Apple StyleWriter Troubleshooting Guide
Fault-finding for the original Apple StyleWriter, from Apple's StyleWriter Technical Procedures (1991-1992) and the StyleWriter Service Source. Apple's own advice for this printer is to diagnose before swapping parts: its procedures say that random module swapping "is not recommended for the StyleWriter printer because of the fragility of its parts".[1] Care, purging and the fuse are covered on Apple StyleWriter General Maintenance.
Status lights
[edit | edit source]The operation panel has Power, Ready and Form Feed buttons and three lights. The green Power light shows the printer is on; the green Ready light shows it is on-line and ready, and is lit during warm-up and printing.[2]
| Lights | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Error steady, Ready off | Out of paper |
| Error and Ready blinking, Power steady | Paper jam |
| Error and Power blinking, Ready off | Carriage (with the cartridge) jammed |
Apple notes that the printer driver performs a general reset of the printer before each job, to make sure it is not in an error condition.[2]
Self-tests and test prints
[edit | edit source]| Test | How to run it | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Power-up logic test | Runs at every switch-on | Checks the logic board circuits. A flashing red Error light means a failure. |
| Serial loopback test | Fit a serial loopback plug to the printer's serial port, then run the user test print | If the serial circuits are good, the test page prints; if not, the Error light flashes. |
| User test print | Hold Form Feed, press Power once, release both | A visual check of print quality. It prints only if the logic test (and the loopback test, if the plug is fitted) passes. |
| Print quality test print | Hold Form Feed and Ready, press Power once, release all three | A calibrated pattern for diagnosing the nozzles: straight columns and an even diagonal line (nozzle position), no stray dots between the bars, 64 dots in each cluster (missing or misplaced dots), no white lines across the solid bars (a blocked or misplaced nozzle), and square, parallel boxes (skew from head misalignment or faulty nozzles). |
Apple's first step in a repair is to run the test page before connecting a computer, and note where the process stops if it does not finish.[4]
Preliminary checks
[edit | edit source]From Apple's preliminary checklist:[4]
- Error messages on the Macintosh screen almost always mean a software problem. If the computer cannot find the printer, check that the StyleWriter driver is installed and the serial cable is connected, and try another cable. After system crashes, reinstall the system and printer files.
- No lights and no sound of operation means a power fault: check the adapter is plugged into the printer and the wall, the printer is switched on, and another outlet; then try another adapter, then the 2.5 A fuse on the logic board.
- Print quality faults such as incomplete characters, too much ink or white lines are "almost certainly" in the print head, which is part of the cartridge: check the paper weight, purge five times, fit a known-good cartridge, and check that the logic board and printer frame are the same revision.
- Paper feed faults: paper weight, jams, alignment of the cut sheet feeder with the printer, then the feeder itself.
Symptom chart
[edit | edit source]Apple lists the cures in order of likelihood. Try the first; if a replaced module does not cure the fault, refit the original before the next step.[4][5]
| Symptom | Cures, in order |
|---|---|
| No status lights | AC adapter connection; replace the adapter; replace the fuse; operation panel cable seated on the logic board; logic board; operation panel assembly; operation panel cable |
| Error and Power lights blink, Ready off | Carriage jammed: clear anything obstructing it; logic board; paper sensor seated; printer frame assembly; operation panel assembly; operation panel cable |
| Error blinks, Power on, Ready off | Close the front cover; paper inserted correctly; clear any jam and press Ready; paper sensor; logic board; printer frame; operation panel assembly and cable |
| Error, Power and Ready all blink | Cables; logic board |
| No printing | Interface cable; printer chosen in the Chooser; purge; cartridge; paper sensor; logic board; paper sensor seated; printer frame assembly |
| Garbled printing | Interface cable; purge; cartridge; logic board and frame revisions match; logic board; printer frame |
| Overprinting | Line spacing and length in the application; correct driver; logic board; printer frame |
| Too light or too dark | Purge; 16-24 lb cotton bond paper; forms thickness lever (up for standard paper, down for envelopes, transparencies, labels and heavy paper); cartridge |
| White lines | Purge; cartridge; logic board; printer frame |
