Apple LaserWriter II NTX
| Apple LaserWriter II NTX | |
|---|---|
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|
| A LaserWriter II. The SC, NT, NTX, IIf and IIg share this case and engine; the I/O board at the back sets the model. | |
| Manufacturer | Apple Computer, Inc. |
| Type | Laser printer |
| Release date | January 1988 |
| Discontinued | October 1991 |
| Interface | LocalTalk / RS-422 (mini DIN-8), RS-232 (DB-25), SCSI (DB-50, printer hard disk only), ADB |
| Compatible | Macintosh; Apple IIGS; MS-DOS computers over LocalTalk or RS-232 |
| Dimensions | 21.6 × 51 × 48 cm (8.5 × 20 × 18.9 in) |
| Weight | 20.25-21 kg (45-46 lb) |
| Power | 90-126 V AC 50-60 Hz, or 198-264 V AC 50 Hz; 900 W maximum at 115 V |
| Part number | 661-0429 (NTX I/O board); 661-1605 (NTX I/O board, rev. 3) |
The Apple LaserWriter II NTX (printed by Apple as LaserWriter IINTX) is the top model of the first LaserWriter II range, introduced by Apple in January 1988 with the II SC and II NT.[1][2] It uses the same Canon LBP-SX engine as the rest of the range, with a controller board built round a 16.67 MHz Motorola 68020, 1 MB of ROM and 2 MB of RAM expandable to 12 MB. It runs PostScript and subsets of the Diablo 630 and HP LaserJet Plus, and adds a SCSI port for a hard disk that holds downloaded fonts.[3]
Apart from the I/O board, every part of the NTX is shared with the SC, NT, IIf and IIg. Cleaning, parts replacement and fault-finding for the engine are on Apple LaserWriter II General Maintenance and Apple LaserWriter II Troubleshooting Guide. The sections below cover the NTX board.[3]
Read the safety notes on the maintenance page before opening the printer. The LaserWriter II has an invisible infrared laser, a fuser that Apple says needs at least 5 minutes switched off to cool, and a high-voltage supply for the coronas.[3]
Specifications
[edit | edit source]| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Engine | Canon LBP-SX (Apple's Service Source calls it the Canon SX engine); 300 dpi; semiconductor laser with a rotating six-faced prism mirror[3][4] |
| Controller | Motorola 68020 at 16.67 MHz; 1 MB ROM, expandable to 8 MB on an expansion board; 2 MB RAM, expandable to 12 MB[3] |
| Languages | PostScript; subsets of the Diablo 630 and HP LaserJet Plus[3] |
| Ports | LocalTalk/RS-422 (mini DIN-8), RS-232 (DB-25), SCSI (DB-50), Apple Desktop Bus[3] |
| Speed | 8 pages per minute; 7 on legal paper[3] |
| Life | Minimum 300,000 pages, no monthly limit; service interval 100,000 pages[3][4] |
| Mains | 90-126 V AC 50-60 Hz (US and Japan); 198-264 V AC 50 Hz (Europe and Australia)[4] |
| Power | 170 W standby; 900 W maximum at 115 V, 780 W at 220 V, 880 W at 240 V[3][4] |
| Paper | 200-sheet cassette (letter, legal, A4, B5); 15-envelope cassette; manual feed for heavier stock up to 36 lb[4] |
Apple's own documents disagree slightly on size and weight. The Service Source gives 20 × 18.9 × 8.5 in and 46 lb; the owner's guide 22 × 51.3 × 47.5 cm and 20.5 kg; Apple's support specification page 8.7 × 20.2 × 18.7 in and 45 lb.[3][4][2] The owner's guide gives the clock as 16.7 MHz and the Service Source 16.67 MHz.[4][3]
The Service Source lists a Japanese variant, the NTX-J, with 4 MB of RAM as standard and no Diablo or LaserJet emulation.[3] Its "Intro Dates" page gives July 1990 for the SC, NT and NTX. Apple's specification page and contemporary accounts give January 1988.[2][1]
I/O board
[edit | edit source]
Apple's service course describes the NTX board as an MC68020 with a 5380 SCSI controller, a 6522 VIA, an 8530 SCC for the serial and LocalTalk ports, 1 MB of ROM and an expansion slot. The board slides into guide rails in the base of the engine and meets the engine through a 32-pin right-angle connector.[5] The NT board, by contrast, has a 68000 and no SCSI.[5]
The SCSI port is only for a dedicated printer hard disk. Apple's owner's guide says it is not to be used to connect the printer to a Macintosh. The ADB port has no use; the guide describes it as being there for future expansion.[4]
| Board | Board part number | ROMs (socket: part number) |
|---|---|---|
| LaserWriter II NTX | 661-0429 | LL0 342-0560, HH0 342-0561, LL1 342-0562, HH1 342-0563, LM0 342-0564, HM0 342-0565, LM1 342-0566, HM1 342-0567 |
| LaserWriter II NTX (rev 3) | 661-1605 | LL0 342-0711, HH0 342-0712, LL1 342-0713, HH1 342-0714, LM0 342-0715, HM0 342-0716, LM1 342-0717, HM1 342-0718 |
Memory
[edit | edit source]The NTX takes up to twelve 256 KB or 1 MB SIMMs in three banks of four. Apple's rules are:[6]
- Use 120 ns or faster SIMMs. 150 ns parts cause serious timing problems.
