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What printer cable do I need to connect my IMac to an Epson Stylus 600?

I'm trying to figure out what cable I need to purchase to connect my IMac to my Epson Stylus 600. I can't seem to get an answer anywhere. Can someone point me in the right direction, or perhaps where I might purchase one?

IMac, Mac OS X (10.5.1), Epson Stylus 600

Posted on Nov 27, 2007 7:16 AM

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Posted on Nov 27, 2007 10:20 AM

The first search result in Google for the printer name leads to the printer's support page at Epson. The PDF manual for the printer, downloadable on that page, describes the specific cable. It sounds like one of those very early Epsons. You will need to purchase the cable described in the manual, but you will also need to buy a USB adapter, because your iMac doesn't have a port old enough for the cable to plug in. It has USB ports.

Also, the latest printer driver provided by Epson on that page is an OS 9 driver. I see no OS X driver at all, let alone a Tiger driver (you are posting in the OS X Tiger forum, so I assume that is what you are running). It might work through Classic, but it might also be troublesome.

Given the fact that you will probably have to use a cable, an adapter, and an old driver running through Classic, you may encounter many headaches getting it to work. It is very possible that a better use of your money will be to buy a new printer, since so many of them now are $100 or below. They should also be much improved over the Stylus 600. I owned an Epson from that period and today's printers have improved immensely in terms of speed and quality.
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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 27, 2007 10:20 AM in response to Dcoco

The first search result in Google for the printer name leads to the printer's support page at Epson. The PDF manual for the printer, downloadable on that page, describes the specific cable. It sounds like one of those very early Epsons. You will need to purchase the cable described in the manual, but you will also need to buy a USB adapter, because your iMac doesn't have a port old enough for the cable to plug in. It has USB ports.

Also, the latest printer driver provided by Epson on that page is an OS 9 driver. I see no OS X driver at all, let alone a Tiger driver (you are posting in the OS X Tiger forum, so I assume that is what you are running). It might work through Classic, but it might also be troublesome.

Given the fact that you will probably have to use a cable, an adapter, and an old driver running through Classic, you may encounter many headaches getting it to work. It is very possible that a better use of your money will be to buy a new printer, since so many of them now are $100 or below. They should also be much improved over the Stylus 600. I owned an Epson from that period and today's printers have improved immensely in terms of speed and quality.

Nov 27, 2007 11:52 AM in response to Dcoco

The Epson Stylus 600 has both a serial port and a parallel port. Epson printers will not work via the serial port in Mac OS X. You need to get a parallel-to-USB adapter. The drivers for such adapters are built into Mac OS X. Fortunately, Epson printers have proven to work very well with just about any parall-to-USB adapter you try. They range in price from US$15 to US$70.

Matt

Nov 27, 2007 12:25 PM in response to Dcoco

One more thing. You didn't say what kind of iMac you are using. If it's a G4/G5 iMac, the driver will function in Classic, but I can't remember if you can get OS X apps to see a printer driver in Classic.

If it is an Intel iMac, it won't run Classic, so the printer's OS 9 driver won't run at all. If that is the case, you may not get the Mac to see the printer no matter what cables/adapters you buy.

What printer cable do I need to connect my IMac to an Epson Stylus 600?

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