Imagewriter II and Lion.

John,

I've gone through the detailed instructions step by step and the same thing is happening. It says "printing" in the print monitor and nothing happens. As soon as I cancel the job, the imagewriter prints several lines of gibberish.

The imagewriter i ppd file that i am using has that one line of code removed that was recommended by Matt in an early post on this topic. Not sure if this is causing the problem.

I'm thinking that I need to uninstall everything and start fresh. The only problem I forsee with this is that not all of the pieces have uninstallers. I just don't want to miss something that needs to be removed that might affect the fresh install process.

Thanks again for your help! I'm not giving up!

Todd

Thanks Todd,

I performed that installation exactly as described on various Macs of various descriptions and it has never failed to work, so I have no explanation for what you're seeing. The User Tip is same document I've been supplying to others for years. I just reformatted it for this site.

I do recall Matt describing the postinstall script errors earlier in this Discussion:

... Therefore, OS X users need to delete the line that allows Foomatic-RIP to handle a PDF workflow.

... but I never determined the need to do that. The files were installed as they were.

Try downloading and installing an unaltered copy, but also make absolutely certain the ImageWriter's DIP switches are correct, and that you are using the correct Apple printer cable - the last time I used an original ImageWriter (the one that predated the ImageWriter II) was with an original Macintosh so I don't recall the cable pinouts.

I do have an original IW manual though (somewhere) so I could find the relevant sections.

If the screenshots don't exactly resemble yours let me know where they differ also.

Thanks John!

Using the Imagewriter Dip Switch settings in the document you linked, this is what I have mine set to now. Take a quick look.

I'm going to reinstall an unaltered Imagewriter PPD file tonight and test again. Keep you posted.

Before I even became involved in this forum, I installed all the components to make this imagewriter functional. If by some chance at that point I mistakenly installed one or two in the wrong order, would that be causing these issues? If changing out the PPD file doesn't work, I will then uninstall and or remove the components and start fresh.

Since the keyspan driver is the only part that has an uninstaller, I want to make sure I remove everything so when I start fresh everything gets installed in the exact correct order. Any suggestions as to exactly what files I need to be looking for from each of the components to completely clear my system?

I greatly appreciate your patience with me! I love this kind of tech modification, but I don't have a ton of experience doing it, so I'm a touch in the dark when it gets down to the nitty gritty of it all. I am an artist and am hoping to use the imagewriter for a series I am working on.

Thanks again!

Todd

Todd, my original ImageWriter manual has two places in which I indicated the DIP switch settings were incorrect as printed by Apple. I don't recall making that change 29 years ago but I assume I had sound reasons for doing so. It wouldn't be the only instance of Apple documenting something incorrectly.

Change SW 1-5 to closed. If my notes are correct, that ignores the eighth data bit, and is the default setting. An incorrect setting would explain the problem you described.

Turn the power off before changing anything.

The other switches appear to be set correctly.

All other packages also include uninstallers as I wrote in the User Tip. You should not need to uninstall anything though. Installing anything in an incorrect sequence would have resulted in an obvious error, and can be corrected by installing the package again.

Edit: Notice the two Apple documents indicate different settings for SW 1-5. The one dated 2/95 is the correct one.

John,

I switched SW1-5 to closed. Same problem occurred. I then unistalled everything and reinstalled everything in the exact sequence as described in your instructions. Exact same situtation occurs.

1. As soon as I turn the Imagewriter on, the print head goes back and forth about 2 inches continuously on the same line, until I send a text file to print or press the select button on the Imagewriter.

2. The job appears in the printer dialog, but no printing occurs. This is my CUPS interface (before a file was sent to print):

3. As soon as I delete or pause the job in the print dialog box, the printer starts printing random characters followed by a long paper advance and repeats this many times before stopping and going back to the print head going back and forth without printing anything. This is what is printed:

This is my keyspan adapter setup:

This is my Printers dialog from system preferences:

I'm at a loss here. Maybe I will try this on an old titanium laptop.

Thanks again for all your help!

Todd

TODD_K wrote:

1. As soon as I turn the Imagewriter on, the print head goes back and forth about 2 inches continuously on the same line, until I send a text file to print or press the select button on the Imagewriter.