- Every SIMM in a bank must be the same size.
- Do not fit SIMMs from a Macintosh Plus, SE or II.
| Total | Bank 0 | Bank 1 | Bank 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 MB | 4 × 256K | 4 × 256K | none |
| 3 MB | 4 × 256K | 4 × 256K | 4 × 256K |
| 4 MB | 4 × 1 MB | none | none |
| 5 MB | 4 × 1 MB | 4 × 256K | none |
| 8 MB | 4 × 1 MB | 4 × 1 MB | none |
| 9 MB | 4 × 1 MB | 4 × 1 MB | 4 × 256K |
| 12 MB | 4 × 1 MB | 4 × 1 MB | 4 × 1 MB |
ROM upgrade to revision 3.0
[edit | edit source]Apple's NTX ROM upgrade adds software switching between PostScript and the Diablo 630 and LaserJet emulations on the LocalTalk port, support for several hard disks and for disks over 40 MB, and extra characters in LaserJet mode.[3] The procedure:[3][6]
- Switch off and unplug the printer. Wear an earthed wrist strap.
- Remove the I/O board and lay it on an earthed mat.
- Lift the eight ROMs (HH0, HH1, HM0, HM1, LL0, LL1, LM0, LM1) with an IC extractor.
- Fit the new ROMs. The marking at the end of the first line printed on each chip matches its socket; the ROMs are not interchangeable. The notch of each ROM faces the connector panel.
- Refit the board, switch on and wait about 3 minutes for the startup page. The PostScript version is printed at the end of the first line of the copyright text along the right edge; it should read rev 3.0.
- If no startup page appears, check the ROMs are seated and run the NT/NTX ROM and SIMM test, or swap in known-good ROMs.
The LaserWriter Font Utility version 2.0 or later is needed to initialise a printer hard disk on an NTX with revision 3.0 ROMs.[6]
Ports and switches
[edit | edit source]The RS-422 (mini DIN-8) and RS-232 (DB-25) pin-outs are the same as the II NT's and are tabled on that page.[6] The NTX has a six-way DIP switch bank. Switches 1 and 2 set the port, 3 and 4 the command mode, and 5 and 6 the serial handshake.[6]
| Setting | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LocalTalk (switches 3-6 not used) | Up | Up | ||||
| 1200 baud RS-232 and RS-422 | Down | Up | ||||
| 9600 baud RS-232 and RS-422 | Up | Down | ||||
| 9600 baud RS-232 | Down | Down | ||||
| PostScript batch | Up | Up | ||||
| Diablo 630 | Down | Up | ||||
| PostScript interactive | Up | Down | ||||
| HP LaserJet | Down | Down | ||||
| X-On/X-Off | Down | Down | ||||
| X-On/X-Off | Up | Up | ||||
| ETX/ACK | Down | Up | ||||
| Data Set Ready | Up | Down |
The 1990 owner's guide warns against changing the printer from AppleTalk to serial mode while it is connected to a LocalTalk network. In serial mode the printer can send serial data onto the network and damage both. Disconnect the network or disable the printer's RS-422 port first, and never re-enable the RS-422 port while the printer is in serial mode.[7]
Printer hard disks
[edit | edit source]Apple's procedure for a dedicated font disk:[6]
- Switch off the printer and the disk.
- Connect a SCSI peripheral cable from the NTX to either SCSI port on the disk and fit a terminator to the disk's other port. For several disks, put a terminator at the printer end of the first cable and at the last disk.
- Give each disk a SCSI ID from 1 to 6 not used by another disk.
- Switch the disks on at least 10 seconds before the printer, or the NTX will not see them.
- Initialise the disk with Initialize Printer's Disk in the LaserWriter Font Utility, and download fonts with Download Fonts in the same program.
Startup page
[edit | edit source]The NTX prints a startup page about 2-3 minutes after it is switched on, unless the page has been turned off in software. It lists the printer name, the emulation, the communication protocol, the fonts in ROM, the installed RAM, the size of any hard disk and the number of fonts on it, the ROM version and the number of pages the I/O board has printed.[3] The page count belongs to the I/O board, so a replaced or swapped board shows that board's count. Apple's instruction is to read the repair log label on the bottom of the printer in that case.[3]
Fault-finding
[edit | edit source]A clean engine self-test (service test) page with no startup page points to the I/O board; Apple's flowchart has the technician replace the controller-I/O board at that point.[6] Communication faults on the NT and NTX are Apple's tables C2 (LocalTalk) and C3 (RS-232). Both end, if a known-good board does not cure the fault, with reseating and then replacing the interconnect PCA and the DC controller PCA. The full tables are on Apple LaserWriter II Troubleshooting Guide.[6]
Never change the I/O board with the printer switched on. Apple warns that this can permanently damage both the printer and the board.[3]
Documentation
[edit | edit source]- LaserWriter II Service Source: the five-model Service Source, with the board diagrams, upgrade and test procedures.
