dck@houxj.UUCP (D.KWONG) (04/23/87)
I think there was a discussion a while back about how to hook up an Apple Laserwriter to a PC or compatibles, which I can't remember. Could somebody tell me what were the a) alternatives, b) best solution and c) cost? What about software support on the PC side? Has anyone tried to hook up the laser printer to a AT&T 3B2 computer? Thanks in advance. David C. Kwong homxa!houxj!dck
mbrown@hubcap.UUCP (Mike Brown) (04/23/87)
I am not sure about the hardware to hook up a Laserwriter (I think that it is an RS232 interface), but the Laserwriter is driven by postscript, i.e. the final driver to produce the pixel pattern is a set of ROM postscript routines. This means that you either need to be running postscript, or have a program that will translate the output from your text processor to postscript. I will be posting a summary of what is available to do this in comp.text next week. NOTE: I am not a expert on the Laserwriter, so if there is another way to set it up, post it. The only reason I know about the software is that I am in the process of hooking up a Laserwriter to a System V Unix machine. -- Mike Brown Department of Computer Science ..gatech!hubcap!mbrown Clemson University Clemson SC 29634-1906 (803) 656-2838
latzko@andromeda.UUCP (04/23/87)
In article <151@hubcap.UUCP> mbrown@hubcap.UUCP (Mike Brown) writes: >I am not sure about the hardware to hook up a Laserwriter (I think that >it is an RS232 interface), but the Laserwriter is driven by postscript, >-- >Mike Brown Department of Computer Science >..gatech!hubcap!mbrown Clemson University > Clemson SC 29634-1906 > (803) 656-2838 I have been running an Apple laserwriter from a 3b2/400 and love it. The output is simply beautiful. The way to do it is as follows: get an ATT 232-21-25-010 adapter and the correct length of cable to go to the printer. get an apple laser writer plus ( costs more but worth it) call Adobe and buy a copy of Transscript ( $? ). Transscript comes as either source or binaries for a 3b2. Install transcript on the 3b2. It takes about 40 minutes to make on a 400 w/ 3meg and a 72meg disk. plug the printer in to a serial port on the 3b2 and set the switch on the laserwriter at 9600. execute the mkprinter program which comes w/ transcript. print and enjoy. /S* latzko@topaz.rutgers.edu backbone!rutgers!topaz!latzko
forags@violet.berkeley.edu.UUCP (04/23/87)
In article <151@hubcap.UUCP> mbrown@hubcap.UUCP (Mike Brown) writes: >...... This means that you either need to be running >postscript, or have a program that will translate the output from your >text processor to postscript. The Laserwriter also has a special mode which emulates a Diablo 630 with a Courier-10 pitch daisy wheel. Not too fancy, but it works. This is the quickest way to hook up a Laserwriter to an RS-232 interface. One can also run a short PostScript program which will change the default font. I've never done this; see Adobe Systems' Postscript Ref. Manual for details. Al Stangenberger Forestry U.C. Berkeley
merchant@dartvax.UUCP (Peter Merchant) (04/24/87)
The connection is through a typical serial printer cable. You can buy one through your favourite computer store, probably. Apple has a specific part number for it and will probably charge you for the pretty box it comes in. To directly connect to the PC, just plug the PC into the RS-232 plug in the LaserWriter. You will also have to adjust a knob on the LaserWriter defining the baud rate at which you want to work. At this point, you can now send postscript commands to the LaserWriter. Some programs that support the postscript include WordPerfect 4.2, MS Word 3.1, and MS Windows. I'm not sure what else. The LaserWriter also emulates a Diablo 630. What I do (and I'm sure there's a better way) is to dump the following postscript commands to the LaserWriter: serverdict begin 0 exitserver statusdict begin 58 0 seteescratch And then it thinks it's a Diablo 630. One pitch I could also make is for Centram Systems West and their TOPS software. It makes this whole thing really painless and with their PC card, you can hook up many PCs to the same LaserWriter. You also get distributed file serving for your cash (whether you want it or not.) Plus, if you buy their printing software, TOPSPrint, you get the Diablo 630 emulation, the PostScript, and Epson FX-80 emulation. Admittedly, it makes like a bit more pricey. You have to buy a TOPS card and software ($389 retail), two PhoneNet connectors ($49 retail, one for the PC and one for the LaserWriter), and a telephone wire ($1-$10, or pinch one from someone's telephone). If you want TOPSPrint, add in an extra $125, I think. Also, Apple is selling an AppleTalk card for the PC, as well as printer software to make it connect. I've never used it, so I can't make any claims. Hope this helps. -- "When you think about it, Peter Merchant (merchant@dartvax.UUCP) Adolph Hitler was the first pop star." -- David Bowie
