LaserWriter 4/600 on a newer mac

Question

LaserWriter 4/600 on a newer mac

I have a perfectly good LaserWriter 4/600 that I am trying to get working as a standalone USB printer. The test page prints when it fires up, and everything looks clean. Back when Apple first switched over to USB, there were several 'adapter' hubs manufactured to allow people with new Macs to use older Apple peripherals. One such adapter was CompuCable's iDock, which worked as both a USB hub and an AppleTalk adapter. What I am trying to do is connect the LaserWriter through the iDock via USB. The problem is, when everything is connected, the printer isn't available in El Capitan under system preferences, printers and scanners, add new printer. I don't know if this is a driver issue, an iDock issue, or a problem with the LaserWriter itself. The USB ports on the iDock do function, and the appletalk port worked back in 1999, when I first purchased the iDock.

Has anybody out there been able to get these older printers up and running with newer computers?

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1), iMac (20-inch, Early 2008)

Posted on Aug 26, 2017 8:01 AM

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Answer 1

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

24,235 points

Aug 26, 2017 12:57 PM in response to AntonyFromWatertown

A main problem is that Mac OS X 10.6 and higher cannot handle the AppleTalk protocol.

To begin with, you may want to take a look at Grant Bennet-Alder's replies to a not too different question:

Re: How to connect Apple Laserwriter 16/600 PS to PowerMac G4

Unfortunately, the LaserWriter 4/600 PS has only a LocalTalk port, and the printer does not support LPD/LPR.

LaserWriter 4/600 PS:Technical Specifications

http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Manuals/printers/0306913AALW46 00SU.PDF

A solution for the LaserWriter 4/600 PS could possibly be to use a pre-10.6 Mac OS X computer as a "print server" and share the printer.

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Answer 2

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

24,235 points

Aug 26, 2017 1:56 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

Addendum

Apparently, neither iDock nor iDock 2 supported LocalTalk/AppleTalk, only serial printers (various StyleWriter printers and the Personal LaserWriter 300 were a few examples mentioned in older compatibility lists). I am not familiar with said dock devices. Hopefully, someone else here could suggest a suitable adapter product for a LaserWriter 4/600 PS used as a shared printer with a pre-10.6 Mac OS X computer.

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