M (M indicates Postscript support, also addable to the plain 4 with a seperate SIMM style module), 4M Plus, 2100tn. All of these take JD cards but of different generations and form factor. They're also pretty old (the 4 series is ancient, like 20 years). There are probably more modern choices.
In a color laser consider the Kyocera Eco Pro C170N, if you can find one or the Xerox Phasor 6180. There's also a newer Phaser someone here has recommended but I don't remember the model number. Searching on Xerox and Phasor or Phaser will probably turn up some old relevant discussions.
If you get an ethernet capable printer and do not have ethernet on your Classic, then you need an AsanteTalk or MicroAsantePrint or older AsantePrint or equivalent product from Dayna or Farralon. These devices are Localtalk - ethernet bridges.
Printers pretty clearly state if they support Postscript. The trick is finding one that supports Appletalk communications protocol. They don't advertise it any more but some still include it. HP printers which can use a Jet Direct interface card are good candidates as there are a variety of JD cards including ethernet and Localtalk with Appletalk support. However, I have not followed recent HP products and its possible they've updated the Jet Direct line to remove the useful features.
Some specific, but older(i.e. must be bought used) printer models that would work include the HP LaserJet 4M (M indicates Postscript support, also addable to the plain 4 with a seperate SIMM style module), 4M Plus, 2100tn. All of these take JD cards but of different generations and form factor. They're also pretty old (the 4 series is ancient, like 20 years). There are probably more modern choices.
In a color laser consider the Kyocera Eco Pro C170N, if you can find one or the Xerox Phasor 6180. There's also a newer Phaser someone here has recommended but I don't remember the model number. Searching on Xerox and Phasor or Phaser will probably turn up some old relevant discussions.
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I don't like ink jet printers. My experience has been that I don't print for weeks at a time and then the print heads are clogged when I need them. Perhaps the Stylewriter doesn't have this problem? Also print costs of laser is generally much lower per page.
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If your classic Mac can get onto a network, any non-host based PostScript enabled printer will work. Easiest solution would be an older LaserJet printer with a JetDirect slot such as a LaserJet III, 4P, 5P, 6P, 4000, 4050, 2300, etc. JetDirect cards are relatively cheap, and you can get one with both LocalTalk and Ethernet support. For a modern printer, I like the Xerox 6600dn.
I did a little searching, in an admittedly very limited time frame and the Localtalk - Ethernet bridges appear to be neither common nor inexpensive anymore. Seems like yesterday they were going unsold on Ebay for $10 - $15.
So a printer with an actual localTalk port is more affordable, such as one of the HP models that can take a JD card.
The thing is, a nice ethernet equipped color laser printer can serve every computer in your house provided it supports Postscript (works with Laserwriter driver) and understands Appletalk.
If the Stylewriter doesn't clog with disuse or if you print a lot that might be the simplest most affordable choice. It depends on what you want beyond simply working with a Classic.
So a printer with an actual localTalk port is more affordable, such as one of the HP models that can take a JD card.
The thing is, a nice ethernet equipped color laser printer can serve every computer in your house provided it supports Postscript (works with Laserwriter driver) and understands Appletalk.
If the Stylewriter doesn't clog with disuse or if you print a lot that might be the simplest most affordable choice. It depends on what you want beyond simply working with a Classic.
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I've found the Canon BJC series and corresponding Stylewriter models to be very tolerant of intermittent use/long term disuse. Black ink only models or colour models used in black only mode seem to perform the best in this regard. Some of the cartridges are getting scarce, but I found the one in my Stylewriter II was easily and effectively refilled. If you want a printer just for use on your Classic, I think the Stylewriter II or 1200 would be a good choice. They're small, lightweight, and only use about 20 watts of electricity during operation. Best of all, they're well supported in whatever System you might be running on your Classic. You might have to install drivers, but they exist for 6.0.8 onwards. Note that the 1200 is a slightly improved model of the Stylewriter II and can use the II drivers.
http://www.jagshouse.com/StyleWriterII.html
http://www.jagshouse.com/StyleWriterII.html
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