Editing Apple Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS

{{Infobox computer peripheral
| name         = Apple Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS
| image        = [[File:Apple Color LaserWriter 12-600 PS.jpg|260px|frameless]]
| caption      = Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS (photo: Hellisp, All About Apple museum, CC BY-SA 3.0)
| manufacturer = Apple Computer, Inc.
| type         = Colour laser printer
| release_date = June 1995
| interface    = LocalTalk; Ethernet (AAUI, EtherTalk, NetWare IPX, TCP/IP); IEEE 1284 parallel; SCSI for hard disks
| compatible   = Macintosh, Windows, DOS and UNIX computers
| dimensions   = 46 × 54 × 58 cm (18 × 21 × 23 in)
| weight       = About 50 kg (110 lb), printer body only
| power        = 100-120 V or 220-240 V ±10 %; about 535 W printing average, 1.1 kW maximum
}}
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The '''Apple Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS''' is a colour PostScript laser printer that Apple introduced in June 1995.<ref name="spec">Apple, "Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS: Technical Specifications", [https://support.apple.com/en-us/112269 support.apple.com/en-us/112269]. Introduced 1 June 1995; processor AMD 29030, 30 MHz; PD language PostScript Level 2; ports LocalTalk, Ethernet, high-speed parallel; 1100 W maximum, 9.2 A, 100-120 V; ROM 8 MB; 2 RAM slots, 72-pin; 12-40 MB RAM; 12 pages per minute mono, 3 colour; 600 dpi; minimum life 300,000 mono or 150,000 colour pages; 110 lb; 18 × 21 × 23 in.</ref> It prints 600 × 600 dpi with Apple's Color PhotoGrade, at up to 12 pages per minute in a single colour and 3 in full colour, from a Canon print engine with four toner cartridges in a rotating carousel, a separate photoconductor cartridge and a transfer drum that carries the sheet past the photosensitive drum four times for a full-colour page.<ref name="clwss">Apple Computer, ''Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS and 12/660 PS'' Service Source, 376 pp., hosted as [[Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS and 12/660 PS Service Source]] ([[:File:Apple Color LaserWriter 12-600 PS and 12-660 PS Service Source.pdf|PDF]]). Page numbers are PDF pages. Basics & Theory: features p. 16, specifications pp. 17-20, safety p. 21, status panel pp. 22-23, density control panel p. 24, image formation pp. 52-98, fuser pp. 121-135, power supply pp. 154-155; troubleshooting pp. 162-195; take apart pp. 196-350; finished goods parts p. 356; bulletins pp. 372-374.</ref> The [[Apple Color LaserWriter 12/660 PS]] of 1996 is the same printer with more RAM and version 2.0 ROMs.<ref name="clwss" />

Warning: this is a 50 kg machine with a laser, a high-voltage supply and a fuser hot enough that its safety cut-outs are set at 217 °C and about 230 °C. Read the [[Apple Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS General Maintenance#Safety|safety section]] of the maintenance guide before opening it.<ref name="clwss" /><ref name="v4">Apple Computer, ''Apple Service Guide for LaserWriter Printers, Volume IV: Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS'', November 1995, 072-0140, hosted as [[Apple Service Guide Laserwriter Printers Volume Iv Nov 1995]] ([[:File:Apple Service Guide LaserWriter Printers Volume IV Nov 1995.pdf|PDF]]). Safety pp. 2-4 (printed); specifications Tables 5 and 6, pp. 48-49; POST codes Figure 30, p. 65; symptom-driven troubleshooting p. 92.</ref>

