isle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Ken Hancock) (08/18/90)
We currently have two Epson FX/80s at home and my little sister (actually, not so little anymore...you know how it is...) is wondering about the feasability of hooking up one of them to her MacPlus. I have a couple questions for those who have done this or previous researched it: 1) Is it worth it? 2) What's the output quality? 3) What interfaces are available? Grapler? What else? Also, it seems that her internal 800K drive may be failing. I've suggested trying a head cleaner on it. If that fails, where's the best place/price to pick up a replacement drive which I can install? Thanks -- Ken -- Ken Hancock | This account needs a new home in MA... Isle Systems | Can you provide a link for it? isle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu | It doesn't bite... :-)
barry@wolman.prime.com (08/19/90)
Ken,
If you want to connect an Epson FX/80 to a Mac, you have to add a
serial i/f and a driver. No matter how you connect it, you'll get
output that is indistinguishable from that produced by an Imagewriter.
Both printers produce 144 DPI output and require 2X fonts for best
results.
The easiest, quick and dirty approach, is to use the Orange Micro
Grappler Mac. The Grappler provides a parallel to serial converter that
also maps Imagewriter printer control codes into Epson control codes.
Best/Faster printing work, but are slow. Draft printing is unsable,
even slower than Best. I've tried the Grappler - it works, but I can't
recommend it.
The Epson FX/80 can accept an add-on serial interface card that costs
about $50 and installs in about five minutes using only a screw driver.
This will give you the 9600 baud (or 19,200) interface you need to talk
to the Mac. GDT Softworks sells a set of drivers (Print Collection or
similar name). I've tried an earlier version of their FX/80 driver. It
works reasonably well. You can buy the driver package at MacConnection.
Total cost for i/f plus driver will be $100-$150.
Phoenix Techologies also sells a driver package called Printworks.
MacConnection used to carry this, but doesn't any longer. I had more
problems with their driver than I did with the GDT driver. Phoenix
wasn't intrested in fixing the bugs I reported to them over a year ago.
By the way, Epson sells a version of Printworks as the Mac Interface
software for their LQ line of 24-pin printers.
Your best bet is the Hanzon interface card, which installs inside the
Epson printer in the same place as the Epson serial interface card. The
Hanzon provides a serial i/f (up to 19,200 baud) and a mode that makes
the Epson emulate the Imagewriter I. List price of Hanzon board is
about $119, but I bought mine from $25 (!) from a non-Mac dealer in
Boston who was closing them out. I use the Epson FX/80 + Hanzon as a
pseudo-Imagewriter with the standard Apple Imagewriter driver. The only
problems involve a few programs like MockWrite that attempt to download
character sets into the Imagewriter. [I recently bought a Deskjet Plus,
so now I mainly use the FX/80 to print checks with Managing Your Money
and for long code listings where I use Epson built-in fonts with DA that
prints directly w/o going through Apple driver]
If you can find an inexpensive external parallel to serial i/f (prices
range from $50-$150), you can use that instead of the internal
interface. Be sure you have return privileges - I tried one brand of
converter than worked (Applied Creative Technologies, ~$120) and one
that didn't (CompuAdd, ~$40). Same comments about drivers apply.
I can provide more details on any of the above. Write/call if you need
more help.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barry Wolman | barry@s66.prime.com
Principal Technical Consultant | 500 Old Connecticut Path
Prime Computer | Framingham, MA 01701
| 508/879-2960, ext. 1100
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