Apple LaserWriter 16/600 PS
| Apple LaserWriter 16/600 PS | |
|---|---|
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| A LaserWriter 16/600 PS (All About Apple museum, CC BY-SA 3.0) | |
| Manufacturer | Apple Computer, Inc. |
| Type | Laser printer |
| Release date | September 1994 |
| Interface | LocalTalk, Ethernet, Centronics parallel, SCSI (printer hard disks); optional fax card |
| Compatible | Macintosh (System 7.0 or later); Windows, NetWare and UNIX systems |
| Dimensions | 307 × 425 × 429 mm (12.08 × 16.73 × 16.89 in) |
| Weight | 19.1 kg (42.02 lb) with cassette |
| Power | 100-120 V; about 0.79 kW |
The Apple LaserWriter 16/600 PS is a 600 dpi network laser printer that Apple introduced in September 1994.[1] It has the same case as the Apple LaserWriter Pro 600 and Pro 630 but a faster Canon LBP-P430 engine, at 17 pages per minute on letter paper, and a new controller built round an AMD 29030 RISC processor. Apple's Service Source warns that its engine modules and paper feeders are not interchangeable with the Pro 600/630's.[2]
Maintenance and fault-finding are on Apple LaserWriter 16/600 PS General Maintenance and Apple LaserWriter 16/600 PS Troubleshooting Guide. The printer's diagnostic tables are almost word for word those of the Pro 600/630, so the troubleshooting guide refers to the Pro 600/630 guide for the tables the two share.[2]
Specifications
[edit | edit source]| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Engine | Canon LBP-P430; single-component microfine toner; semiconductor laser with a rotating six-faced prism mirror; 600 dpi |
| Speed | 17.1 pages per minute on letter paper, 16.2 on A4; no monthly duty limit |
| Controller | AMD 29030 RISC at 25 MHz; 8 MB RAM, expandable to 32 MB; 4 MB ROM, soldered or on SIMMs |
| Languages | QuickDraw, PostScript Level 2 (version 2014) and HP PCL 5, switched automatically |
| Ports | LocalTalk, Ethernet, Centronics parallel; SCSI for printer hard disks; optional fax card |
| Paper | 250-sheet cassette; 100-sheet multipurpose tray; optional 500-sheet lower cassette and 75-envelope feeder |
| Power | About 0.79 kW at 20 °C |
| Noise | 52 dB or less printing and 34 dB or less standby (sound pressure at the bystander position) |
| Environment | 10-32.5 °C, 20-80% relative humidity |
| Host | Macintosh System 7.0 or later |
Apple's own figures differ in places. Apple's October 1994 Apple Facts gives a 32 MHz AMD 29030 with an 80C186 I/O processor, memory expandable to 16 MB, and a weight of 40.0 lb (18.0 kg); the Service Source and the July 1995 Service Guide give 25 MHz, 32 MB and 19.1 kg with the cassette.[3][2][4]
I/O controller
[edit | edit source]
The end bracket carries the configuration switch and the parallel, fax, Ethernet, LocalTalk and SCSI connectors. On the board are two RAM SIMM slots (BA and DC), ROM SIMM slots that are empty on boards with soldered ROM, the IOP ROM, the fax card connector J15 and the internal hard disk connector J21.[2] If a board with ROM SIMMs is returned to Apple, its ROM SIMMs go with it; replacement boards without soldered ROM come with the ROM SIMMs bagged separately.[2]
The printer accepts jobs at the same time from AppleTalk, TCP/IP and NetWare and from the parallel port, switching between PostScript and PCL 5 by itself. The configuration switch is a two-position toggle: down for the standard settings, up for custom settings made in software.[2] Zone changes made with the Apple Printer Utility only survive a restart if the switch is up.[5]
The printer is set up with the Apple Printer Utility on a Macintosh, the LaserWriter Utility for Windows, the LWPMAN and LWFORM utilities under NetWare, or a Telnet configuration utility under UNIX. Apple's LaserWriter Utility for the Macintosh, used with earlier LaserWriters, does not work with the 16/600 PS.[2]
Memory
[edit | edit source]The printer ships with 8 MB in slot BA. Apple supports only these configurations; others, such as 16 + 0 or 16 + 4, are likely to give an engine error at start-up:[6]
| Total | Slot BA | Slot DC | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 MB | 8 MB | empty | As shipped |
| 12 MB | 8 MB | 4 MB | Minimum for PhotoGrade |
| 16 MB | 8 MB | 8 MB | |
| 24 MB | 16 MB | 8 MB | The original 8 MB SIMM moves to slot DC |
| 32 MB | 16 MB | 16 MB | The original 8 MB SIMM goes back to the owner |
The SIMMs are 72-pin, 80 ns or faster, 107.95 mm long and no more than 25.53 mm high. A 16 MB SIMM must use 2K (11 × 11) refresh; 4K (10 × 12) refresh parts do not work. Fit the left SIMM before the right one.[6]
