24 replies to this topic

[venom4728a]

I am looking for a list of Modern Printers that work with MIO, 850, ICD P:R: Connector. Hopefully a Inkjet or Color Laser that has compatible drivers.

Venom4728a

[UNIXcoffee928]

venom4728a, on Sun Feb 6, 2011 9:20 PM, said:

I am looking for a list of Modern Printers that work with MIO, 850, ICD P:R: Connector. Hopefully a Inkjet or Color Laser that has compatible drivers.

Venom4728a

Yeah, I own a Venom shirt. There is absolutely nothing in the world that says: "Fu*k Everything / Fu*k All" like Venom. Personally I prefer the original recording of Ripride, over the re-recorded version. In retrospect, I have been enunciating the "DAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaH!" at 0:11, since 1984, whenever something goes horribly wrong with any type of equipment, computer, car, program, femalehuman, parent, employer, co-worker, & practically anything else that is prone to failure or breakage of any sort. It is such a wonderfully expressive sound. lol. Artistically Cathartic, too, In a Calvin & Hobbes meets Salvador Dali sorta way... ha!

While not a 'new' printer, the Panasonic KX-P5400 laser printer is a really nice match for Atari gear. There are two on ebay right now. It's the only laser that I know of with a 'tower' footprint, which saves a lot of space on a sprawling Atari desk. Basically, the thing to look for in a laser printer for the Atari is "Built In Fonts". Any printer with built in fonts will do. You will be SADLY disappointed with your output if you don't heed this warning!

Many modern printers do not have built in fonts. Avoid them! I have a 'more modern' HP laserjet 1200 that has built in fonts, and it works very nicely. It does take up a lot more space though.

The Panasonic printers were very sturdy, I used to use a KXP-1090 & a 1091, back in the day. You might want to consider finding a late model 24 pin dot matrix, from the KXP series, as these will definitely do graphics dumps. I don't know if the lasers will (drivers).

Other than that, check for available drivers in the software that you plan to use, to help you to make a decision. Many times, a driver for a specific model may work with many other models from the same manufacturer, if the products share the same lineage. Sometimes not, though.

I remember that Epson was still using their control codes from their dot matrix printers, when they first started putting out inexpensive ink jets, in the late 1990s. Anything that understands the "ESC/P Command Set" will work flawlessly on the Atari, for both text & graphics, with standard Epson drivers. You would have to find out what the last models to use it were.

Hope that helped a bit.




DAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaH!

snicker...

[Fres]

That's some very useful information. So the inkjet printers listed on this page would work with programs like Print Shop, Newsroom, etc. since they have Epson drivers?

[UNIXcoffee928]

Fres, on Mon Feb 7, 2011 9:23 AM, said:

That's some very useful information. So the inkjet printers listed on this page would work with programs like Print Shop, Newsroom, etc. since they have Epson drivers?

ESC/P 2 is supposed to be backward compatible with ESC/P so any of the ESC/P 2 printers on that page should work... meaning text "maybe definitely", & graphics "maybe". As mentioned above, the printer MUST HAVE built in fonts, thus, "maybe definitely" on text. You'll get something, but you most certainly won't like it, if there are no built in fonts.

I can't recall what the Epson dot-matrix printer was that set the standard for graphics dumps (Epson FX?) find it in the Antic Magazine Archives, then just look for older inkjets that are compatible with that standard. I do remember that it was in the Antic "Printer Edition", so it should be quick to find. I'd look it up, but I'm about to crash for the day.

All of the dot matrix printers, after that one, from most companies, for the most part, provided "Epson Compatibility"... meaning that besides the ESC codes, they also often cloned the graphics dump method.

To avoid aggravation, just buy a late model 24 pin Panasonic KXP series dot-matrix, and you'll be happy, because it will work great. You can always ebay other used printers later, when you want to get experimental. Get one that you know works, first, to avoid hair pulling. I know that "Newsroom" lists several compatible printers in its Fine Manual.

Most other brand new printers are Postscript or PCL... they won't work, because there are no drivers (the Formating Languages, themselves, are far too big for an Atari's RAM). You may have some luck with one of those newer ESC/P 2 printers... or you may need to keep returning them to the store the next day, in an iterative fashion... ha.

Don't forget to share your results!

