🚀 go-pugleaf

Nigel Eames <neames@normat.demon.co.uk> wrote:

> Does anyone know if it is possible to drive Apple Laserwriter printers
> from a parallel or serial port on a PC and if so what the cable
> connections should be? (PC's have 25 or 9 pin D type connectors
> and Macs have 8 pin PS/2 connectors)

Most Macs have 8 pin mini-DIN connectors which are also used on IBM
PS/2s.  Some (very old) Macs have D-Sub connectors for their serial
ports, and most(?) new Macs have 9 pin mini-DIN serial port sockets, the
extra pin being used for power so it can often be ignored.

> Windows95 has printer drivers for the AppleMac Laserwriter series
> of printers so it looks as if someone's done it!

All you need is the right cable: as someone else has noted, some
LaserWriters have 25 pin D-sub connectors.  If not, it's quite possible
to connect an RS422 port to an RS232 port[1]: you could try talking to a
Mac dealer or trying to find the correct wiring on the internet.

Rowland.
[1] It's no bother from the point of view of the RS232 port.  From the
point of view of the RS422 port, you lose speed, noise-immunity, and the
ability to communicate over long (hundreds of metres) distances without
trouble.  None of this matters in the slightest.

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