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The WinPrinter Survival Guide
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Hardware
Software
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Introduction:
This site is here for the owners of LaserMaster WinPrint products who wish to get a few more years of use from them. The information contained within these pages will show how these printers can be used under Windows 98 and Windows Millennium, allowing continued use for years to come. Although this site is geared towards the owners of the WinPrint 800 and the WinPrint 1000, the software installation instructions should work equally well for the owners of the WinPrint 600XL, and WinJet 800/1200/1200+.
LaserMaster had supported these printers under Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. Just before Windows 98 came out, the company made the decision to sell off their remaining stock of WinPrinters, stop production of parts, and end all hardware support. I was told at the time that they may continue to update drivers, but even that was doubtful. I was also informed that these printers may work under Windows 98, but that there would be no support available for this. I found that the printers worked just fine under Windows 98, so I was happy I could continue to use them, as I had 1 WinPrint 800 and 2 WinPrint 1000's. ( I had bought the second 1000 when LaserMaster notified me of their inventory selloff ).
The problem under '98 came about with the release of Windows 98 Second Edition. This version of Windows had different courier fonts, which are not compatible with the WinPrint software. Attempting to print anything would result in the dreaded "The rest of the job (to end-of-file) will be flushed."
error message and the printer will spit out a blank page. After some trial and error, I discovered that using the courier fonts from Windows 98 regular edition solved the problem. I had seen this error before, when I moved from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95, before LaserMaster had upgraded their drivers, and knew that the courier fonts were the problem. I also saw problems with the WinPrint installer not being able to copy files from the Windows 98 SE CD, so I created a custom installation routine (sort of a patch really). I have since used all three of my WinPrinters with various computers running Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Millennium, with no problems at all.
If you plan to use this fix in order to keep your WinPrinter as long as possible, you should know that all Microsoft software released since Windows 98 Second Edition will replace these older fonts with the new versions. For instance, say you have a Windows 98 SE computer and applied the fix. Now you install Microsoft Office 2000 or FrontPage 2000, and you find the printer giving errors and ejecting blank pages again. You'll just need to apply the fix again. I have not come across any situations where the older files present problems in these applications. Because of that, I wonder what exactly Microsoft felt they needed to change in the new file versions, and I also have to wonder why LaserMaster is unwilling to upgrade their software to support the newer files. It would seem that changing a few lines of code would be all that's required.
The following pages will detail a few fixes for the WinPrinters, including the proper way to install and configure the hardware, how to repair the data cable or even build a new one from scratch, where to get the printer serviced if required, which toner cartridges to use, the best paper to use, and how to resolve some printing issues ( printing with Adobe Acrobat, etc.).
Note:
These printers will never work when connected directly to a computer running Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP.
You can print from a Windows NT/2000/XP computer though, if you have a network and the WinPrinter is attached to a computer running Windows 95/98/98SE/ME.
Additional info I plan to add to this site:
- How to print from a Windows NT/2000/XP machine over the network to a WinPrinter connected to a Windows 95/98/ME machine.
- If any owners of the WinPrint 600XL, or WinJet 800/1200 find that this site has helped them use these printers under Windows SE or Me, I would appreciate knowing as I don't own one of these, but they work under the same principle as the WinPrint 800 and 1000.
If you have found this site useful or have something to add, feel free to let me know.
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| Last Modified Jan 13, 2002 |
Jeff Backe  |
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