c.poe
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: I want to purchase a current printer for an old Mac.

My mom has a Performa 6200 CD.  Uncertain of the processor speed.  Started out OS 7, base ROM & HD RAM - upgraded ROM, RAM and OS. Now OS 8.6.  Think the HD is 6 gig.  Apps are ClarisWorks & Quicken.


Her printer - StyleWriter 1200 - is dying. I  want to replace her SW with a new Mac compatible printer  (her BD's coming up) . Two probs - new printers are USB and are Mac OS X.    HELP!!!

Performa, Mac OS 8.6 or Earlier

Posted on Jun 9, 2015 12:33 AM

by ryan42,Solvedanswer
ryan42 ryan42
Level 3 (855 points)
A:

I have a Stylus Color 740 en route to him. :-)

Posted on Jul 4, 2015 6:19 PM

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c.poe

Q: I want to purchase a current printer for an old Mac.

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  • by ryan42,

    ryan42 ryan42 Jun 11, 2015 8:32 PM in response to c.poe
    Level 3 (855 points)
    Jun 11, 2015 8:32 PM in response to c.poe

    I could copy the drivers to a floppy disk or CD and include them with the printer. That would be a non-issue.

  • by c.poe,

    c.poe c.poe Jun 11, 2015 10:03 PM in response to ryan42
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 11, 2015 10:03 PM in response to ryan42

    Cool.  Floppy disks.  Quicken, Claris and a screen saver program (Flying Toasters?) came in packs of floppies.

     

    Saw the h/p Laserjet 6MP via your  eBay link. The printer+s/h cost less than the replacement  Stylewriter.  My mom was determined to get what she was comfortable with..

     

    Amazon wanted $120 for one on their site.  Granted, shipping would be "free".  After what she paid, that the Amazon h/p was not THAT much more.

     

    I can electronically reimburse you via PopMoney, or SMail you a check. for the shipping.

  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody Jun 13, 2015 8:04 AM in response to c.poe
    Level 9 (66,889 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Jun 13, 2015 8:04 AM in response to c.poe

    I recommend checking with http://www.welovemacs.com/  they are known to carry many old Apple compatible parts.     The other place is the resources on http://www.lowendmac.com/

  • by c.poe,

    c.poe c.poe Jun 13, 2015 5:06 PM in response to a brody
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 13, 2015 5:06 PM in response to a brody

    Thank you for the sites - I'll check them out.

  • by Jeff,

    Jeff Jeff Jun 13, 2015 6:15 PM in response to c.poe
    Level 6 (11,559 points)
    Jun 13, 2015 6:15 PM in response to c.poe

    Unless you're absolutely desperate, I wouldn't recommend buying anything from "We Love Money Macs."  While a reasonable profit margin is acceptable for any merchant, their pricing goes well beyond that — and for dated hardware that has very little actual value.  Scarcity should never be a justification for price gouging.  Try ebay first.

  • by c.poe,

    c.poe c.poe Jun 14, 2015 12:00 AM in response to Jeff
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 14, 2015 12:00 AM in response to Jeff

    I was shocked at their prices.  Ryan42 said he knew where to find Epson Stylus Color 740s.   I've found 1 that the seller said worked when he put it up for sale, but it is as/is.

     

    I've found 740 ink all over the net, but no printers.  I don't have an eBay account, but I've looked at their site.  I was looking at inkjets because my mom uses Quicken Checks - 3 checks to a sheet. I'm not certain, but don't think the HP 6MP Laserjet would handle a single check w/o jamming.

     

    HP 6MPs are everywhere.  And they're not THAT expensive.  Though  the toner toner is not included.

  • by c.poe,

    c.poe c.poe Jun 15, 2015 6:03 PM in response to Jeff
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 15, 2015 6:03 PM in response to Jeff

    I'm running Windows - M' mom, Apple.  I read the hp Laserjet 6MP User Guide online - okay, skimmed it.  The guide mentioned installing the SetUp CD (or diskettes).

    I've been told "No sweat.  Download it from the Internet."  If I were planning to use the 6MP,I could probably figure out how to do it.  But an Apple Startup (Setup) CD/diskette must be created on a Mac.  No?

  • by Jeff,

    Jeff Jeff Jun 15, 2015 8:01 PM in response to c.poe
    Level 6 (11,559 points)
    Jun 15, 2015 8:01 PM in response to c.poe

    You can also use the Apple LaserWriter PostScript printer driver for the LaserJet 6MP.  Since the 6200 is running Mac OS 8.6, a version of it should already be installed in the Extensions Folder (perhaps it's in the "Extensions (Disabled)" Folder.  The last release - Version 8.6.1 (circa 1999)  - is a single 3 MB compressed download, which can be found here.  Getting it loaded on the 6200's hard drive will be the problem.  If you burned the unmodified download to a CD, the 6200's old 4x CD-ROM drive may not recognize the CD-R media that you used.  There is a utility program for creating Mac-formatted floppy disks on a PC, but it would be suited for a segmented download.  When I purchased the HP PostScript SIMM upgrade kit to convert a 6P to a 6MP, the floppy disk(s) with PostScript drivers were included in the box.  For the 6MP that I purchased, I downloaded the file from HP.  Keep in mind that if you buy old stock toner - even if still sealed, it has a shelf life.  The manufacturers will indicate about 1-2 years.  The photo-sensitive drum can degrade over time.  In spite of having an abundance of toner, you can get some very strange printing anomalies on the page, making it unacceptable.  Buying a refilled toner cartridge can also be problematic, because the remaining service life in the drum is anyone's guess.  I've had to dispose of old toner cartridges that weren't empty, but the artifacts showing up on the printed page from an aging drum in the cartridge made the cartridge unusable.  There are a lot of parts in a laser printer that can start to go bad, producing a number of specific symptoms.  An HP 6P/6MP printer has been out of production for a long time, so used ones will likely have very high page counts, which can be translated into remaining service life.

