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NYK Ace · Jul 16, 2004, 06:09 PM

My dad just brought home an Apple Personal Laser Writer Printer (not sure of which model or anything). The ports on the back are labeled "Parallel" "Port Selection" "RS-232C Serial" and one that has arrows going up and down (maybe local talk?)

It is copyrighted 1991. It has new toner, new rollers, has just been cleaned but apparently needs a new logic board.

Anyway if anyone could tell me if i could get this working on my network (ethernet) or with some adapter or something. And if anyone would know where to get a logic board replacement for this that would be great as well. Is it even worth it? Or even if you just know anything about these printers b/c this was way before my apple time.

thanks!

veryniceguy2002 · Jul 17, 2004, 01:17 AM

Originally posted by NYK Ace:
My dad just brought home an Apple Personal Laser Writer Printer (not sure of which model or anything). The ports on the back are labeled "Parallel" "Port Selection" "RS-232C Serial" and one that has arrows going up and down (maybe local talk?)

It is copyrighted 1991. It has new toner, new rollers, has just been cleaned but apparently needs a new logic board.

Anyway if anyone could tell me if i could get this working on my network (ethernet) or with some adapter or something. And if anyone would know where to get a logic board replacement for this that would be great as well. Is it even worth it? Or even if you just know anything about these printers b/c this was way before my apple time.

thanks!

If you are certain the Personal LaserWriter you have had a parallel port (not 25-pin serial port), then you would have a Personal LaserWriter NTR. Near where the logic board and ports, it should have stated specifically where it is an "LS" or "NT" or "SC" or "NTR".

If the printer needs a new logic board, then you don't need to worry about what ports it has. All four varients of the Personal LaserWriter had its ports built into the logic board. So, if you get a replacement board then you'll need to get a "NT" or "NTR" board (better to get an "NTR" board).

Then you'll need to get a local-talk to ethernet bridge, such as Asante AsanteTalk. ThreeMacs had a very good page about this, except the Proxim iPrint adapter mentioned perhaps no longer available:

http://www.atpm.com/network/setup/lo...k_ethernet.htm

Once you had the bridge, then you can print from MacOS X 10.2, with AppleTalk on your Mac turned on.

I had no idea where you can get a replacement logic board, as I don't live in the US! (If someone knows where can get logic board on the web, please post it here for me!!)

BTW this Apple Personal LasweWriter NTR developer note may be handy. Print a copy for your reference.

tooki · Jul 17, 2004, 11:35 AM

Most of the Personal LaserWriter series only had PostScript Level 1. Mac OS X requires PostScript Level 2, or it will not work.

Does anyone remember which ones had PS 1 and which ones had PS 2?

tooki

Eug Wanker · Jul 17, 2004, 11:50 AM

Quite frankly I think you'd be better off buying a new printer.

veryniceguy2002 · Jul 17, 2004, 11:21 PM

Originally posted by tooki:
Most of the Personal LaserWriter series only had PostScript Level 1. Mac OS X requires PostScript Level 2, or it will not work.

Does anyone remember which ones had PS 1 and which ones had PS 2?

tooki

Personal LaserWriter NTR is PS Level 2
Personal LaserWriter NT is PS Level 1
Personal LaserWriter SC or LS are both non-PostScript

These four models had an external appearence similar to this:

Personal LaserWriter 300,320 and 4/600PS looks like this:

Personal LaserWriter 300 is non-postscript
Personal LaserWriter 320 is PS Level 2
I think Perosnal LaserWriter 4/600 PS is also PS Level 2.

There's 100% MacOS X driver support from Apple on NTR, 320 (and possibly 4/600PS). See this Apple knowledge base page

Which one do you have?

NYK Ace · Jul 19, 2004, 02:11 PM

ill check which one it is today when i get home, id love to get this working!

velodev · Jul 19, 2004, 03:01 PM

Wow, buying technology before researching is a bad habit to get into... good luck.

You do know this is 2004 and laser printers are getting cheaper all the time?

bbales · Jul 19, 2004, 03:25 PM

I have an old personal laser writer that was purchased in 1991 -- and which I still have hanging around. I do not know exactly which model -- it looks like the first picture above. I can find out, though, by turning on the old Performa to which it is nominally attached!

It was a great printer. Very stingy with ink, unlike the ink jets that replaced it long ago. I wouldn't mind being able to use it again, assuming it were possible without sinking a ton more money into it.

NYK Ace · Jul 19, 2004, 04:22 PM

Originally posted by velodev:
Wow, buying technology before researching is a bad habit to get into... good luck.