vg55611@ihuxy.ATT.COM (gopal) (04/25/87)
In article <151@hubcap.UUCP>, mbrown@hubcap.UUCP (Mike Brown) writes: > I am not sure about the hardware to hook up a Laserwriter (I think that > it is an RS232 interface), but the Laserwriter is driven by postscript, > i.e. the final driver to produce the pixel pattern is a set of ROM > postscript routines. This means that you either need to be running > postscript, or have a program that will translate the output from your > text processor to postscript. I will be posting a summary of what is > available to do this in comp.text next week. > > NOTE: I am not a expert on the Laserwriter, so if there is another way > to set it up, post it. The only reason I know about the software is > that I am in the process of hooking up a Laserwriter to a System V Unix > machine. The Laserwriter DOES have an RS-232 port (along with an AppleTalk port or some such thing). We run ours at 9600 baud. The printer uses xon/xoff flow control. I have a program called "text2ps" (c source) that will convert text (ASCII files to postscript format. We have been using this extensively to print files from UNIX. The laserwriter, in our case, is hooked up as a shared printer for multiple users. The original version was written by Stephen Wade from Australia. I have made some modifications. Will let you choose different fonts, point sizes etc. I am looking for something similar to "text2ps" for the DOS world. I may buy a C compiler and compile "text2ps" under DOS. nroff/troff support for postscript will be available under UNIX for our site very soon. Venu P. Gopal ihnp4!ihuxy!vg55611
catone@dsl.cis.upenn.edu (Tony Catone) (04/25/87)
In article <199@houxj.UUCP> dck@houxj.UUCP (D.KWONG) writes: >I think there was a discussion a while back about how to hook >up an Apple Laserwriter to a PC or compatibles, which I can't remember. >Could somebody tell me what were the a) alternatives, >b) best solution and c) cost? >What about software support on the PC side? The physical connection is very easy. One only needs to use a "standard" null modem cable (experienced RS-232er's will recognize the humor in this statement). Really, though the LaserWriter is most forgiving; all 25 pins are not needed. As to software, we use FinalWord II by Mark of the Unicorn for the vast majority of our word processing, and are most pleased with it. We also have Microsoft Word, Word Perfect 4.2, PC TeX and MicroTeX, but these all go virtually unused because FinalWord is so nice. It sports an excellent, fully reconfigurable editor with a sophisticated macro language that even supports recursion, and generates true PostScript code for either normal or landscape oriented text. TeX gives nicer output but is orders of magnitude harder to use. I won't comment on graphics programs; we never found one we liked, so end up doing graphs ourselves in PostScript :-( One final warning; the LaserWriter as a default uses XON/XOFF handshaking for its serial connection. Some software (Word Perfect 4.2) wants to use the other popular handshaking strategy (ENQ/ACK? Sorry, don't have the manuals here). Switching between the two is simple, but requires reprogramming the permanent LaserWriter settings. This can only be done about 300,000 times before chip replacement is required. Since most software (everything but Word Perfect) uses XON/XOFF, 300,000 times might not go too far, depending on how often you switch back and forth. This probably shouldn't break your heart; I dislike Word Perfect for a variety of other reasons, and even my friends who use and love it admit that it's support for PostScript devices isn't quite there yet. If you have more questions or need help, drop a line. - Tony catone@dsl.cis.upenn.edu catone@wharton.upenn.edu
stevew@karau.UUCP (Steven M. Wilcoxon) (04/26/87)
In article <1943@ihuxy.ATT.COM<, vg55611@ihuxy.ATT.COM (gopal) writes: < In article <151@hubcap.UUCP<, mbrown@hubcap.UUCP (Mike Brown) writes: < < I am not sure about the hardware to hook up a Laserwriter (I think that < < it is an RS232 interface), but the Laserwriter is driven by postscript, < < i.e. the final driver to produce the pixel pattern is a set of ROM < < postscript routines. This means that you either need to be running < < postscript, or have a program that will translate the output from your < < text processor to postscript. I will be posting a summary of what is < < available to do this in comp.text next week. < < The Laserwriter DOES have an RS-232 port (along with an AppleTalk port or < some such thing). We run ours at 9600 baud. The printer uses xon/xoff flow < control. < The LaserWriter also has a Diable emulation mode that is enabled by setting the switch to "SPECIAL". This will allow it to do several different print effects with control characters. Then you can just send it the actual text files if you are willing to settle for Courier font only. We are running a modified verison of lpscript which watchs for a subset of the Epson FX-80 control set for special effects as well as some extra font control. Steven Wilcoxon stevew@karau Karau Assoc. Inc
