The comp.sys.apple2 Usenet newsgroup Apple II FAQs originate from the Ground Apple II archive, 1997-2005. Administrator: Steve Nelson Csa2 FAQs-on-Ground ref: Csa2PRINTER.txt rev086 May 2005 Printers & Interfaces 001- How do I do the ImageWriter II self-test? 002- What are the DIP switch settings for IW-II and IW-LQ printers? 003- How do I do the ImageWriter-LQ alignment test? 004- Can I use a 'straight-through' cable to connect my IW-II? 005- My Imagewriter II doesn't print! What's wrong? 006- How can I keep paper from jamming in my Imagewriter II? 007- The bottoms of letters don't get printed. How can I fix this? 008- What is the 'trick' for restoring a printer ribbon? 009- How do I connect a "Centronics interface" printer to my Apple? 010- Where can I get a Grappler+ cable? What is the pinout? 011- What are the DIP switches on my Grappler+ for? 012- What printers will the Harmonie drivers work with on my GS? 013- What's the best GS interface for connecting a parallel printer? 014- How can I use my Epson Color Stylus 800 with my IIgs? 015- Why aren't fonts found after being moved to a new GS volume? 016- When I run Platinum Paint I get error $1301. What's wrong? 017- Can I clean the nozzles on an Epson Stylus printer? 018- What is the pinout for a GS to ImageWriter I cable? 019- Where can I get Imagewriter II ribbons? 020- How can I connect my Imagewriter II to a PC? From: Mike McElfresh 001- How do I do the Imagewriter II self-test? With the printer OFF, hold the Form Feed button down while pressing down the ON switch. Release both buttons when the print head starts to move. To stop, turn the printer OFF. ____________________________ From: Rubywand 002- I bought an ImageWriter II and an ImageWriter LQ. What are the DIP switch settings for these printers? While a number of settings are the same; there are some differences between IW-II and IW-II LQ in DIP switch settings as well as which DIP switches are present. Unless there is a note attached or a setting is labeled "IW-II" or "'LQ", the indicated setting applies to both printers. IW-II DIP switches are located near the left front side, inside the printer. Lift the cover to get access. 'LQ DIP switches are located near the left rear of the printer under the rear cover. When changing switches, power should be OFF. ImageWriter II & II LQ DIP Switch Settings In Imagewriter manuals, "SW-1" refers to DIP switch module 1. Each such module has several individually numbered switches. For example SW-1 #5 refers to switch #5 on the SW-1 module. When a switch is UP (pointing toward the back of the printer) it is open or OFF. When a switch is DOWN (pointing toward the front of the printer) it is closed or ON. When a setting is labeled "usual" this refers to the usual setting at the time a printer is shipped in the USA. The settings for SW-1 have to do with printout format. ImageWriter control codes can override these settings. The codes for a particular setup could be sent in a character string by your program or an application. On SW-1 all of the switches are normally open (UP) except #8 which is closed (DOWN). These settings work for printouts under Appleworks and several other programs which take care of page breaks. For tasks like listing a program, doing a hex dump in the monitor, etc. you may want SW-1 #5 to be DOWN for automatic skipping over perforations between pages. Character Set SW-1 #1 #2 #3 American U U U default Italian D U U Danish U D U British D D U German U U D Swedish D U D French U D D Spanish D D D Form Length SW-1 #4 11 inches U default 12 inches D Auto Perforation Skip SW-1 #5 No U default Yes D Character Pitch SW-1 #6 #7 10 cpi U U 12 cpi D U default 17 cpi U D 160 dpi D D (proportional) Line Feed with Carriage Return SW-1 #8 No U CR only Yes D CR plus LF The settings for SW-2 are concerned with hardware interfacing. #1 and #2 set the baud rate the printer will expect: SW-2 #1 #2 300 (on IW-II) U U 19200 (on IW-II LQ) U U 'LQ default 1200 D U 2400 U D 9600 D D IW-II default You should set the switches to match the speed of your printer interface. For the IIgs serial Printer Port, the Port and the DIP switches would normally be set for the maximum speed the printer can handle (e.g. IIgs Port at 9600 baud and DIP switches set DOWN DOWN for the IW-II). SW-2 #3 is usually set UP to enable DTR hardware handshaking. If your interface wants to use XON/XOFF handshaking, set #3 DOWN. SW-2 #4: If you have the 32K Memory Option, LocalTalk card, etc. installed, SW-2 #4 should be set DOWN. Otherwise, it should be set UP (the usual setting). IW-II: SW-2 #5-#6 on the IW-II are factory-set to optimize hammer firing and should be left alone by the use (On my IW-II #5 is DOWN and #6 is UP.) 