You do know this is 2004 and laser printers are getting cheaper all the time?

we did not buy it we got it for free from a friend my dad knows

it is a laserwriter NTR after all, anyone know where to get a logic board?

NYK Ace · Jul 19, 2004, 04:34 PM

also i have a blue and white G3 on my network, can i connect the printer (assuming i get it working) and use this as a software bridge?

-Q- · Jul 19, 2004, 04:57 PM

Originally posted by NYK Ace:
we did not buy it we got it for free from a friend my dad knows

it is a laserwriter NTR after all, anyone know where to get a logic board?

You can try eBay or MegaMacs.

I bought a LaserWriter Pro 630 about 5 years ago that finally just gave up the ghost. It's been a great printer for a long time so you may get some life out of that LW NTR yet.

However, I'd be sure and price out what it will cost to get all the components assembled to make it work on your network with OS X. It may be cheaper to purchase a new laser printer than refurb the old one.

NYK Ace · Jul 20, 2004, 02:38 PM

ok i found an NTR logic board on fixyourownprinter.com and i found an asante iPrint on eBay

now all i need to know is cabling. do i just need a standard localtalk cable to connect from the printer to the iPrint then a regular ethernet cord to hook up to my network?

example:

printer > localtalk cord > iprint > ethernet cord > hub

i found this localtalk cord on ebay is this the right one i would need?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...e=STRK:MEWA:IT

thanks again everyone!

NYK Ace · Jul 20, 2004, 03:44 PM

another thing how the heck do you load paper in this thing?! the front folds down and i just set the paper there or do i lay it on the top, i cant tell.

(i know im rushing it lol i just ordered the parts but im getting excited! haha)

bbales · Jul 21, 2004, 10:19 AM

Let me know how you finally get this all cabled together. There's absolutely nothing wrong with my old printer (though I don't know about the whole postscript thing, so mine might not work with Panther) -- and I'd love to be able to get it back up and running. It would save me a lot of ink!

I'm talking specifics -- cables, connections, etc. Thanks.

And I THINK the paper goes on top. I can't remember exactly, and I can't even get to my old printer. Furniture in way -- we're getting new carpeting.

bbales · Jul 21, 2004, 10:20 AM

On further review of the play -- if you have the top printer pictured in the earlier post, I believe the paper goes into the fold-down tray and it comes out on top. That's the printer I have, in any case.

Good luck.

timmerk · Jul 21, 2004, 10:33 AM

My main printer is still my old trusty LaserWriter NTR! It is still going strong! Only problem is it is very slow at starting up printing, but when it starts, it's pretty decent.

I use a print server that has a parallel port on it so I can use it with all my Macs on teh network, both OS 9 macs and OS X.

bbales · Jul 21, 2004, 03:53 PM

Well, I found the instructon booklet (as well as the installation disks (sysem) for a 1991 Classic Mac! I even have HyperCard installation disks!) for the printer.

Mine is a Personal LaserWriter LS. Judging from the remarks above, it's a non postcript printer, So -- I can't use it. Correct? Darn it...

NYK Ace · Jul 22, 2004, 03:39 PM

new motherboard came today (only 39 shipped!) and i installed it and everything seems to be working fine, now all i need is the iPrint to hook it up to the network and see how it goes from there

NYK Ace · Jul 23, 2004, 02:54 PM

well i have it all up and running and connected to the network

all the computers in the house see it ok

now the only problem is it may have been misdiagnosed as to the problem with a bad logic board, the problem seems to be something else as even with the new board in there i get the double blinking yellow lights which indicates that the printer engine needs repair.

so sadly i have yet to print from this but hey at least my network sees it as of now

heres how i have it set up:

printer > localtalk transceiver > iPrint > ethernet cable > hub

mhawker · Jul 23, 2004, 05:10 PM

The two blinking lights can indicate a couple of things. One is the fuser, the other is the scanner motor. In either case, I'd suggest buying a new machine.

You can self diagnose the fuser by removing it and, using an ohm meter, check that the bulb has continuity and that the thermoprotector (small round electronic "fuse" that rides on the upper fuser roller) also has continuity.

If it appears that the fuser is fine, then it's most likely the scanner motor. This is the board with a multi sided mirror that spins up to allow the laser beam to scan across the page.

Good luck with it if you decide to try and fix it.

[edit] PS- It's basically the same as an HP LaserJet IIP/IIIP and some parts are interchangeable but others are Apple specific.