  • by Jan Hedlund,

    Jan Hedlund Jan Hedlund Jun 16, 2015 3:00 AM in response to c.poe
    Level 6 (9,901 points)
    Jun 16, 2015 3:00 AM in response to c.poe

    Jeff mentioned the LaserWriter 8.6.1 printer driver. If you wish/need to download the software through a PC, keep the MacBinary (.bin) file as it is. Do not try to decode/decompress/change anything on the PC. Usually, a CD made (from an ISO file) on a PC can be read on an older Macintosh computer, providing that the latter has an ISO 9660 helper file in the Extensions folder. Use a CD-R (not CD-RW), and burn at a low speed.

     

    Once on the old Macintosh computer, copy the .bin file (it may have a truncated name) from the CD to the hard disk. Then, StuffIt Expander (search for it on the Performa's hard disk) can be used to decode the .bin file (just drag the file onto the StuffIt Expander icon, or open the file from within this utility). The result should be a self-mounting image (.smi) with the printer software. Double-click on the .smi to mount the self-mounting image. Please post back if StuffIt Expander is not available

  • by c.poe,

    c.poe c.poe Jun 18, 2015 10:59 PM in response to Jan Hedlund
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 18, 2015 10:59 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

    The Mac DOES (yippy!) have StuffIt Expander, found via Sherlock.

    Got it.  Download the file from the net.  Burn the .bin file to a CD-R.  Take the burned CD to the Mac, put it in, launch Stuffit Expander.  Double click the .smi.

     

    Where exactly do I find this MacBinary file?

  • by c.poe,

    c.poe c.poe Jun 18, 2015 11:15 PM in response to c.poe
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 18, 2015 11:15 PM in response to c.poe

    Sorry, Jan.  Never noticed the link Jeff sent.  I didn't know I could slow the burn speed.  I have no clue how to do that - or if I can.

     

    Charlie (aka c.poe)

  • by c.poe,

    c.poe c.poe Jun 19, 2015 12:24 AM in response to Jeff
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 19, 2015 12:24 AM in response to Jeff

    Hmmm.  I've seen some 6MPs w/ pg cnts listed.  Like used autos' mileage, 30k is pretty good, unless the car was driven by a Law Enforcement Agency.

     

    HP claims 4k pgs per toner cart.  I used to work at an American Red Cross chapter.  We went through (I'd guess) 5 per year carts on the one I was familiar with.  We had 5 HPs at the time, but the Health & Safety Dir did more printing than the Chap CEO. 5 x 4k x 5 yrs = 100,000 pages.  I think he got a new HP then.

     

    I'm guessing a pg cnt  between 30k & 50k is acceptable for a personal use 6MP.  The "gotcha" is the drum.  My mom needs a printer.  Ar drums still made that would fit this printer?

     

    I mean, I drive an older car, but parts are still available for it.  Granted, they may cost a bit more than a Brand New to 3 or 4 y/o vehicle.

  • by Jeff,

    Jeff Jeff Jun 19, 2015 8:01 AM in response to c.poe
    Level 6 (11,559 points)
    Jun 19, 2015 8:01 AM in response to c.poe

    The HP 5P, 5MP, 6P, and 6MP use a cartridge having the drum and toner combined.  I don't think you ever indicated your location, but in the U. S., there's a chain of office supply stores called Office Depot.  While in one last night, I was pricing toner cartridges for a current HP color LaserJet printer.  Out of curiosity — and since I still have 3 or 4 of the printers, I checked the price for the 5P/5MP/6P/6MP toner and it's $124.99.  That's a lot of $$ to invest in an old, used printer that, while made extremely well, will likely have had many hours of ON time and printing.  A typical printer retired from an office setting will have much more mileage than one that was used in the home.  You can instantly determine the total number of pages printed, when you power on the printer and print a self-test page.

  • by Jeff,

    Jeff Jeff Jun 19, 2015 8:22 AM in response to Jeff
    Level 6 (11,559 points)
    Jun 19, 2015 8:22 AM in response to Jeff

    Here's an interesting article from HP's web site concerning toner cartridges and their wear during normal usage.

  • by c.poe,

    c.poe c.poe Jun 19, 2015 9:32 PM in response to Jeff
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 19, 2015 9:32 PM in response to Jeff

    Hi, Jeff.

     

    I'm sweltering in triple digit heat in the southern Central Valley of CA.

     

    The closest OD is abt 2 mi away - OfficeMax abt ¾ mi.

     

    Without knowing (or for that matter, with full knowledge) where the HP 6MP came from, buying one is a very iffy proposition.  Especially after reading the HP article. Ay, yi, yi!  No wonder there are so many inexpensive 6MPs out there.

     

    I guess it's back to searching for a Performa compatible inkjet. Dang! 

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