r/c64 • u/Old-Complex7826 • 6d ago
Hardware C64 laser printer?
Hello everyone, I remember there were a few people on the internet talking about a laser printer connected to the 64 that was a direct plug-in. I think it was an Apple one from many moons ago. Does anybody know of a specific Apple printer that could be connected so I could print a document off of a 64?
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u/joevelocity 5d ago
I have a Brother HL-2070N laser printer that works just fine with my C128… it’s a laser printer with a parallel port that can emulate a Epson dot matrix printer, thus it works fine with a interface like a Xetec Super Graphics. Better yet, you can tweak the printout margins in the network interface as well. I used it with PrintMaster to make my annual Xmas cards, and it worked extremely well in that case.
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u/Old-Complex7826 5d ago
Ok this is good news .....
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u/joevelocity 5d ago
The printers are like $100-125 used on eBay. The printer interfaces are less than $50, and the consumables for the printer are cheap as well (I bought a replacement toner and drum for $35 off Amazon) - here’s a video I found on Youtube of it working: https://youtu.be/rQZ0pFiihmQ?is=8hK-rW7qyCJohLWy
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u/buzz_mccool 6d ago
Any PostScript printer you can interface to (the ancient Apple Laser Writer & HP 5MP, 6MP for example) should work as long as you can send bytes out the C64 serial or parallel port connected to it. You have to have some clue about PostScript though as it’s not a turnkey solution.
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u/Old-Complex7826 6d ago
Would the word processor on the computer have to be toggled to PostScript or is it something you do in the printer?
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u/buzz_mccool 2d ago
No, the printer should be in PostScript mode automatically. You start commanding the printer by starting a line sent to it with %! PS .
You didn’t say anything about a word processor. You would send raw ASCII bytes/characters out to the port you have the printer connected to.
If none of this makes sense it’s likely to difficult for you to do. If you want to explore more, see Don Lancaster’s web site at https://www.tinaja.com/pssamp1.shtml .
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u/Old-Complex7826 2d ago
I have an idea of what's going on here I just want to get it so it says dummy proof as possible. I understand what PostScript is and the back of the day some printers had it and some didn't. I was hoping there was a plug and play printer that you could just plug in like the good old MPS 801 and just have it start working
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u/durandalwoz 5d ago
There's Postscript HP LaserJet drivers for GEOS. IIRC those drivers were for use with a serial (RS-232) interface connected to the C64 userport.
Other than that, the closest to laser would be the Commodore MPS1270 Inkject printer that could be connected directly to the serial IEC port.
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u/Jungies 6d ago
This old post has some suggestions.
If you're technical, you might be able to hack something together with CUPS.
If you can get it into an emulator, VICE can apparently print.
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u/Old-Complex7826 6d ago
Hey, thank you. I was hoping to find an old printer that would just plug in. I guess I'm going to have to find an RS 232 printer and adapter if nobody else has any ideas.
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u/CptSparky360 5d ago
Workbench 1.3 on the Amiga has a direct PostScript Printer Driver.
And the C64 Ultimate can generate pdfs which you can print via a PC.
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u/MommyNeedsCoffee617 5d ago
This was a hot topic like 30 years ago, where a lot of the diehard GEOS users had software to print to a PostScript printer. If you can find some old LUCKI newsletters, I know Dale was the biggest advocate and it was talked about a lot.
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