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Any new printers work with OS 7.5?

O

oldbandguy

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 6, 2006
2
0
I have a Mac 2600 CD Performa using OS 7.5
I have been using a old StyleWriter 2400, but I think it finally died.

My question...are there any new printers available that will work with this system? Most of the things I have come across require OSX and USB.


Thanks
 
Wow, OS 7.5. I'd suggest you go down to your local thrift store, they always seem to be jam packed full of old apple printers selling for a couple of bucks.
 
2600 or 6200?

Either way, yeah, thrift stores or ebay (be careful of price gouging for crap on ebay). Also check the marketplace thread, there was a guy who had a garage full of older mac stuff, he may have one for you. Had this thread existed in November, I could have helped you out, as I donated an old Apple Laserwriter to a thrift store when I had to move a bunch of my old stuff out of my mom's place...

If you just want an inkjet, I have an old portable that I used to use with my very old laptop (one of the original powerbooks). I can try to dig it up if you're interested, but good luck finding cartridges for it...
 
disconap said:
... but good luck finding cartridges for it...
Click to expand...

That's a good point. Before spending any more than a couple of bucks on an old printer, make sure that you can still get ink cartridges. Of course if they don't make cartridges for a model of printer anymore you might be able to get by with ink refill kits.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm assuming there are no NEW printers that work
with OS 7.5.

I believe my Performa 6200CD (not 2600 as I originally posted) can work
with OS 9.1, but not 9.2. Anyone know if any new printers will work with
OS 9.1?
 
Your biggest problem isn't the OS, it's the not having USB that's the real problem. The Mac serial port that printers used to connect through are different than pc serial ports which themselves are an endangered species. If I had to take a guess I'd say that there are no new printers that will connect to your computer the way it is. If you want to there may be a way to add USB ports to your computer, but spending any more than a couple of bucks on that computer doesn't make any sense at all. Even if it would cost you under $50 to add a USB port it really doesn't make sense. If I were you I'd start saving to get a new computer. You can buy a used Mac that can run OS X and has USB ports for just a few hundred dollars and if you can scrape together $600 you can buy yourself a brand spankin' new Mac mini.
 
Keep an eye on the Marketplace forum, some great deals pop up there from time to time and personally I'd trust someone selling through MR much more than some random person off ebay. Besides waiting for what you want to show up there you should also post a couple of "wanted to buy" messages (WTB) for either a printer that'll work with your computer or for a used computer that fits your price and feature requirements.

https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/14/
 
motulist said:
Your biggest problem isn't the OS, it's the not having USB that's the real problem. The Mac serial port that printers used to connect through are different than pc serial ports which themselves are an endangered species.
Click to expand...

What he said.

But the one major flavor of printer that is still accessible to your computer, and System 7, is an ethernet networked AppleTalk PostScript laser printer. Heck, I can still print to one of 'em from an original LC running System 6! They will almost universally accept the Apple LaserWriter printer driver, regardless of vintage. (You may not get fancy stuff like being able to specify paper tray etc).

Assuming your machine is a 6200 (not a 2600 which I've never heard of), it has an "LC" expansion slot, so you can acquire an ethernet card easily enough (I got one for my original LC, plug 'n play, standard OS drivers will recognize it).

They aren't cheap new, but they tend to be built like tanks, and over time the toner is cheaper than the ink cartridges in inkjet printers.

Also, used ones are generally avaiable cheaply. (Print a test page to verify the quality of the printout on any used laser printer though).

The advantage of this solution is that the same printer will continue to be useful in the future: your vintage-2007 or -2008 Mac (or PC) will be able to print to it as well.
 
their was an epson model which had an apple serial port, i think it was similar to the epson 760, but i'm not sure, it was popular about 5 years ago as the last new printer for old macs.
 
Go to lowendmac.com and check the specs on your machine to see if there is software support for OS9 or OSX (there are apps to run those OSs on older machines, but I doubt the 6200 is supported). I used to have one of those, btw, it was my first mac (upgraded from an Apple //c). They are considered one of the worst Apples ever made because of the architecture (64 bit processor on a split 32bit bus), but I never had any problems with it, once I maxed the RAM out to 64megs.

You might be able to find a serial to USB adapter. I know they have ones that go the other way, but I'm not sure if they have ones that will work in the direction you need. If there is a PCI slot available in your machine (I don't remember off hand, I didn't really start upgrading macs until the G3 era), you may be able to buy a cheap USB or USB2.0 PCI card, though I don't know if it would be supported in OS7...
 
It'd be funny. Like using a Newton to run Final Cut.

Actually, it would be impossible, as the RAM requirements are 4X the max on the 6200 for 10.2, much less later versions. But there might be OS9 support.

However, Ubuntu would run on it. :)
 
disconap said:
It'd be funny. Like using a Newton to run Final Cut.

Actually, it would be impossible, as the RAM requirements are 4X the max on the 6200 for 10.2, much less later versions. But there might be OS9 support.

However, Ubuntu would run on it. :)
Click to expand...

I wonder if it could be done though. Perhaps you could solder a new memory controller chip to the motherboard and then use high density ram chips and of course, swap in a bigger hard drive. Probably the easiest way to do it would be to buy a Mac Mini and put it inside the 6200 case. :p
 
That would be fun, and is actually why I wanted to dig up my old 6200, so I could put a broken G3 ibook into it. :) I ended up doing a different project, which I will post about when it is finished, but it will look as cool if not moreso than the 6200 G3700 idea (if the monitor was smaller, I could have put it in my dad's old first gen Mac, which would have been SO rad)...
 
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