[comp.sys.mac.misc] Printer on drugs

mfader@eeserv1.ic.sunysb.edu (Michael Fader) (02/24/91)

In article <91052.113934U33695@uicvm.uic.edu> U33695@uicvm.uic.edu (John Walsh) writes:
>
>
>I have a Mac 512E (upgraded to 2 meg with a Dove upgrade), hooked to an Epson
>LX-800 with a Grappler cable.  Every once and a while (say, every few months),
>the printer starts to produce gibberish (lots of weird characters, page feeds,
>most anything but the text I'm trying to print). I've tried checking cables,
>turning the machine on and off, and most everything I can think of. This goes
>on for several days/weeks, until one day it stops Has anyone had this problem?
>I had similar problems with an ImagewriterI I had before. Does anyone know how
>to fix it?

Sounds like the famous Imagewriter hex dump problem (still occurs with the
Imagewriter II). Try this (Imagewriter users -- take careful note of #4):

	1)  Replace your printer driver with a fresh copy.
	2)  Use the Chooser and check your printer selection.
	3)  Boot your system from an init-free disk, if possible.
	4)  Turn on your printer AFTER starting up your Mac; preferably, don't
	    turn on the printer until AFTER starting your word processor.

You said that you tried turning the printer on and off; I don't know about the
Epson, but turning on and off the Imagewriter II doesn't always cause a full
reset.  If your printer is already on, turn it off and wait at least 30 seconds
before turning it back on.

Hope that helps.

wjb@eds.com (Bill Biesty) (03/12/91)

In article <1991Feb24.020136.26512@sbcs.sunysb.edu> mfader@eeserv1.ic.sunysb.edu (Michael Fader) writes:
->In article <91052.113934U33695@uicvm.uic.edu> U33695@uicvm.uic.edu (John Walsh) writes:
->>[has problem with junk being printed on Epson LX-800. 
->>Comes and goes without explanation.]
->
->Sounds like the famous Imagewriter hex dump problem (still occurs with the
->Imagewriter II). Try this (Imagewriter users -- take careful note of #4):
->
->	1)  Replace your printer driver with a fresh copy.
->	2)  Use the Chooser and check your printer selection.
->	3)  Boot your system from an init-free disk, if possible.
->	4)  Turn on your printer AFTER starting up your Mac; preferably, don't
->	    turn on the printer until AFTER starting your word processor.
->
->You said that you tried turning the printer on and off; I don't know about the
->Epson, but turning on and off the Imagewriter II doesn't always cause a full
->reset.  If your printer is already on, turn it off and wait at least 30 seconds
->before turning it back on.
->
->Hope that helps.

This is interesting.  I've never had this problem because (I'm guessing)
I never turn my ImageWriter on until I'm ready to print which isn't that
often since it's so speedy and quiet :-).

The problem I have with the ImageWriter (II, for that matter) is with multifinder
and WriteNow.  Supposedly if you check Tall Adjusted you can do other things
while printing in Better mode.  Besides slowing printing down to an absolute
crawl (love that multitasking) if you switch to another App and then back to
WriteNow the ImageWriter repeatedly prints the same bits over and over again:
i.e. you get the middle third of characters of the last line printed ad nauseam
until you stop printing and turn off the IW.

Anyone else have this problem?

Bill

francis@zaphod.uchicago.edu (03/13/91)

In article <7484@tantalum.UUCP> wjb@eds.com (Bill Biesty) writes:

   In article <91052.113934U33695@uicvm.uic.edu> U33695@uicvm.uic.edu (John Walsh) writes:
   ->Sounds like the famous Imagewriter hex dump problem (still occurs with the
   ->Imagewriter II). Try this (Imagewriter users -- take careful note of #4):

We had an interesting variation on this in my dorm last year.  We had
2 Fat Macs and one Plus; the Plus had an IW II.  Most people had
single-sided floppies, with *old* Systems; but some (such as myself
:-) used double-sided for various reasons.  At some point I realized
that, if somebody printed on the Plus with a modern System, people
running older ones would subsequently get the hex-dump garbage.
Simple solution, fortunately: just reChoose the printer.

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