[vcf-midatlantic] NeXT printer emulator/bridge

[David Ryskalczyk]

Herb, I just hit "Reply All", which seems to include the list as well as the person. I’ve had to do this with other mailing lists where a direct reply only goes to the person and therefore have a habit of doing Reply All for all mailing lists. Therefore you being CC'd was not intentional.

The schematics are very clearly listed in the table of contents but are missing from the end of the manual. Oh well. Maybe reaching out to the person who scanned the original set would be worth my time, as it would not surprise me if these were fold-outs.

Alternatively I have two of these printers and might open one up and take a look at the interface board. There are clearly two processors on that board, based on some of the text in the aforementioned service manual.

Anyway, regarding references, Page 229 of the November 26, 1991 issue of PC Magazine [1] states the following:
"The [NEC] Silentwriter2 990 is rated at 8 pages per minute and uses the Canon LBP-UX engine. This engine is functionally similar to the familiar SX engine used by the HP LaserJet III (and uses standard EP-S toner cartridges), but is built to fit in a more compact case."

There are other references that indicate this print engine was used in the NEC Silentwriter2 990, and one that indicates it was used in the Silentwriter2 290 and Silentwriter2 260 as well [2], but I can’t find any other printers with it, at least with a cursory search.

David

[1] https://books.google.com/books?id=wEufoGXlUxUC&lpg=PT242&ots=ZbNWdLZcp6&dq=%22lbp-ux%22%20print&pg=PT243#v=onepage&q=%22lbp-ux%22%20print&f=false <https://books.google.com/books?id=wEufoGXlUxUC&lpg=PT242&ots=ZbNWdLZcp6&dq=%22lbp-ux%22%20print&pg=PT243#v=onepage&q="lbp-ux" print&f=false> .
[2] Peter N. Bernstock. "The handbook for microcomputer technicians", page 436.

> On Jun 18, 2018, at 8:00 PM, Herb Johnson via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> On 6/18/2018 4:39 PM, David Ryskalczyk wrote:
>> Here is the service manual for the printer. Unfortunately the schematics are missing from this set. I wouldn’t mind seeing what the Interface Circuit consists of.
>> David
> 
> I dont' know if David Ryskalczy was asking me to respond, to his finding the service manual, but I got an email specifically to me and not just to the list, which isn't usual. I did say "read the manual". If he has a serious interest in the printer, my apologies if my remarks about lack-of-interest were misdirected his way.
> 
> I looked at the service manual, which apparently is for the mechanics and electronics that manages paper and the laser-written image on the drum and so forth. The phrase "print engine" doesn't appear in the document, nor the name "Canon" (except once, regarding paper). But I'd suggest this manual is the OEM's "print engine" service manual; intended for field-service to diagnose and physically repair this printer, by adjustments and module-replacements. And not, for electronic-component level repairs and therefore no need for schematics. If the OEM (presumably Canon) produced this manual, it's not unusual in the era that they don't put their name on it, or on the parts.
> 
> But what I see in that manual, and in some associated documents on site, are consistent to me with the notion that the Next "print engine" is like the HP LaserJet II/III "print engine" which is better-known to be a Canon SX OEM product or design. That's all I know. If someone affirms the Canon/NeXT association further than my evidence, I'd not mind knowing.
> 
> As to the question of some thing, that could operate some laser printer with the signals from the NeXT computer "laser printer" port? I don't know about that. I'm damn skeptical but I can't prove a negative, and if someone makes such a widget, it's a great hack from my view. Good luck.
> 
> Herb
> 
> -- 
> Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA
> http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net
> preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing
> email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com
> or try later herbjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT info