User:Infodriveway/Apple Dot Matrix Printers

Apple sold several dot matrix printers from 1982 to 1996, including the best known ImageWriter and ImageWriter II.

Apple Dot Matrix Printer
The Apple Dot Matrix Printer (often shortened to Apple DMP) is a printer manufactured by C. Itoh and sold under Apple label in 1982 for the Apple II series, Lisa, and the Apple III. It was succeeded by the ImageWriter in 1984.

The Apple DMP is the last parallel port printer sold under Apple label; all subsequent Apple printers (ImageWriter, ImageWriter II, Scribe, LaserWriter etc.) were serial port printers.

ImageWriter
ImageWriter is a dot matrix printer sold between 1982 and 1986 by Apple. The original ImageWriter was a re-packaged 9-pin dot matrix printer from C. Itoh Electronics (model C. Itoh 8510, with modified ROM and pinout), released in 1983.

It was originally intended to be used with the Apple II, replacing the earlier Apple Dot Matrix Printer (also a C. Itoh model). The ImageWriter could produce images as well as text, up to a resolution of 144 DPI and a speed of about 120 cps. In text mode, the printer was logic-seeking, meaning it would print with the head moving in both directions while it would print only in one direction for graphics and Near Letter Quality.

The ImageWriter was also supported by the Macintosh 128K computer, the original Mac. Apple wanted a graphical printer for the Mac, and had introduced the ImageWriter primarily to support the new machine. This permitted it to produce WYSIWYG output from the screen of the computer, which was an important aspect for promoting the concept of the GUI and, later, desktop publishing. Quality was adequate rather than startling.

This printer no longer has any supported drivers (though it is possible to print in Near Letter Quality to the ImageWriter using the C. Itoh 8510 driver in Windows NT/2000/XP in RAW data since it still seems to accept the same kind of escape code.) But like other printers, it would still accept TEXT regardless of quality.

Like its successor, the ImageWriter II, a self-test may be done by turning it off, then holding the form feed button down until the ImageWriter is turned back on.

ImageWriter II
The Apple ImageWriter II was a Dot matrix printer released in September 1985. It utilized a C.Itoh mechanism and was somewhat faster than the original ImageWriter. It was particularly well known for being extremely sturdy – ImageWriter II's were still in common use for forms printing a decade after they were produced.

The ImageWriter II could also produce basic colour images using a colour ribbon, a feature that was supported by the original version of QuickDraw, which, although it was running on a monochrome hardware platform, actually supported output for eight colors. The ImageWriter II also offered an NLQ (near-letter-quality) ASCII mode, a feature for improved text quality on the Apple II platform or for improved draft printing quality on the Macintosh platform.

The ImageWriter II was offered as two models with different carriage widths: the narrow carriage version for 8.5-inch-wide tractor-fed paper, and the wide carriage version for wider paper. When the wide carriage was introduced in late 1985 (or early 1986), the only Apple software that supported it was MacProject. Although a very few third-party applications also supported it, most applications could print only as if there were 8.5-inch paper in the printer.

Early Imagewriter II's are a creamy off-white color known at Apple as Fog, but after 1987 they were the standard Apple "Platinum" color. There are many known ROM revisions, visible through a self-test (press the form feed button while turning the ImageWriter on, then release both buttons simultaneously; the printer will then print the ROM version as well as dipswitch settings).

The ImageWriter II was designed in accordance with Apple's Snow White design language. In 1986 it received the I.D. Design Review and Silver Industrial Design Excellence Awards, making it the first desktop printer to receive such appraisal. The later models had the cable ports on legs moved to ends of the tractor feed housing.

Despite the introduction of the inkjet StyleWriter in 1991, the ImageWriter II kept selling. It continued in production until late 1996, making it the longest running Apple product in history. Existing models are still useful for printing banners and, like all impact printers, for multi-part forms.

The band Man or Astro-man? used it live to perform a song called "A Simple Text File".

ImageWriter LQ
ImageWriter LQ (Letter Quality) was a 27-pin dot matrix printer introduced in 1987 by Apple Computer. The print quality was comparable to competing 24-pin dot-matrix printers, and offered graphics at 320 x 216 DPI. Unlike the ImageWriter II, the LQ was unreliable and noisy. Its printhead had a tendency to overheat with large multi-page prints and melt the glue holding the crystal that supports the pins.

Like the earlier ImageWriter II, the LQ could be networked on an AppleTalk network with the addition of a card. This, as well as guaranteed compatibility with both Apple II and Macintosh computers, made it popular in schools.

Accessories
In 1984 Thunderware introduced the ThunderScan, an optical scanner that was installed in place of the ImageWriter ribbon cartridge. With support for the Apple II and the Mac, the ThunderScan provided low cost grayscale scanning with moderate resolution and speed.

The ImageWriter II also supported an optional external sheet feeder that could feed cut sheet paper. However, the attachment was generally unreliable.

With an optional networking card installed, the ImageWriter II and LQ were a low cost alternative to the vastly more expensive LaserWriter.