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apple style writer II
- Thread starter aPple nErd
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Probably one of the nicest printers I've ever known (in terms of reliability and serviceability).
A good cleaning of the rubber pickup rollers, some new front delivery 'o' rings and they're good as new.
Of course, they are really a Canon BJ-100, with an Apple logic board and some exterior case changes.
$5 ? Some might say that was $5 too much, but think it was worthwhile.
EDIT: Just for the sake of historical significance, the original US sales brochure attached:
A good cleaning of the rubber pickup rollers, some new front delivery 'o' rings and they're good as new.
Of course, they are really a Canon BJ-100, with an Apple logic board and some exterior case changes.
$5 ? Some might say that was $5 too much, but think it was worthwhile.
EDIT: Just for the sake of historical significance, the original US sales brochure attached:
Last edited:
Ah the good ol days when men were men and computers were computers none of this sissy technology we have today.
-grunt grunt-
Although the 70s and 80s lead the way the 90s were truly remarkable with what technology brought
-grunt grunt-
Although the 70s and 80s lead the way the 90s were truly remarkable with what technology brought
Dust shorting out, blown capacitor, degraded power supply....? Any number of things in a >20 year old device. Considering the Stylewriter II manual ultimate solution for most problems was "replace printer" unless you are an electronics whiz who wants to tinker yourself, I'd say you have a paperweight.
StyleWriter II reborn
I picked up a SW2 recently and I swapped out the capacitors. One capacitor was leaking but I replaced all of the PSU electrolytics as they are over 20 years old. You only need 6 capacitors. Any Tandy, Radio Shack of Maplin Store will have them. I bought mine from rswww.com - C4: 33uF 400V - C10: 47uF 16V - C11: 680uF 16V - C12: 47uF 16V - C14: 1000uF 35V & C17: 100uF 35V.
I took the opportunity to dismantle the printer and I gave the main plastic pieces a good wash in the dishwasher. There's still some yellowing of the case but I'll deal with that another time. I also cleaned the soakaway under the platen. This is where the excess ink goes when the head is cleaned. I say cleaned, It's paper and falls apart if you try to brush it. I set it in an old basin, ran cold water across it and through it until the heavy black liquid ran almost clear. Then I pressed it carefully between kitchen towels and left it to dry on a radiator.
It's not a difficult job but you need patience and a good working area. Take plenty of pictures as you progress through the repair.
In the meantime, I have a fully functioning, clean printer for my older Macs. I worked with SWs for many years. My favourites were the SW2, SW1500 and SW2400 with the colour kit.
When Apple went with rebadged HPs, I think it was signalling the end. I don't mind that they no longer make printers. Too many other companies are making them cheaper. Besides, what with all the inter-device transferring, I don't need a printer. I just send files from one Apple device to another by wireless or BT. If I need a hard copy, it'll be work related and I use the printer there.
Apple set the mainstream standard which many companies followed. No FDDs, USB sockets, no optical drives, proprietary solid state storage - no conventional storage form factor for MacBooks or MBPs.
I hope you all had luck getting your printers working again. Apart from ink cartridges, there's very little else they need.
I picked up a SW2 recently and I swapped out the capacitors. One capacitor was leaking but I replaced all of the PSU electrolytics as they are over 20 years old. You only need 6 capacitors. Any Tandy, Radio Shack of Maplin Store will have them. I bought mine from rswww.com - C4: 33uF 400V - C10: 47uF 16V - C11: 680uF 16V - C12: 47uF 16V - C14: 1000uF 35V & C17: 100uF 35V.
I took the opportunity to dismantle the printer and I gave the main plastic pieces a good wash in the dishwasher. There's still some yellowing of the case but I'll deal with that another time. I also cleaned the soakaway under the platen. This is where the excess ink goes when the head is cleaned. I say cleaned, It's paper and falls apart if you try to brush it. I set it in an old basin, ran cold water across it and through it until the heavy black liquid ran almost clear. Then I pressed it carefully between kitchen towels and left it to dry on a radiator.
It's not a difficult job but you need patience and a good working area. Take plenty of pictures as you progress through the repair.
In the meantime, I have a fully functioning, clean printer for my older Macs. I worked with SWs for many years. My favourites were the SW2, SW1500 and SW2400 with the colour kit.
When Apple went with rebadged HPs, I think it was signalling the end. I don't mind that they no longer make printers. Too many other companies are making them cheaper. Besides, what with all the inter-device transferring, I don't need a printer. I just send files from one Apple device to another by wireless or BT. If I need a hard copy, it'll be work related and I use the printer there.
Apple set the mainstream standard which many companies followed. No FDDs, USB sockets, no optical drives, proprietary solid state storage - no conventional storage form factor for MacBooks or MBPs.
I hope you all had luck getting your printers working again. Apart from ink cartridges, there's very little else they need.
