Apple LaserWriter and LaserWriter Plus laser printers

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Apple LaserWriter and LaserWriter Plus laser printers

The LaserWriter allowed anyone to print quality text and graphics without spending a fortune. In 1985 the price of a LaserWriter was $6,995. When the LaserWriter Plus was introduced in 1986, it cost $6,798. Both the LaserWriter and LaserWriter Plus looked exactly alike.

An upgrade from the LaserWriter to the LaserWriter Plus was $799. It consisted of a new logic board your dealer would install.

The fonts which came with the LaserWriter Plus added ITC AvantGarde, ITC Bookman, Helvetica Narrow, New Century Schoolbook, Palatino, ITC Zapf Dingbats and ITC Zapf Chancery.

The LaserWriter gives you near-typeset quality printed copies of your work, for a lot less money than you expect. And the LaserWriter uses the AppleTalk Personal Network so you can share the LaserWriter with the people you work with.

Here it is!
LaserWriter printer Part of the Macintosh Office

Here is an graphic arts office showing the LaserWriter
A LaserWriter and a Macintosh at work.

A bit about the hookups and settings

The DB-9 port is used for an AppleTalk connector or Serial (at 9600 or 1200) connections

The DB-25 port is for Serial connections from a Mac or PC.

The Special setting makes the printer emulate Diablo 630 emulation (useful on a PC) on the DB-25 port only. Or lets MacTerminal sends PostScript directly to the printer when setup to this setting.

The lights from the left to right are:
Green Light - Flashes when the printer is warming up, Steady when the pritner is ready
Yellow Light - Flashes when the LaserWriter is printing a job, Steady when the paper cassette is empty
Red Light - Steady when there is a paper jam

The green test light (on the back of the printer) lets you know there is a problem with the LaserWriter.

Apple official specs

LaserWriter-

Logic Board

Processor: 68000, 12MHz
PD Language: Postscript, Diablo 630
Ports: LocalTalk, Serial

Power

Max Watts: 760
Amps: 6.30
BTU per Hr: 2599.2
Voltage: 115
Freq Range: 60 Hz

Memory

ROM Size: 0.5MB
Ram Slots: none, n/a
Min - Max RAM: 1.5MB - 1.5MB
Min RAM Speed: n/a
RAM sizes: n/a

Engine

Pages Per Min: 8
Max DPI: 300
Min Life: 300,000

Physical

Introduced: 3-1-85
Discontinued: 2-1-88
Weight (lbs): 77
Dimensions (in): 11.5H x 18.5W x 16.2D

LaserWriter Plus-

Logic Board

Processor: 68000, 12MHz
PD Language: Postscript, Diablo 630
Ports: LocalTalk, Serial

Power

Max Watts: 760
Amps: 6.30
BTU per Hr: 2599.2
Voltage: 115
Freq Range: 60 Hz

Memory

ROM Size: 1MB
Ram Slots: none, n/a
Min - Max RAM: 1.5MB - 1.5MB
Min RAM Speed: n/a
RAM sizes: n/a

Engine

Pages Per Min: 8
Max DPI: 300
Min Life: 300,000

Physical

Introduced: 1-1-86
Discontinued: 2-1-88
Weight (lbs): 77
Dimensions (in): 11.5H x 18.5W x 16.2D

All technical information from www.apple.com & Macintosh 512Ke user guide.

Here is the banner page that comes out of a LaserWriter Plus printer.

23,167 pages that's it??!? Low mileage!

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