[bob1200xl]

HP printers that have PCL work fine. You have to write your own driver, set up the printing and such, but it isn't too difficult. I much prefer the older laser models that have operator panels and parallel interfaces, such as the 4000 series. You can set up the fonts and paper sizes, even duplex, from the front panel. Then, you can print listings and text without any drivers.

The driver is in the program that you run. You may write your own driver/program, but not much exists for PCL stuff. Programs like AtariWriter and PrintShop have Epson drivers and such, but no PCL.

Bob

venom4728a, on Sun Feb 6, 2011 9:20 PM, said:

I am looking for a list of Modern Printers that work with MIO, 850, ICD P:R: Connector. Hopefully a Inkjet or Color Laser that has compatible drivers.

Venom4728a

[Fox-1 / mnx]

UNIXcoffee928, on Mon Feb 7, 2011 9:57 AM, said:

I can't recall what the Epson dot-matrix printer was that set the standard for graphics dumps (Epson FX?)

Epson FX-80

[MEtalGuy66]

no. no... Get this one:

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 220731189133

TRUST ME..

I bought 3 of these last year, and they absolutley f@cking ROCK...

This thing has 3 interfaces: ethernet, USB, and Centronics Paralell.

It has a built in web management interface that BLOWS AWAY the ones in the $10,000+ RICOH/SAVIN machines we bought earlier this year.. It's fully configurable for everything you could imagine wanting to do with it..

It does PCL, POSTSCRIPT and.... PERFECT EPSON MX/FX Emulation!!!!

I can print to this thing from my windows or mac machines over the network, from my notebook via USB, and from the ATARI, connected directly to a standard printer interface with NO SPECIAL DRIVERS!

It makes perfect crisp/clear graphics printouts from programs like Newsroom, Print Shop, Magniprint II, etc.. And does perfect legal quality documents in text mode as well..

It does not do color.. But if you want a good FAST laser printer that will DEFINITELY work with all your atari printing software, and also serve as a general purpose laser for you home/office network.. This is it..

24 pages per minute, 1200x1200dpi..
400mhz processor, 32megs system memory..
10/100 ethernet, USB 2.0, Centronics Paralell
PCL 5+
PostScript 3
Epson MX/FX emulation.

And the toner carts last a GOOD LONG time, not like the crappy/tiny/ripoff-priced toner carts that Samsung is using in their latest generation of cheap desktop lasers..

[bob1200xl]

wow... anybody want some HP printers, cheap?

Bob

MEtalGuy66, on Mon Feb 7, 2011 11:20 AM, said:

no. no... Get this one:

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 220731189133

TRUST ME..

I bought 3 of these last year, and they absolutley f@cking ROCK...

This thing has 3 interfaces: ethernet, USB, and Centronics Paralell.

It has a built in web management interface that BLOWS AWAY the ones in the $10,000+ RICOH/SAVIN machines we bought earlier this year.. It's fully configurable for everything you could imagine wanting to do with it..

It does PCL, POSTSCRIPT and.... PERFECT EPSON MX/FX Emulation!!!!

I can print to this thing from my windows or mac machines over the network, from my notebook via USB, and from the ATARI, connected directly to a standard printer interface with NO SPECIAL DRIVERS!

It makes perfect crisp/clear graphics printouts from programs like Newsroom, Print Shop, Magniprint II, etc.. And does perfect legal quality documents in text mode as well..

It does not do color.. But if you want a good FAST laser printer that will DEFINITELY work with all your atari printing software, and also serve as a general purpose laser for you home/office network.. This is it..

24 pages per minute, 1200x1200dpi..
400mhz processor, 32megs system memory..
10/100 ethernet, USB 2.0, Centronics Paralell
PCL 5+
PostScript 3
Epson MX/FX emulation.

And the toner carts last a GOOD LONG time, not like the crappy/tiny/ripoff-priced toner carts that Samsung is using in their latest generation of cheap desktop lasers..

[MEtalGuy66]

Well, sadly, the Samsung I was talking about hasn't been made in a couple of years.. When I bought the 3 I got, it was from an overstock place that was clearancing them cheap. I was just looking for a cheap networkable laser... But all the other bells & whistles it had made me want one for the house.. So I bought another one. I should have said something about it then, but I guess It didnt "click" that others might want to use a laser with their ATARI.