'LQ: SW-2 #5-#7 (#7 is only on the 'LQ) on the IW-II LQ are used to set the number of cut sheet feeder bins attached to the printer. 'LQ SW-2 #5 #6 #7 1 U U D 1 and 2 D U D 1, 2, and 3 D D D 1 and envelope U U U default 1, 2, and envelope D U U 1, 2, 3, and envelope D D U 'LQ: SW-2 #8 (only on the 'LQ) sets Auto Paper Load position. To print line U default To paper bail D 'LQ: SW-3 #1-#5 (only on the 'LQ) are factory-set to optimize printer operation and should be left alone by the user. 'LQ: SW-3 #6-#8 (only on the 'LQ) control vertical alignment of dots in bidirectional printing mode. Set for best alignment. ---------------------------- 003- How do I do the ImageWriter II LQ alignment test? The 'LQ Alignment Test With printer OFF, press Select, Line Feed, Form Feed. Hold them pressed, turn ON printer, and release buttons after printer head starts to move. The printout shows four possible switch settings with six lines of vertical bar printouts for each setting. Settings are indicated like this: 1 0 0 (which means DOWN UP UP). An asterisk by a setting means it is the current setting. Set the switches to the setting which best lines up the vertical bars in the printout. --------------------------- 004- Will a 'straight-through' cable work for connecting an ImageWriter II to my GS? No. In the ImageWriter cable, Pins 1 & 2, 3 & 5, and 6 & 8 are supposed to be swapped from one end of the cable to the other. ---------------------------- 005- My ImageWriter II doesn't print! The head moves, and I can hear the pins striking the paper, but I get nothing. What's wrong? Check ribbon positioning. If the ribbon is properly positioned, then, you may need to adjust the the print head - to - roller distance (sometimes called the "paper width" adjustment). There is a small lever near the lower right side of the roller. Click-position it in a notch or two. ---------------------------- 006- How can I keep paper from jamming in my Imagewriter II? A surprising number of Imagewriter users go for years putting up with paper jams during long printouts. A nearly 100% cure is to just pop up the top rollers so that they do not press the paper against the roller. ---------------------------- 007- I notice that the bottoms of letters on my ImageWriter II's printout are not showing up. How can I fix this? A likely explanation is that the printhead needs to be moved in (toward the big roller) a notch. This is a standard "Paper Thickness" adjustment on many printers. On IW, you do it with a lever to the right of the roller. Another possibility is that the printhead needs cleaning. Be careful what you use to clean a printhead because some solvents can dissolve the mask which lines up the pins. Light oils and gasoline seem to be especially bad. A fine bristle toothbrush plus some standard detergent in warm water or a household cleaner (like Fantastik, etc.) should remove most dust and gunk. Whatever you use, avoid soaking the printhead in anything very long-- i.e. get it reasonably clean and then blow/blot dry. Changing settings on the DIP with the factory settings which "users should leave alone" _may_ have some effect on firing of the bottom pins. I don't know. Probably, you would want to try everything else first. ---------------------------- 008- What is the 'trick' for restoring a printer ribbon? For cartridge ribbons, such as the one in ImageWriter II, it is easy to 'restore' a ribbon to dark printing with a few spritzes of WD-40. Using a pocket knife, pry off the lid of the cartridge, and, as evenly as possible, lightly spritz the bunched-up ribbon. Restore the lid and roll the tape back and forth a few inches. Let the cartridge sit for several days in a plastic bag. The idea is that the WD-40 spreads unused ink into the ribbon's print area; so, it will not work for restoring multi-Color ribbons. Since you are adding no ink, this trick is good for only one or two 'restorations'. ---------------------------- 009- Can anyone tell me how to connect a printer with a "Centronics interface" to my Apple II? The Centronics interface is the standard parallel interface for many printers. To connect such a printer to an Apple II, you need a printer interface card and cable. Since the cards were a popular item in the early 80's and were produced by several different companies you should be able to get a good one without too much trouble. The cards turn up fairly often at swap meets, should be easy to...
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