- Apple LaserWriter Printers Volume I: Apple's January 1992 on-site Service Guide, with the parts list, memory tables, switch settings and troubleshooting tables.
- Laserwriter Iint Ntx Owners Guide 1990 and Laserwriter Ii Nt Ntx Owners Guide 1988: the owner's guides for the NT and NTX.
- Service Training Laserwriter Ii Service Course Participant Manual Version 1.1 1996: Apple's service course for the range.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Apple LaserWriter II General Maintenance
- Apple LaserWriter II Troubleshooting Guide
- Apple LaserWriter II NT, Apple LaserWriter II SC, Apple LaserWriter IIf, Apple LaserWriter IIg
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dan Knight, "1988: LaserWriter II, A/UX, CD-ROM, and Mac IIx", Low End Mac, 31 December 1988 (retrospective). Retrieved 2026-10-02. The LaserWriter II family was introduced in January 1988, three printers on the same 300 dpi, 8 page per minute Canon engine with different processor boards.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Apple, "LaserWriter IINTX: Technical Specifications", Apple Support. Retrieved 2026-10-02. 68020 at 16.67 MHz; PostScript, Diablo 630 and HP LaserJet; LocalTalk and RS-232/RS-422; 900 W maximum, 7.5 A, 90-126 V, 50-60 Hz; 1 MB ROM; 12 RAM slots, 64-pin, 2-12 MB, 120 ns minimum, 0.25 and 1 MB sizes; 8 pages per minute, 300 dpi, minimum life 300,000 pages; introduced January 1988, discontinued October 1991; 45 lb; 8.7 × 20.2 × 18.7 in.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 Apple Computer, Inc., LaserWriter II (Service Source), 225 pp., hosted on this wiki as File:Laserwriter ii.pdf (see LaserWriter II Service Source). Basics, Product Information p. 1 (PDF p. 3); Startup Test Page pp. 2-3 (PDF pp. 4-5); Specifications pp. 2-14 (PDF pp. 15-27); Troubleshooting, Circuit Board Diagrams p. 14 (PDF p. 42); Upgrades, NTX ROM Upgrade pp. 1-2 (PDF pp. 203-204); Additional Procedures, I/O Board Installation pp. 1-9 (PDF pp. 207-215).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Apple Computer, Inc., LaserWriter IINT/NTX Owner's Guide, 030-3450-B (1990), hosted as File:LaserWriter IINT NTX Owners Guide 1990.pdf (see Laserwriter Iint Ntx Owners Guide 1990). Appendix E, Specifications and Parts List, pp. 163-167 (PDF pp. 178-182); Appendix F, Ports and Switches, pp. 169-170 (PDF pp. 183-184); Chapter 6, Maintenance, pp. 81-94 (PDF pp. 99-112). Appendix A covers connection to an Apple II (Apple IIGS) and Appendix C to an MS-DOS computer.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Apple Computer, Inc., LaserWriter II Service Course, Service Training Participant Manual, Version 1.1 (1996), 011-0449-B, hosted as File:Service_Training_LaserWriter_II_Service_Course_Participant_Manual_Version_1.1_1996.pdf (see Service Training Laserwriter Ii Service Course Participant Manual Version 1.1 1996). I/O Board Overview pp. 5-10 (PDF pp. 12-17); LaserWriter IIf and IIg Operational Overview pp. 40-42 (PDF pp. 47-49).
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 Apple Computer, Inc., Apple Service Guide for LaserWriter Printers, Volume I, 072-0631-B, January 1992, hosted as File:Apple LaserWriter Printers Volume I.pdf (see Apple LaserWriter Printers Volume I). Tab 3, LaserWriter II: parts list pp. 4-6 (PDF pp. 82-84), controller-I/O board identification pp. 8-9 (PDF pp. 86-87), NTX memory upgrade p. 56 (PDF p. 134), NTX ROM upgrade p. 57 (PDF p. 135). Tab 5, General Information: connecting to an MS-DOS computer pp. 4-5, adding hard disks to a LaserWriter II NTX p. 6 (PDF pp. 199-201). Tab 6, Ports and Cables: pin-outs pp. 5-6, switch configurations p. 9 (PDF pp. 208-209, 212).
- ↑ LaserWriter IINT/NTX Owner's Guide (1990), Appendix C, Preventing damage when switching between hardware operating modes, p. 140 (PDF p. 156).