mithomas@bsu-cs.bsu.edu (Michael Thomas Niehaus) (07/05/89)
For those of you who already own an Epson printer (back from the days when
an IBM PC clone was all that you had :-), you may be interested in this
information.
According to the July issue of Byte magazine, Epson USA has announced a
Chooser-level driver for several of their printers. If my memory is correct,
this includes the LQ500, LQ850, LQ1050, LQ1250, etc.
Cost was list at $69 for the software and a cable to connect the printer
to the Mac. (The LQ500 required an additional serial interface board,
which cost more than the driver and cable.)
[ An aside: I never realized that Epson printers were capable of serial
output. I thought that they only did parallel. From this article, it
seems that they can do serial as well (all except the LQ500). If this
is not correct, would someone please let me know? ]
-Michael
--
Michael Niehaus UUCP: <backbones>!{iuvax,pur-ee}!bsu-cs!mithomas
Apple Student Rep ARPA: mithomas@bsu-cs.bsu.edu
Ball State University AppleLink: ST0374 (from UUCP: st0374@applelink.apple.com)barry@primerd.prime.com (07/06/89)
/* Written 11:44 am Jul 5, 1989 by mithomas@bsu-cs.UUCP in primerd:comp.sys.mac */ /* ---------- "News: Epson Printer Driver" ---------- */ >For those of you who already own an Epson printer (back from the days when >an IBM PC clone was all that you had :-), you may be interested in this >information. > >According to the July issue of Byte magazine, Epson USA has announced a >Chooser-level driver for several of their printers. If my memory is correct, >this includes the LQ500, LQ850, LQ1050, LQ1250, etc. >Cost was list at $69 for the software and a cable to connect the printer >to the Mac. (The LQ500 required an additional serial interface board, >which cost more than the driver and cable.) >[ An aside: I never realized that Epson printers were capable of serial > output. I thought that they only did parallel. From this article, it > seems that they can do serial as well (all except the LQ500). If this > is not correct, would someone please let me know? ] >-Michael >-- >Michael Niehaus UUCP: <backbones>!{iuvax,pur-ee}!bsu-cs!mithomas >Apple Student Rep ARPA: mithomas@bsu-cs.bsu.edu >Ball State University AppleLink: ST0374 (from UUCP: st0374@applelink.apple.com) /* End of text from primerd:comp.sys.mac */ The EPSON LQ software is a repackaged version of the Phoenix Technologies Printworks package. The EPSON version comes with a cable, driver, a set of 10- and 12-point fonts that correspond to fonts defined in the Epson, e.g. Pica, Elite, Compressed, and four fonts that corresponds to Times, Helvetica, Courier, and Symbol. These latter fonts come in the funny 2.5 times sizes needed for 180 dpi output on LQ printers. My local discount Epson dealer had it for $49, which is a Good Deal. I own the Printworks package and have used it with an Epson FX 80 and an Epson LQ 500. It works fairly well, but some programs sometimes have problems. It does a very good job, on the whole, of letting you take advantage of the LQ fonts built-in to the printer. Most Epson printers have only parallel interfaces. Some of the more expensive versions, e.g. LQ 850, come with a standard serial, too. You can add a serial interface to most Epson printers for about $60. I'm nearly through with a lengthy article that covers many aspects of using non-Apple printers with the Mac. If anyone is interested in more info on either dot matrix or ink jet options, send me your EMAIL id and I'll send you a draft when I'm done (I hope with next few weeks); I plan to post the completed article to SUMEX. If you need info sooner than that, contact me, I may be able to help. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Barry Wolman | barry@s66.prime.com Principal Technical Consultant | 492 Old Connecticut Path Prime Computer | Framingham, MA 01701 | 508/626-1700, ext. 4187 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nothing in this posting reflects an official position of Prime Computer.