Its very possible that some of their other desktop lasers also have the Epson Emulation feature. I do see the ML-2571N go on Ebay for decent prices pretty regularly, but as far as getting a brand new one from Samsung, I would not buy their latest generation of desktop lasers.. We have 2 of those, and they are really crappy by comparisson. very small/light-weight, but the construction is very cheap.. and the toner carts they sell for them, you are lucky to get 500 pages before it starts flashing the light at you..

[BillC]

I don't have any experience with these printers, but I have noticed the OKI B410/B420/B430/B431 series printers have Epson FX emulation.

The B410D has been available since Christmas at NCIX for less that $100.00. The current special ends Feb 9.
Canada: http://ncix.com/prod...ki&promoid=1285
US: http://www.ncixus.co...ki&promoid=1285

[UNIXcoffee928]

MEtalGuy66, on Mon Feb 7, 2011 11:20 AM, said:

no. no... Get this one:

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 220731189133

TRUST ME..

I bought 3 of these last year, and they absolutley f@cking ROCK...

This thing has 3 interfaces: ethernet, USB, and Centronics Paralell.

It has a built in web management interface that BLOWS AWAY the ones in the $10,000+ RICOH/SAVIN machines we bought earlier this year.. It's fully configurable for everything you could imagine wanting to do with it..

It does PCL, POSTSCRIPT and.... PERFECT EPSON MX/FX Emulation!!!!

I can print to this thing from my windows or mac machines over the network, from my notebook via USB, and from the ATARI, connected directly to a standard printer interface with NO SPECIAL DRIVERS!

It makes perfect crisp/clear graphics printouts from programs like Newsroom, Print Shop, Magniprint II, etc.. And does perfect legal quality documents in text mode as well..

It does not do color.. But if you want a good FAST laser printer that will DEFINITELY work with all your atari printing software, and also serve as a general purpose laser for you home/office network.. This is it..

24 pages per minute, 1200x1200dpi..
400mhz processor, 32megs system memory..
10/100 ethernet, USB 2.0, Centronics Paralell
PCL 5+
PostScript 3
Epson MX/FX emulation.

And the toner carts last a GOOD LONG time, not like the crappy/tiny/ripoff-priced toner carts that Samsung is using in their latest generation of cheap desktop lasers..

That's a nice one! Good find!

[MEtalGuy66]

BillC, on Mon Feb 7, 2011 4:23 PM, said:

I don't have any experience with these printers, but I have noticed the OKI B410/B420/B430/B431 series printers have Epson FX emulation.

The B410D has been available since Christmas at NCIX for less that $100.00. The current special ends Feb 9.
Canada: http://ncix.com/prod...ki&promoid=1285
US: http://www.ncixus.co...ki&promoid=1285

Theres no paralell printer interface on that printer.. It would not connect directly to an ATARI printer interface..(see title of thread)

However, that is a great buy if you just want an inexpensive duplex printer (prints double-sided, automatically) to hook up to a single Windows PC.. And it looks like its fairly robust (at least size-wise.) OKI has been around forever, and I have never known them to build junky/inferior equipment..

Edited by MEtalGuy66, Mon Feb 7, 2011 10:33 PM.

[BillC]

MEtalGuy66, on Mon Feb 7, 2011 10:11 PM, said:

BillC, on Mon Feb 7, 2011 4:23 PM, said:

I don't have any experience with these printers, but I have noticed the OKI B410/B420/B430/B431 series printers have Epson FX emulation.

The B410D has been available since Christmas at NCIX for less that $100.00. The current special ends Feb 9.
Canada: http://ncix.com/prod...ki&promoid=1285
US: http://www.ncixus.co...ki&promoid=1285

Theres no paralell printer interface on that printer.. It would not connect directly to an ATARI printer interface..(see title of thread)

However, that is a great buy if you just want an inexpensive duplex printer (prints double-sided, automatically) to hook up to a single Windows PC.. And it looks like its fairly robust (at least size-wise.) OKI has been around forever, and I have never known them to build junky/inferior equipment..

Sorry I thought the B410D did have a Parallel interface, a review by Amir_D on August 14, 2010 on NCIX mentions using the Parallel port. I laughed at his comment about it being noisy, he's obviously never used a dot-matrix printer.

I just rechecked and it's strange, the B400 series brochure I found contradicts itself.

Quote

With USB and parallel interfaces, all B400 Series printers offer broad-based connectivity.

To me this means all printers in the series would have both interfaces.

