Hi All,
As I am a noobe here and with the Next systems. A couple of questions. I recently aquired a couple of The next N2000 laser printers. I plugged one of them in and nothing. Where is the power switch??. The machine appears to be all there except for the paper tray and the other is in the same condition except the latch for the top is broken. So the lid where the toner cartridge is won't stay down.
Does this need to be set up on a computer before it will power up??. I am pretty mach a mac guy but I get a lot used equiment in, older stuff, 7300-9600, G3s, B&Ws and a few G4s from time to time. It looks as though I going to be getting some Next stuff fairly soon. How much and what it is I do not know at this time.
As I collect older computers. A nice Next system would be cool. So any help on the printers would be greatly appreaciated
Thanks
a Next noobe
From what I've read, they're nothing to write home about. They won't work with any other computer ever (think like winprinters only for NeXT), and a lot of them are in pretty dire shape. They were pretty nice for their time, but now they're only worth keeping around for looks alone.
Like most NeXT equipment, it only worked with other NeXT hardware. Yes, they are not terribly impressive by 2006 standards, but were pretty darn cool in 1988 when they came out.
Saying that the printer is nothing special is almost saying the same thing about a cube or station; by today's standards they pretty antiquated (lacking a modern browser, USB or 1394, no wireless, etc...). But the glory of NeXT equipment is of what it was and represented, computing 10 years a head of the curve.
As for the printers, if you are industrious they can be fixed. Many people here have done amazing things keeping those lasers printing nicely. Personally, there's one in my possession I'd like to fix but lack the time and cash to do so.
But, to answer your basic question, it does need to be attached to a NeXT computer to be active as there is no power switch. As for additional help, dig through the forum a bit... there are a few posts relating to printers. If and when you have something more specific that's not coverred by those posts, ask. We tend to be quite the friendly bunch. Good luck with your NeXT gear, and we'll see you on the board...
I'm just bitter because when I found my Cube it came with one, and I didn't have the means to take it with me or the space for it once I got it home.
I do understand that you can set up a NeXT machine as a print server so that other computers can use the printer.
Quote from: "dravier"But the glory of NeXT equipment is of what it was and represented, computing 10 years a head of the curve.
How true.
It's also worth noting that though the N2000 printer was slow, the SCSI color printer was much slower, both of them being dumb. The color printer would stop an 040 in it's tracks, not even sure if an 030 would work with it. The N2000 was quite amazing, iirc, it was about a 3rd of the price of an HP LaserJet which at that time probably cost about 10k. I think the N2000 retailed at 3300 bucks. Obviously it didn't have a host 68k CPU like the LaserJet and Laser Writer but for 6k saving you could probably buy another NeXT computer and use if as a small print/work group server.
Randy Rencsock @ Turbo Software used to sell spare rollers etc for them, and he's surfaced again as I've been talking to him this week.
If you read the NeXT FAQ, there is something in there about the N2000 always powering up when the host NeXT was booted up, iirc there is a script or somthing that can be run to make it sleep or shutoff.
I have a couple of printer repair documents on my site for download. They are in pdf format. Also, I have an original Canon produced repair manual for the laser printer. It is packed, along with most of my collection. As I unpack everything, I will look for the manual and will scan it into a pdf as soon as I find it.
I also have a copy of the "NeXT Hardware Repair Guide" that was issued to NeXT trained technicians at the training center. If there is interest, I'll scan that also. It's over 300 pages.
The currently available pdf's are at:
http://www.blackcube.org/laser.html
The "NeXT Harware [sic] Repair Guide" would be awesome, especially if it contains schematics.
I am evaluating a couple of accelerator designs for the '030 and '040 cubes and would like to look thru that manual.
Please do post it.
-- josé k.
jose_korneluk AT bellsouth.net
blackcube-
I think you would do the NeXT community a great service to offer an electronic version of the repair guide! I, for one, would appreciate it!
Luke
Hi Blackcube,
It would be jolly decent of you to scan and make available that guide. What other marvels do you have?