The Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS is a high-quality PostScript laser printer that provides outstanding results for both color and black-and-white printing. It supports 600-dots-per-inch and Color PhotoGrade resolution, and prints at a print speed of 12 pages per minute for monochrome and 3 pages per minute for color.

The Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS supports Adobe PostScript Level 2 and includes 39 PostScript (Type 1) fonts in ROM, plus screen fonts for Macintosh and Windows. In addition, it includes 64 TrueType fonts on Macintosh disks.

Specifications

• Print Engine and Controller
  • 30-MHz AMD 29030 RISC processor
  • Engine life 300,000 pages monochrome, 150,000 pages color
  • No monthly maximum duty cycle

• Memory
  • 12MB of RAM standard; supports Color PhotoGrade. Apple contone compression technology enables 130MB of data to be printed with only a 12MB printer
  • For best print quality when printing legal size,16MB is recommended
  • Expandable to 40MB with optional upgrades (1MB, 4MB, or 16MB 72-pin, 60ns SIMMs)

• Interfaces
  • Ethernet port (supports EtherTalk, TCP/IP, and Novell NetWare protocols)
  • LocalTalk port
  • All ports active simultaneously
  • Bidirectional IEEE 1284 parallel port (special cable required)
  • SCSI port for external or optional internal hard disk drive for font storage

• System Requirements
  • Works with an Apple Macintosh or compatible computer, which has at least 4MB of RAM and Macintosh system software version 7.1 or later.
  • Works with an IBM or compatible computer, which has at least 4MB of RAM and Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later.

Common Questions and Answers

Answer: Selection of the BEST mode changes the initial paper path from four rotations to five rotations of the transfer drum. This additional rotation allows the paper to fully adhere to the transfer drum before any transfer of the image to the paper takes place. This corrects small registration problems that occur during the imaging of the first color (magenta).

Question: I am getting oil spots on the paper. What can I do to prevent this?

Answer: The silicon oil is there to prevent the layers of toner from sticking to the fuser rollers. From time to time an oil spot may appear. Things that may cause it to happen with greater frequency are:

• Not having removed the orange spacers from inside the fuser access door.
• Turning the printer On and Off a number of times in a short period of time. For example, five times in an hour.
• After leaving the printer in idle mode for a long period of time, you may get a few spots of oil on the first couple of pages printed.
• Using recycled paper can plug the fuser's oil filter and cause long oil streaks on the back of the paper. Apple recommends that you use a good quality, non-fibrous paper. You will have to replace the fuser if you continue to use fibrous paper.

Question: I am getting small amounts of toner on the printed page. How can I prevent this?

Answer: Cleaning the excess toner from the following areas should eliminate the problem:

• Clean density sensor and separation discharge wire with the brush provided. This procedure is described on page 223 of the user's guide.
• Clean the paper pickup area as described on page 226 of the user's guide.
• Printing 10 blank pages will help clean toner off rollers.

Question: The Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS specification sheet lists a 1284 Parallel I/O cable (M4235M/A). Do I need this cable, or can I use a "standard" parallel cable?

Answer: You cannot use the old style parallel cable. The parallel interface on the Color LaserWriter 12/600 controller side is new. The physical connector is different than the old style parallel port. The old style parallel cables used a 1284-A style plug, which use a 1284-B connector. The Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS controller, uses the newer 1284-C style connector. This new connector fully supports the 1284 ECP transfer mode (Fast mode), which is why Apple uses it. There may be some third-party adapters that will allow you to convert the older 1284-B to the newer 1284-C connector. However, Apple will not support such a configuration.

Question: I have two Apple Color LaserWriter printers, and I get slightly different colored printouts from each of them. Is there any way to adjust the printer's color output?

Answer: The printer is adjusted at the factory to produce the best possible image quality. All Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS printers come with these default settings in effect. To change the color balance refer to page 254 of the user's guide. This should only be used to make subtle changes to match multiple printers.

NOTE: One correction to that page of the User's Guide is in the Read Me. On returning to factory default (Step #7), the manual says to first select a color and hold the + and - buttons together. Instead, just hold down the + and - buttons for about 5 seconds and all colors return to the factory default settings.

Question: Text created with TrueType or PostScript fonts prints fine, but equivalent bitmapped text sometimes prints blurry and exhibits a fuzzy halo effect. What is the problem?

Answer: When an object gets a full saturation of two colors, the haloing effect, which is normal to all laser imaging, is compounded. To offset this, the I/O controller checks incoming fonts and decrease their saturations slightly in cases where unacceptable haloing would otherwise occur. For example, a green font (pure cyan with pure yellow) might be adjusted to 80% cyan and 80% yellow. This adjustment does not visually alter the color. Since font ID drives this process, bit-mapped text is ignored and will be imaged as a normal graphic. To offset haloing in graphics, you must make adjustments by hand in the source application.

Question: I just moved my Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS to a new location and now the status panel is showing an error that the Read Me file identifies as a fuser oil pump error (the paper-jam and paper-out lights flash, the yellow toner light illuminates, and one maintenance light is on). What happened?

Answer: The oil may not have been properly extracted from the fuser before you moved the printer. If oil is present in a printer that is being moved and tilted, the oil overflow sensor can become contaminated, which will cause the oil pump error you describe. When the fuser oil pump error occurs, servicing is required. Before moving your Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS follow the extraction procedures found in Appendix E of the user's guide, and in the "Fuser Oil Extraction" topic in "Service Source".

Question: I see some banding in the images. What causes this banding?

Answer: Banding is very difficult to measure with instruments, but the human eye is very good at discerning it. With the Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS it can arise from a number of areas. These include image development area, high voltage power, and basic mechanical factors. The engine manufacturer and Apple have worked very hard to minimize the banding. No band that repeats on the page should be greater than 2mm in width. To evaluate the banding print out large vertical solid areas of each color (CMYK) at about 60% coverage, from an application. Look at each and determine if one color is banding worse than the other colors. (The human eye does not detect banding in yellow, so do not expect to see it there.) Small bands of variations are due to mechanical factors and are to be expected. If there are predominate bands about 50mm apart in any one color it is likely the developer roller in the toner cartridge. If the predominate bands are spaced 38mm or 129mm the cause is likely the Photoconductor cartridge.

Question: The DeskTop Printing Software was not installed with my Apple Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS installation. How can I get the Desktop Printing option?

Answer: If you have System 7.1 then Print Monitor 7.1.2 has been installed. DeskTop Printing software requires System 7.1.1 or higher. Specifically the Finder needs to be 7.1.3 or higher. After installing System 7.1.1 or greater, reinstall the Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS software and DeskTop Printing will be installed.

[Previous] [Top] [Next]