However, in the specifications table the B410D and B430D have USB only.

Standard Interfaces  -  B410d and B430d – USB v2.0; B410dn, B420dn and B430dn –
                        USB v2.0, Parallel, OkiLAN 10/100 Base-TX internal Ethernet
                        print server card

The OKI Singapore webpage does list Parallel/USB, however OKI Canada(French) lists only USB. I can no longer find it on the US website as it has been discontinued. Maybe the B410D originally had a Parallel interface but this feature was dropped?
Since it is questionable whether the B410D has a Parallel interface, I suggest anyone interested check with the seller before ordering.

Its replacement, the B411D, does have both Parallel and USB interfaces, plus PCL 5e, PCL 6, IBM ProPrinter III XL and Epson FX emulation. Is is around $200, or $250 for the B411DN with ethernet, however.

Quote

B411d: IEEE1284 Bi-directional parallel, Hi-Speed USB 2.0; B411dn: IEEE1284 Bi-directional parallel, Hi-Speed USB 2.0, 10/100BaseTX Ethernet

[MEtalGuy66]

Actually, check this link:

http://www.tigerdire...p?EdpNo=6667172

TigerDirect has it for the same price, and they have PLENTY of pictures of it on their page.. And it DOES have a paralell port (shows it in the pictures)

And another big plus about this printer that I have read about on some customer review sites is that the toner cart is separate from the image drum. This means that replacement toner carts are likely to be dirt cheap for this printer. Some people were complaining about the "low capacity" of the toner cart, but who cares.. They are probably less than half the price of replacement carts for most other desktop laser printers, and since its literally just a "box of toner" you can probably figure out how to refill it yourself pretty easily.

I have not tried these out to make sure the EPSON emulation is all that its supposed to be where graphics are concerned, but based on what I've seen, this SHOULD BE the "perfect" solution.. And the price is defiitely right.. $99.00 brand new with manufacturer warranty.

It also does IBM Proprinter emulation, which a fair number of apps on the ATARI have support for.

I have dealt with TigerDirect in the past, and had really good luck with them.. They will alwayse take it back or replace it if you are unhappy with it from day 1. If I did not already have the SAMSUNG, I would buy this without a second thought..

[venom4728a]

I finally purchased a printer for my Atari, I went with a Panasonic KX-P2135, 24 pin color dot matrix. I found a place that has color ribbons for it for $2.11 each and snagged the printer for $40. It comes with a centronics to parralel Cable, I hope that will connect to my P:R: Connector or MIO. Could not see the ends of the cable to verify their gender/pin. Still have to order a box of tractor feed paper.

Robert

[Stephen]

venom4728a, on Tue Jan 17, 2012 6:48 PM, said:

I finally purchased a printer for my Atari, I went with a Panasonic KX-P2135, 24 pin color dot matrix. I found a place that has color ribbons for it for $2.11 each and snagged the printer for $40. It comes with a centronics to parralel Cable, I hope that will connect to my P:R: Connector or MIO. Could not see the ends of the cable to verify their gender/pin. Still have to order a box of tractor feed paper.

Robert

That's a really nice printer - I've been using one for the last several years. I haven't tried doing color with it, but I have a new black ribbon on it. Probably put about 500 or 600 pages through it in the time I've had it.

[Fox-1 / mnx]

venom4728a, on Tue Jan 17, 2012 6:48 PM, said:

It comes with a centronics to parralel Cable, I hope that will connect to my P:R: Connector or MIO. Could not see the ends of the cable to verify their gender/pin.

I think the P:R: is using the same printer connection chassis as the Atari 850 does. If so, the parallel cable is not a direct-connect solution as you need a 15 pin connector on the P:R:/850 side (same as old PC Midi/Gameports and Atari 5200 joysticks and XEGS keyboards).

As for the MIO, if my info is right they exchanged the printer connection for a standard printer connector on the recent remakes. To me it proves that the one on the original MIO's was not a standard one. I could imagine they kept the MIO one compatible with the P:R: one back then but that's just my guess.

[venom4728a]

I guess i will go ahead and order both printer and Serial cables from Brad. Thanks for the info, it will save me some time since the printer is not even here yet.

Robert

[Fox-1 / mnx]

Maybe it's an idea to make a small adapter that converts the P:R: pin layout to standarized layout. That way you can just use stock cables.