tj@utgpu.UUCP (04/27/87)
There are a number of ways to get there. Here is some more specific stuff. If you want to connect to a Unix environment then the Adobe Transcript sutff works well (not everything everybody wants but well). To a PC you can go three or four routes. 1) Buy a TOPS card to put your PC onto AppleTalk. You can then transfer text and PostScript files to the LaserWriter easily. You can also transfer to and from Macs on the Appletalk network. Works VERY WELL. 2) You can hook it up via serial port with Xon/Xoff handshaking. Works OK, but it is up to each software package to handle XOn/Xoff. Some like Microsoft Word, FInal Word II, PC Write do handle this. Others like Nota Bene 2.0 give a TSR Xon/Xoff thing. Others like Word Perfect and their user hostile LaserWriter driver don't support Xon/Xoff and must use hardware handshaking. (see below) 3) Hardware handshaking (DTR) can be done with LaserWriters with release 2.0 or later ROMS. (The test page top graph has the release number in bottom left corner) (The test page is a real source of info... learn how to use it.) This involves sending a PostScript program to the printer that PERMANENTLY changes (where permanent means until you specifically change it back, ie powering off WILL NOT change it back) the communications for the particular port to DTR instead of Xon/Xoff. WordPerfect is a program that sets the printer this way to work. Note that you should use a small PostScript program to find out the way it WAS set before you change it. WordPerfect supplies a program to set it to DTR mode and one to set it back to factory default, but nowhere do they tell you how to find out how it was set. Setting it wrong may cause data loss from the host computer with very unpredictable regularity. After making chhanges be sure you can print a 10 full page document before you assume things are right..... 4) Parallel connection is available on most of the newer PostScript printers. They now come with Serial, Appletalk, and Parallel connections. Hook it up like a standard printer! PostScript printers are good beasts. They may be expensive but I think they are worth it. And IBM/PC's are just starting to take advantage of them. tj
lk@m-net.UUCP (Leeron Kopelman) (04/27/87)
The LaserWriter can also be used in Diablo 630 emulation by selecting the "special" setting on the selector near the ports. Other than a serial cable, this requires no special hardware or software. Of course, it doesn't really let you take advantage of the LaserWriter's graphical capabilities, but you can get laser printer output. We've also hooked up an HP LaserJet to a 3B2 in similar fashion.
rdr@inuxh.UUCP (Robert Rindfuss) (04/28/87)
> I think there was a discussion a while back about how to hook > up an Apple Laserwriter to a PC or compatibles, which I can't remember. > Could somebody tell me what were the a) alternatives, > b) best solution and c) cost? > What about software support on the PC side? > Has anyone tried to hook up the laser printer to a AT&T 3B2 computer? > Thanks in advance. I have an Apple Laserwriter connected to an IBM-PC serial port at 9600 baud. Microsoft Windows comes with a driver for it and it works just fine, first try. No muss, no fuss. BTW, Windows Write is a pretty nice wysiwyg word processor for doing short, quickie memos and letter, and does a respectable job of showing what the output will look like on the LW. If you're not using Windows and have the LW+, you can avoid the flow control problems of the LW by sending a magic script to the LW+ which tells it to use HW flow control. Then you can use the DOS printer driver. Bob Rindfuss AT&T Consumer Products ...ihnp4!inuxh!rdr
catone@dsl.cis.upenn.edu (Tony Catone) (05/04/87)
In article <6064@dartvax.UUCP> merchant@dartvax.UUCP (Peter Merchant) writes: >The LaserWriter also emulates a Diablo 630. What I do (and I'm sure there's >a better way) is to dump the following postscript commands to the LaserWriter: > serverdict begin 0 exitserver > statusdict begin > 58 0 seteescratch >And then it thinks it's a Diablo 630. Really all you need to do is set the baud rate selector in back to Special (the other options are 1200, 9600, and AppleTalk). This puts the LaserWriter into Diablo emulation (I believe at 9600 baud) mode without changing the default settings; useful, since these settings can only be reprogrammed about 300,000 times before chip replacement is necessary. Note that the Diablo emulation font is not very nice. Much better output is achieved from PostScript knowledgable programs. My vote goes to FinalWord II by Mark of the Unicorn as being the nicest word processing package to use. Details available upon request. - Tony catone@dsl.cis.upenn.edu catone@wharton.upenn.edu