Upon power up, the IW should "home" the printhead by sending it to the extreme left, then return it to the center, then roll the platen a small amount forward and back, then do exactly nothing until valid data gets received. Is yours not doing that? Do I understand yours is repeating some kind of motion until you send a print job?

If that's the case please power it down, unplug the cable, and power it back up again. Does it do the same thing?

The gender bender between the short cable and the IW cable may not be appropriate, but resolve those other questions first.

I'm reasonably certain you installed everything correctly since you would not be able to add it in CUPS otherwise. The cable and IW itself are now the most likely culprits preventing success.

Delete the redundant ImageWriter queues in Print & Fax. They aren't contributing to the problem but should be removed for simplicity's sake.

Make sure you installed the correct Keyspan driver and serial backend handler - the ones for OS X 10.6.8 "Snow Leopard".

Todd, try a self-test. Start with the printer powered off and paper / ribbon installed. Press and hold the Form Feed button while you turn the printer on. Release the Form Feed button. It should then continuously and repeatedly print a readable character set until you turn it off again.

John,

The IW is not performing the "home" of the printhead as you described and as I remember from my days using one with an Apple ][e back in the 80s. It is repeating a constant 2 inch back and forth motion until I send a job to print or press the select button to stop the motion.

I have powered down the printer, unplugged it and plugged it back in with the same results.

I am starting to suspect the gender bender... I just installed all the drivers and software on my old titanium laptop (using 10.4.8) following the installation instructions to the word and I get the exact same results. I made sure that the appropriate drivers for Tiger were used this time as opposed to the drivers for Snow Leopard which I used on my Mac Pro (10.6.8). For my Mac Pro, both the Driver and the Serial Backend handler that were installed were for 10.6.8.

The Imagewriter is old new stock (arrived sealed in the original box), so it was never used before I purchased it about 3 years ago. I just opened it up recently and actually performed the self-test about a month ago to test the ribbon that came with it, before I began this whole process. The results are exactly as they should be, so I think the printer itself is in good working order:

The gender bender that I am using was super cheap on Ebay. I think it was about $1. I am definitely starting to think this is what is giving me headaches.

Thanks again!

Todd

TODD_K wrote:

John,

The IW is not performing the "home" of the printhead as you described and as I remember from my days using one with an Apple ][e back in the 80s. It is repeating a constant 2 inch back and forth motion until I send a job to print or press the select button to stop the motion.

It shouldn't do that. Try it again with the serial data cable disconnected, and perform a self-test again. One or two lines of output is all you need.

I'm not suggesting the gender changer is defective; it probably is not - I'm thinking it should not be required as long as you are using a correct Mini-DIN 8 to DB25 cable (the short one). The one you are using could be a PS/2 type mouse adapter. Those are very common. What you might need instead is a "null modem" adapter with the correct genders. They are equally cheap.

May I ask how you found a new old stock IW in a sealed box? That's quite a find.

John Galt wrote:

I'm not suggesting the gender changer is defective; it probably is not - I'm thinking it should not be required as long as you are using a correct Mini-DIN 8 to DB25 cable (the short one).

You might be better off buying a single cable, no adapters, guaranteed to work - I suggest this one on eBay: 370346410145

$7 + shipping.

If and when that listing expires search for "Apple Mac 6 ft Imagewriter I Printer Cable 8 pin - DB25"

I have purchased from that seller before (kraydad) - he's a good guy.

John,

I found it on Ebay. Since I was looking for one in excellent condition for a while, I bought it immediately. The original tape on the box had only been sliced so the seller could photograph the Imagewriter. The imagewriter, the cables and the original ribbon were all factory sealed. It still had that "new computer" smell when I opened the box. It was quite a find! Every once in a while I see an Apple ][e new in a box, but they have always been extremely expensive. I think I only paid somewhere in the $150-$200 for the Imagewriter.

John,

I am ordering this right now. Thank you! I'll keep you posted. I greatly appreciate your help!

Thanks. I'm just concerned about the print head motion you're describing. If it does the repetitive motion with nothing connected to its serial port then something is wrong with it that will require component-level repair.

It doesn't do the continuous back and forth with the serial cable unplugged. It just does the normal "home" of the print head. For some reason, I originally thought you meant to unplug the serial cable and plug it back in and give it another try.