[BillC]

Fox-1 / mnx, on Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:27 PM, said:

venom4728a, on Tue Jan 17, 2012 6:48 PM, said:

It comes with a centronics to parralel Cable, I hope that will connect to my P:R: Connector or MIO. Could not see the ends of the cable to verify their gender/pin.

I think the P:R: is using the same printer connection chassis as the Atari 850 does. If so, the parallel cable is not a direct-connect solution as you need a 15 pin connector on the P:R:/850 side (same as old PC Midi/Gameports and Atari 5200 joysticks and XEGS keyboards).

As for the MIO, if my info is right they exchanged the printer connection for a standard printer connector on the recent remakes. To me it proves that the one on the original MIO's was not a standard one. I could imagine they kept the MIO one compatible with the P:R: one back then but that's just my guess.

Atari couldn't use the PC standard since the standard didn't exist at the time the 850 was introduced in 1980, IBM didn't introduce their model 5150 PC until August 1981. ICD chose to stay with 850 compatible connectors/cables when they designed the P:R: Connection and the MIO. Ken chose to modify the design of MIOs he makes to use standard PC serial/printer cables, and also a 30-pin memory SIMM instead of ZIP DRAM.

Bill

[Fox-1 / mnx]

Just for info:

ATARI 850 WIRING
________________


Pin  R1:  R2:R3:  R4:
---  ---  ------  ---
 1   DTR   DTR    DTR always on (+10v)
 2   CD    nc	 nc
 3   TX    TX	 Send Data
 4   RX    RX	 Receive Data
 5   GND   GND    GND
 6   DSR   DSR    nc
 7   RTS   nc	 RTS always on (+10v)
 8   CTS   nc	 nc
 9   nc    nc	 -8v

______________________________________

Pin  P:
---  --
 1   Strobe (inverted)
 2   Data Bit 0
 3   Data Bit 1
 4   Data Bit 2
 5   Data Bit 3
 6   Data Bit 4
 7   Data Bit 5
 8   Data Bit 6
 9   nc
10   nc
11   GND
12   Fault (inverted)
13   Busy
14   nc
15   Data Bit 7

______________________________________

NOTES:

On printer, pin-out assumes Atari 825
printer and cable may have to be
customized for other printers.
Also, pin 12 must be +5v for port to
operate.  If printer doesn't need this
line, connect pin 9 to pin 12.

For most printers, the cable
connections are as follows
(from the P: R: Connection Manual):

Atari 850	 Printer side
 (DB15P)   (36-pin Centronics)
------------------------------
    1		   1
    2		   2
    3		   3
    4		   4
    5		   5
    6		   6
    7		   7
    8		   8
   11		  16
   12		  32
   13		  11
   15		   9

______________________________________

Also from the P: R: Connection Manual,
the connections for R1: and R2:
(and presumably for R3: on the 850):

Atari 850   Modem Side
 (DB9P)	  (DB25P)
----------------------
    1		  20
    2		   8
    3		   2
    4		   3
    5		   7
    6		   6
    7		   4
    8		   5
(No connection  (Frame to the
    to shield)   shield wire)

The 850 manual also gives this hookup
for R4: with a 20 mA loop device:

Pin	  Function
----	 --------
 1	   Send data + \_______ 20 mA
 3	   Send data -  /
 7	   Receive Data + \______ 20 mA
 9	   Receive Data - /

[venom4728a]

I just ordered the cables from Best Electronics, They are the cables that are supposed to be 850/PR connector to PC Printer/Modem. I hope no modification will be needed.

thanks for all the pin outs, if they are not correct this iformation will really come in handy.


Best regards
Robert

[venom4728a]

I finally had a chance to hook up my Panasonic KX-P2135 Printer today, the self test went well and its color printing actully looks pretty good.

Does anyone know if there are any programs for color printing of pictures and word processing that will work with the Panasonic?

Best Regards
Robert

[Ransom]

Anyone have experience with the Brother HL-6150DN? It has built-in fonts and Epxon-FX emulation, and a parallel port (in addition to USB and ethernet). It seems like it'd be a good printer for use with classic and contemporary computers.

[venom4728a]

I am wondering if there is a program to print out pics in Color on a Epson FX-80 compatible printer. It is a Pansonic 24pin Color printer running through an ICD P:R: Connector. Or will I need a special driver to support color?

Robert