12/640 PS with insomnia

I have a LaserWriter 12/640 PS hooked up to a router on a network with a G5 and a Dell laptop running XP. I have configured both computers to print to the 12/640 (via native Apple drivers over EtherTalk, and an LPD/LPR print queue, respectively). I bought the printer used for fifty bucks and it outputs from both computers flawlessly!

The only problem is that the energy saving mode appears to have stopped working (it's supposed to sleep ten seconds after printing). The printer starts up normally, but it stays on (fan running and green light glowing) indefinitely. There is never any re-warmup delay when I wait two hours and print again. It just prints instantly.

I am sure that when I first got the printer, it would go to sleep after a few minutes. Now, it never rests and I have to manually shut it off.

According to an Apple tech note ( http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=24168 ), "The LaserWriter 12/640 PS engine (the fuser, scanner and other internal parts, not including the main controller board) goes to sleep 10 seconds after the completion of a job. This is a low-level sleep feature and is a built-in, static characteristic of that print engine. It cannot be changed by the Apple Printer Utility or by downloading PostScript code."

So how did mine lose its energy-saving mode? I did add 64 MB of memory and configured it with an IP address so I could use it with the XP laptop using LPD/LPR printing, but other than that nothing has changed. Help!

G5, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Mar 28, 2010 8:49 PM

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2 replies

Jun 3, 2010 9:12 AM in response to KC Tom

You did not lose your energy saving mode. I have the same printer, and the "energy saving mode" only refers to the fuser cooling down after 10 seconds. That way, you are not continually keeping the fuser hot while the printer is not being used, and therefore you save energy. The internal fan keeps running and the green ready light stay on - neither of them use much energy. Only way to turn those off is to power off the printer.

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12/640 PS with insomnia

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