Used HP LaserJet 6p - Postscript & Ethernet?

[Justin]

I bought a used LaserJet 6p. I ordered a 16MB upgrade off eBay for $5
off ebay. Basically I'm going to use this printer with an ethernet
JetDirect port at my vacation bungalow. I'm wondering if I should get a
PostScript SIMM. Sometimes I print graphs and maps - at least that's
what I'll be doing in vacation down there.

Also, is there an ethernet adapter I can get for the 6p? Right now I'm
ready to but a USB to parallel adapter and a JetDirect 175x, but if
there's something else that is easier and only one piece that would be
great.

 

[David Empson]

I bought a used LaserJet 6p. I ordered a 16MB upgrade off eBay for $5
off ebay. Basically I'm going to use this printer with an ethernet
JetDirect port at my vacation bungalow. I'm wondering if I should get a
PostScript SIMM. Sometimes I print graphs and maps - at least that's
what I'll be doing in vacation down there.

Also, is there an ethernet adapter I can get for the 6p? Right now I'm
ready to but a USB to parallel adapter and a JetDirect 175x, but if
there's something else that is easier and only one piece that would be
great.

I have a 6MP (which is a 6P supplied with the Postscript SIMM), which I
bought new back in 1997. There is no built-in networking facility (apart
from AppleTalk via the serial port, which is Mac-specific and
effectively obsolete). You have to use an external network adapter for
Ethernet. I'm using a JetDirect EX Plus with mine.

I haven't tried networked PCL, as the Postscript support worked well.

 

[Justin]

I'd hold off on the PS SIMM; try printing without it and see if you need
it.

Do a search on Ebay for parallel port print server. They're as little as
$20

Right after I posted this I ordered a used Netgear PS101 off eBay. It
seems small enough to fit in that little area, so hooking it up to my
LAN shouldn't be a problem. However, getting it to configure on a Mac
is somewhat tricky... What' I'd like to do is set it with a static IP,
and then just set up an IP printer on each machine.

 

[David Empson]

Networked PCL works fine.

Not so good for a Mac, as the OP has. Older Mac OS X versions only have
Postscript drivers for the HP 6P. More recent systems include a third
party (Gutenprint) PCL driver, but I haven't used it in anger.
Gutenprint drivers I have tried with other printers have been missing
some features and sometimes produce lower quality output than the native
driver from HP.

If you are buying a new card for your computer, why not fit an ethernet
card?

The OP was asking whether there is a network card option which can be
installed in the HP LaserJet 6P, to allow it to be connected directly to
Ethernet. There isn't. You have to use a USB to Parallel adapter, or an
external network print server (Ethernet to Parallel).

For older versions of Mac OS X you could also an AppleTalk Ethernet to
LocalTalk (serial) adapter, such as the AsanteTalk, but this only works
with the AppleTalk protocol, isn't compatible with Mac OS X 10.6 or
later, and probably requires Postscript. The serial port is also much
slower than the parallel port, so you are better off using the parallel
port even with Mac OS X 10.5 or earlier.

For really old Macs with serial ports running Mac OS 9 or earlier, you
can plug the printer directly into the Mac serial port (or use a
LocalTalk serial network), again only with Postscript.

I haven't tried a USB to parallel adapter with a Mac. There could be
driver issues there as well.