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Apple ImageWriter II

lewie109

lewie109

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 20, 2006
57
0
Iowa
Hello Everyone!! I work for the local newspaper office and to do the mailing labels for our paper we use a ImageWriter II and a PowerMac G3 All-In-One. Today our AIO crashed and we need to use the old dot matrix labels for our paper for a special machine we use to put them on. We have a eMac that I installed our old FileMaker Pro software on there and we were trying to use a ink jet printer for these labels and they kept jamming up!!! Trust me, it didn't work well..ha ha. BUT the point is i need to use this printer really bad!!!!!!!!! I do know they make a iMate but can you use it for a printer? From what I have read you can use it with older mice and keyboards and stuff but what about a printer? I need to know what to do!!!

Thanks in advance,
Darrin
 
Well, in theory you probably could, however you'd also have to find Mac OS X drivers to support that printer, and frankly the odds of that aren't all that great.

It's not like you could even do this using the Classic environment, since the only support there is in Mac OS X is for USB-connected printers, not serial-connected ones.

I'd suggest you Google for dot matrix printer support under Mac OS X.
 
This page may be of help to you though you may need a Keyspan USB to Serial Port adapter. These packages are for Mac OS X so if you are using Mac OS 9 on the eMac then the Keyspan adapter should be all you need to print via the serial port, assuming OS 9 still came with Imagewriter drivers.

http://www.linux-foundation.org/en/OpenPrinting/MacOSX/imagewriter

You probably would be able to print via Appletalk if you network in an old Powermac like a 7600, this method is described some in the above link. Second generation powermacs like the 7200, 7500, 8500, 9500 and later iterations have a standard rj-45 connector for ethernet. You could use an even older Mac like a first gen Powermac, Quadra/Centris or even some Mac II's as long as they have an AAUI-15 port then use an AAUI-15 to RJ-45 adapter and have them running System 7.1 or later. 7.6.1 is teh roxerz though. These macs are also dirt cheap. For info on what ports the old Macs have go here.

http://www.apple-history.com/

Or set up a new impact printer and build a cheapo linux box and print over a network.

These last two alternatives would not be particularly easy but you would gain some major geek points at the office:D.
 
The eMac I installed FileMaker on it runs 9 because the version of FileMaker we have doesn't run in system 10.
 
This is the computer that we were using the ImageWriter on http://www.apple-history.com/?page=gallery&model=g3aio&performa=off&sort=date&order=ASC. We entered some data on it and the screen was black when we went out in a bit and it is not set to turn off or dim screen after so many mins. Now when you restart it you just hear the monitor "click" but it don't light and you hear the chime but it just clicks and can't turn on. Earlier this week it was flickering and making a popping and cracking noise. I changed the resolution and it worked fine for a few days didn't even flicker or pop and now its dead a few days later, just out off the blue and we can't have this!
 
lewie109 said:
The eMac is currently set to start up on 9 not 10.3. I appreciate all the system 10 help but thats the only computer in the office right now that uses system 9 and it doesn't printer share because it only prints labels right from that computer.
Click to expand...
FWIW, the last Macintosh OS called "System" was System 7.5.5. It was MacOS 7.6 through MacOS 9.2.2. The change from System 7.5.5 to System 7.6 was an update and name change. MacOS X 10 was a completely different operating system.
 
Imagewriter II System 10

I want to use my Imagewriter II to print Avery 4013 labels. Does anyone know a way I can. I purchased an Epson FX-890N Impact printer and downloaded a driver from the Epson Web site. It prints the first fine but I can't get it to print the 2nd page. I use FileMaker 6 to print all my addresses
 
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