| Page off centre | Paper; no more than 50 sheets in the feeder; paper inserted correctly; margins and paper size in Page Setup; logic board; printer frame |
| Ink on the back of the paper | Clean the platen with a soft, dry cloth; clean the platen rollers; replace the rollers; printer frame |
| Wavy, splotchy or distorted image | Purge; cartridge; printer frame |
| Erratic carrier motion | Logic board; printer frame |
| Power on, carrier does not move | Clear the carrier area; logic board; printer frame |
| No self-test, Ready on | Logic board; operation panel assembly; printer frame |
| Carrier grinds, hums loudly or locks | Paper sensor seated (and the right-margin sensor, below); printer frame |
| No paper feed | Sheet feeder aligned; release the pressure plate on the feeder; obstructions; sheet feeder; logic board; printer frame |
| Grinding during paper feed | Obstructions; forms thickness lever; sheet feeder alignment; sheet feeder; logic board; printer frame |
| Binding or tearing | Forms thickness lever; obstructions; paper inserted correctly; 16-24 lb paper; sheet feeder alignment; sheet feeder; printer frame |
| Envelopes feed badly | Set the paper thickness lever, do not mix cut sheets and envelopes in one job, and reset the lever afterwards; printer frame |
| Operation panel buttons do not work | Panel cable seated at both ends; logic board; panel cable; panel |
| Problem in one program only | Known-good software; software compatible with TrueType fonts |
Apple's technical procedures add that the printer frame assembly and the logic board must match the printer's revision (A or B), and that a mismatch is a cause of print quality faults and garbled printing. The revision check is on Apple StyleWriter#Revisions A and B.[4]
Reseating the right-margin sensor
[edit | edit source]A grinding noise or a failure to print can be caused by the right-margin sensor having been knocked loose from the cartridge hook assembly. Reseating it can save replacing the whole printer frame assembly. Apple calls the job tricky.[6]
- Switch the printer off.
- Remove the front access cover, and take out the ink cartridge.
- Turn the carriage worm screw by hand until the V-groove of the grey gear faces up.
- Push the cartridge hook assembly gently towards the back and slide it to the left along the worm screw.
- Find the right-margin sensor behind the cartridge hook assembly. Its cable is very fragile.
- Check that the sensor is firmly attached to the cartridge hook assembly.
- If it is loose, press it back into the cartridge hook assembly with your fingers, a screwdriver or needle-nose pliers.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Apple StyleWriter General Maintenance
- Apple StyleWriter
- Apple StyleWriter Technical Procedures, StyleWriter Service Source
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Apple Computer, Inc., StyleWriter Technical Procedures (1991-1992), Basics, Theory of Operation, p. 1.8 (PDF p. 12), hosted as File:Apple StyleWriter Technical Procedures March 1992.pdf.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 StyleWriter Technical Procedures, Basics, Operation Panel, pp. 1.27-1.28 (PDF pp. 31-32). Source for: the Power, Ready and Form Feed buttons; the Form Feed button working only off-line; the Power, Ready and Error lights and the three error patterns; the driver resetting the printer before each job.
- ↑ StyleWriter Technical Procedures, Basics, Power-On, Self-Tests, and Test Prints, pp. 1.29-1.30 (PDF pp. 33-34), and Features, Built-in Diagnostics, p. 1.3 (PDF p. 7). Source for: the power-up logic test and the flashing Error light on failure; the serial loopback test with a loopback plug; the user test print (Form Feed held while pressing Power); the technician print quality test print (Form Feed and Ready held while pressing Power) and what to read from it.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 StyleWriter Technical Procedures, Troubleshooting, Introduction and Preliminary Checklist, pp. 3.2-3.3 (PDF pp. 66-67). Source for: running the test page first; error messages on the Macintosh screen almost always meaning a software problem; checking the driver, the serial cable and a known-good cable; reinstalling the system and printer files after system bombs; no lights or movement meaning the power function (adapter, outlet, adapter swap, the 2.5 A fuse); print quality problems almost always being the cartridge (paper weight, purge five times, a known-good cartridge, matching logic board and frame revisions); paper feed problems (paper weight, jams, sheet feeder alignment, sheet feeder); how to use the symptom/cure chart.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Apple Computer, StyleWriter (Service Source), Troubleshooting, Symptom Charts, pp. 2-13 (PDF pp. 14-25), hosted as File:Stylewriter.pdf; described at StyleWriter Service Source.
- ↑ StyleWriter Technical Procedures, Troubleshooting, Reseating the Right-Margin Sensor, p. 3.8 (PDF p. 72).