Hard disks
[edit | edit source]One internal disk (Apple's kit M3297G/A) mounts on the I/O board, and up to six external SCSI disks can be attached with an HDI-30 SCSI system cable and a terminator. Do not use SCSI ID 7 or 0, and use only external disks that supply 5 V to the SCSI bus. A disk that is not switched on before or with the printer is not found, and the printer reports an error and will not start. Disks formatted for another LaserWriter or a Macintosh must be initialised again with the Apple Printer Utility.[7] Before fitting an internal disk, read the serial number on the yellow label at the top right of the I/O board: if it ends in 34AA, Apple's instruction is not to fit the disk and to return the board.[7]
Fax card
[edit | edit source]The fax card plugs into J15 and is held by one screw to the I/O shield. Apple sold a US card with a built-in modem and an RJ-11 socket (M3298LL/A) and an international kit with a serial port for an external modem. The card sends to Group III fax machines, receives and prints Group III faxes at 200 dpi, and exchanges PostScript faxes at up to 600 dpi with other PostScript fax printers, at up to 9600 bit/s.[2]
IOP ROM 3.0
[edit | edit source]The version of the I/O processor ROM is printed along the right edge of the startup page as "Rev PS: 1.0 I/O: xx". Apple's version 3.0 ROM, part 922-2458, replaced versions 1.0 and 2.0 and fixes several network faults: Ethernet lock-ups after a packet longer than 1518 bytes (version 1.0), EtherTalk dropping off during broadcast storms, the printer appearing in the wrong zone, invisibility behind Dayna PathFinder routers, slow printing through Farallon PhoneNET StarControllers, and a job that fails without an end-of-file marker taking the next job with it.[5]
Toner cartridge
[edit | edit source]Apple's cartridge for this printer is M2473G/A. Revision B LaserWriter Pro 600/630 cartridges, introduced in late 1993, also fit, and carry a 1 × 3.5 in moulded ridge on top. Apple's warning is not to use the original Pro 600/630 cartridge, without the ridge, in the 16/600 PS.[2]
Documentation
[edit | edit source]- LaserWriter 16/600 PS Service Source
- Apple Service Guide Laserwriter Printers Volume Iii July 1995: chapter 2 covers the 16/600 PS.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Apple LaserWriter 16/600 PS General Maintenance
- Apple LaserWriter 16/600 PS Troubleshooting Guide
- Apple LaserWriter Pro 630, Apple LaserWriter Pro 600
- Apple LaserWriter 12/640 PS
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Apple, "LaserWriter 16/600 PS: Technical Specifications", Apple Support. Retrieved 2026-10-02. AMD 29030 at 25 MHz; PostScript Level 2 and PCL 5; LocalTalk, Ethernet and Centronics parallel; 790 W maximum, 6.8 A, 100-120 V, 58-62 Hz; 4 MB ROM; 2 RAM slots, 72-pin, 8-32 MB, 80 ns minimum, 4, 8 and 16 MB sizes; 17 pages per minute, 600 dpi, minimum life 450,000 pages; introduced September 1994; 40 lb; 12.1 × 16.7 × 16.9 in.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 Apple Computer, Inc., LaserWriter 16/600 PS (Service Source), 316 pp., hosted as File:LaserWriter 16-600 PS Service Source.pdf (see LaserWriter 16/600 PS Service Source). Basics: Read Me First pp. 1-2, Printer Utilities pp. 3-6, Test/Configuration Pages pp. 32-38, Configuration Switch pp. 39-40 (PDF pp. 3-8, 34-42). Specifications pp. 1-13 (PDF pp. 46-58). Troubleshooting: Toner Cartridge Modification pp. 27-28, Circuit Board Diagrams p. 30 (PDF pp. 86-89). Upgrades pp. 1-22 (PDF pp. 284-305).
- ↑ Apple Computer, Inc., Apple Facts, October 1994, LaserWriter 16/600 PS (p. 114), Internet Archive item applefacts10.94ocr (OCR text). Retrieved 2026-10-02.
- ↑ Apple Computer, Inc., Apple Service Guide for LaserWriter Printers, Volume 3, 072-0142, July 1995, hosted as File:Apple Service Guide LaserWriter Printers Volume III July 1995.pdf (see Apple Service Guide Laserwriter Printers Volume Iii July 1995). Chapter 2, LaserWriter 16/600 PS: specifications, Tables 7 and 8, pp. 36-37 (PDF pp. 44-45).
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 LaserWriter 16/600 PS Service Source, Upgrades, IOP ROM v. 3.0, pp. 12-22 (PDF pp. 295-305).
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 LaserWriter 16/600 PS Service Source, Upgrades, Upgrading RAM, pp. 1-5 (PDF pp. 284-288).
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 LaserWriter 16/600 PS Service Source, Upgrades, Adding Hard Drives, pp. 8-11 (PDF pp. 291-294).