Hi Laurent and Brian,
The Apple PrintPack cables was manufactured by GDT Softworks, which later
became InfoWave.
As far as I know, there was only one version of the PrintPack cable
manufactured with the ROM construct (PrintPack 1.0) that downloaded the
drivers. GDT later did an update to the drivers (PrintPack 2.0) that was
only distributed in software form as a downloadable package.
The PowerPrint cables (at least the pre-V.4.X ones) were identical in
function (serial to parallel conversion) to the Apple PrintPack cables. The
*only* difference (besides the packaging) was the Apple PrintPack had the
driver ROM in the head, and the PowerPrint cable did not. If you installed
the PrintPack 2.0 software package on your Newton, it could print through
the PowerPrint cables just fine. I've heard that the later versions of
these cables (V.4.0 and greater) may not work, but the 3.X versions worked
great.
IHTH...
Regards,
Gary
----Original Message Follows----
From: "Laurent Daudelin" <laurent_daudelin@fanniemae.com>
To: <newtontalk@planetnewton.com>
Subject: Re: NTLK getting items OUT (was AvailWorksvs.NewtonWorkswith... )
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 12:39:06 -0500
Brian McEwen wrote:
> >Brian McEwen wrote:
>
> >> I posted about this a few days ago but received no replies, so had
kinda
> >> written off being able to print, based on lack of any useful drivers.
If
> >> I'd bought the printpack just for the MP, I'd be very annoyed!
> >
> >Hmmm. What kind of cable are you using between your MP and your printer?
> >
>
> I am using the Printpack cable from Infowave, the latest version.
>
> With the newer printers at work, I'd only tried the newer version of the
> cable- they have an older version (that came with a round sticker on the
> parallel connector- I forget the revision # of the cable) that will work
on
> many older printers, but not the newer ones-(at least when hooked to a
> desktop Mac).
>
> Can someone else confirm that there really exists a "laserjetII" printer
> driver on THEIR installation of the 2.0 printpack newton package? the
> manual lists it almost exclusively, yet I don't get that installed, just
> "laserjet". This might explain the troubles I had with the purported
> laserjet-compatibles...unless they are the same thing, really, just named
> differently.
Nope, there is no "LaserJet II" driver in my PrintPack 2.0 package, only "HP
LaserJet", but that one should work. You're saying you got your PrintPack
cable
from Infowave? The latest version? Just to make sure that we're on the same
thing here, the PrintPack, when it was sold, was half hardware half
software.
The hardware part was basically a serial to parallel adapter, with a ROM in
it
that contains the software part, which was an extension package. The first
time
you would connect the cable adapter to your MP, it would somehow check to
see if
the package was already there. If not, a copy would be downloaded on your
MP.
Then, at some point, a 2.0 version of the software was released by Apple and
a
new revision of the cable was made available, that would contain the updated
package in ROM. As far as I can tell, the original PrintPack kit has always
been
provided as a serial to parallel adapter. A serial DIN-8 plug was at one
end,
and a parallel plug at the other end. All the original PrintPack kit I've
seen
were always with this configuration.
So, I really don't know what you're talking about when you say you're using
the
"Printpack cable from Infowave". The latest revision, like I said, was only
different in the way that it had the version 2.0 of the software package.
Finally, if you want to use your PrintPack cable, you need, when you select
Print to pick another printer, not a network one. You will never be able to
print to a network printer using your PrintPack cable. So, the printer must
be
accessible locally, and you must physically plug the PrintPack in the
printer's
parallel port. Then, you select "Print", then select "Printer", then, from
the
popup that appears, choose "Choose Other Printer". You should get a list
where
you'll see a number of printers. Pick the one that most closely match the
printer you want to use. For any kind of LaserJet, use "HP LaserJet". It
definitely should work.
-Laurent.
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