ok... I just picked up a dot matrix printer , an imagewriter II to be exact. this printer is brand new , but only has the power cord for it. so I need some advice on how to hook it up. I realize that it is going to need some kind of cable to connect from the printer to a printer card. this leads me two my second question... what kind of printer card should I be getting? I want a good one , one that has plenty of buffer on it , would it be a grappler? if I am thinking correctly , that was the card of choice back in the day , and also anyone know what kind of cable I need to communicate with the printer and the card and where about I can get one cheap? and also , ofcourse I am going to need cartidges and paper , don't know if I need the paper with the holes on each side of the paper itself , or if this printer doesnt require that type , and if I can even get a box of the paper that it uses??
any help or sugestions would be greatly appreciated at this time.
thanks..
Patrick.
A24ever.
What are you going to use it on? With a IIc or IIgs you do not need a card just a cable.
With the other Apple II you will need a serial card. I would venture to say that most Grappler cards were not serial. So just the name is not going to do it for you.
Super Serial might be the best choice.
As for the paper you may have to oder a box of it. Sometime some one will have it and want to get rid of it. Schools, churches, and some auctions may have boxes or reams of these papers.
Take Care
ok , well I have several options here then. if I go with a one of my //c or //c+'s I can just use the data cable? but if I hook up to a II+ or //e , can I use a grappler+ card? does it have to be a ssc? the ssc card at the present time in both my //e and II+ are being set for transfering with adt . ofcouse I really only need one of these machines to accomplish the adt process anyways. so if I use s ssc card , I think I would need to know what the propper dipswitch settings are? wait.. I have an original manual for a ssc II here. maybe that will explain what dips to set it on.
as far as the paper is concerned , hopefully I will find some. the imagewriter II , does that use dual cartridges? one for black and one for color? or is this a combined cartridge situation? hopefully the cartridges will not be to costly.
thanks.
Patrick.
A24ever.
No it does not mean it has to be a Super Serial card. But it has to be a serial card. The Grappler was used in the IIgs for ink jet printers and parallel printers. So if you want to pick one up you have to make sure it is a serial card. Most printing programs have the imagewriter and the super serial card for choices.
MC PRICEBREAKERS use to have all the cables. At very good prices. You will have to see if they have any IIc printer cables.
For the paper you should be able to order it from Staples or places like that. You might have to buy a ream of paper which would be like a large box of it. I think the price of doing that way is around $40.00.
As for the ribbons not cartridges. Black, or solid one color. Or the multi color one. The multi color one tends to get muddle with the colors blending into one another after a while. Like the yellow is not a clean yellow. Most people had a black one for text and color one when they wanted to do something other than text. Still can find them for around $8.00 or so.
Patrick,
You said in your post that the printer is "Brand New". Does that mean that it's in it's original box with all the paperwork, or what?
If it was brand new, a serial cable and owners manual should have been with it. The manual will give you all the information you need to set it up.
If the manual did not come with it, you really should consider getting one. First try http://www.1000bit.net/ they may have the manual for download. Second, try ebay. On occasion they have the Imagewriter II manual for a halfway decent price.
The ribbons can not only be found on eBay, but in some instances online if you can get the part number off of an existing ribbon.
Some computer stores still carry them.
Good Luck.
could of sworn back in the day , I had a dot matrix printer , think it was an epson? it had a grappler+ card in it! so I thought the grappler+ would support imagewritter II's and what not. if the imagewritter II was designed more inline with the //e's and gs's then I can understand that and go with a ssc since this will be used on a //e machine.
thanks for all the advice peeps :O)
Patrick.
A24ever.
Patrick,
There is an Imagewriter II owners manual on ebay right now (27Sep09, 0919, Eastern Time) for $6.00.
Item Number 380162542662. I just came from there.
Good Luck!
well I recieved the imagewritter II today :O) and I must say it is in prestine condition! still had the factory stickers over the smoked glass for protection and it still had the card board that resides in the printer when it was boxed up. the only thing it did not have was a power cord or data cable. I think I have a power cord so that should not be a problem , the only question I have is if I decide to go with using one of my apple SSC II card's , what did switches should I be using to have the SSC card identify the printer and have it communicate properly?
Thanks..
Patrick.
A24ever.
Patrick,
There are ribbon cartridges for the Imagewriter II on ebay for sale right now. I just came from there. I also hope that you checked out the manual I told you about.
Good Luck.
well I checked out the specs for the SSC card and I set the dip switches according to what the SSC manual says. Now all I have to do is grab a few black ribbon cartridges or color , and ofcourse a box of paper . I don't remember seeing a data cable this large for use with the SSC II card , but I guess that is what I am going to have to use.
thanks everyone again and if anyone has a link that can direct me to a site that sells full boxes of paper for use with the imagewriter II
that would be awsome.
thanks.
Patrick.
A24ever.