== Specifications ==
{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:70%; text-align:left;"
|+'''Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS specifications (Service Source, pp. 17-20)'''<ref name="clwss" />
! Item !! Value
|-
| Marking engine || Canon HX LBP print engine; 600 × 600 dpi with Color PhotoGrade; 200-line screen halftone, 122 grey levels
|-
| Speed || 12 pages per minute in black, cyan, magenta or yellow; 3 pages per minute in two or more colours; 1 transparency per minute
|-
| Laser || GaAlAs semiconductor laser, 780 nm, 1 mW
|-
| Controller || AMD Am29030 at 30 MHz; 8 MB ROM with 39 Type 1 fonts; 12 MB RAM (8 MB soldered plus a 4 or 8 MB SIMM), expandable to 40 MB; 128 KB parameter SRAM
|-
| Interfaces || SCSI for internal and external hard disks; LocalTalk; IEEE P1284 ECP parallel; Ethernet with EtherTalk, Novell NetWare IPX and TCP/IP (BSD lpd)
|-
| Paper || 16-28 lb laser bond; 250-sheet cassette (Letter or A4); 100-sheet multipurpose tray up to Legal; optional 250-sheet universal cassettes and sheet feeder
|-
| Life || Printer 5 years or 300,000 black-and-white or 150,000 colour pages; recommended maintenance interval 60,000 pages for fuser and roller wear
|-
| Consumables || Toner 4,000 pages per colour at 5 % coverage; photoconductor 40,000 black-and-white or 10,000 colour pages in continuous printing
|-
| Environment || Operating 10-30 °C, 20-80 % humidity (35-70 % for best colour); storage −20 to 40 °C
|-
| Warm-up || 3.5 minutes at 120 or 240 V; 4.5 minutes at 100 or 220 V
|-
| Power || Energy-saving about 42 W; standby about 215 W (100/120 V) or 238 W (220/240 V); printing about 535 W or 524 W; maximum about 1.1 kW or 1.0 kW
|-
| Size and weight || 46 cm high, 54 cm wide, 58 cm deep; about 50 kg
|}

Apple's documents disagree on two figures. The November 1995 Service Guide (Volume IV) gives the engine as a Canon P320PCB and the processor as a 25 MHz AMD 29030; the Service Source and Apple's technical specification page give a Canon HX LBP engine and 30 MHz.<ref name="v4" /><ref name="clwss" /><ref name="spec" /> Paper must withstand 200 °C for 0.1 second without scorching, melting or releasing fumes.<ref name="clwss" />

== Status panel ==
The status panel has four primary lights (ready, alert, paper out, paper jam) and 17 secondary lights for the toner cartridges, waste toner, oil, photoconductor, fuser and access points. At switch-on all 21 lights come on briefly, then the power-on self-test (POST) runs for about 40 seconds, putting out the primary lights one by one as each stage passes.<ref name="clwss" /> A rear density control panel prints a service test page and sets density and other adjustments.<ref name="clwss" /> The troubleshooting guide lists the POST codes.

== Hardware ==
The printer has an I/O controller board (661-0133) with the processor, ROMs and SIMMs, an I/O interconnect board, a DC controller board (661-0898) that runs the engine, a mechanical controller board that drives the motors, solenoids, high-voltage supply and sheet feeder, a power supply with a circuit breaker, and a separate high-voltage power supply board.<ref name="clwss" /> The supply produces +24 VA (cut when the front door, fuser access cover or pickup cover is opened), +24 VB (always on), +24 VC (cut in energy-saving mode or with a cover open) and +5 V; 12 V for the laser diode is generated on the DC controller.<ref name="clwss" /> A 3.6 V lithium battery (BT1, Apple 742-0011) on the I/O controller keeps the page count and settings; a page count that resets at each switch-off means a flat or missing battery.<ref name="v4" />

The fuser has two heaters, one in each roller (485 W at 100-120 V, 430 W at 220-240 V), a thermistor on the lower roller and a thermoswitch on each roller shaft.<ref name="clwss" /> Silicone oil from a replaceable bottle is applied to the rollers to stop toner offsetting.<ref name="clwss" />

== Consumables ==
{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:100%; text-align:left;"
|+'''Finished-goods consumables (Service Source, p. 356)'''<ref name="clwss" />
! Item !! Order number
|-
| Toner cartridge: cyan, magenta, yellow, black || M3753G/A, M3760G/A, M3758G/A, M3756G/A
|-
| Photoconductor Replacement Kit (photoconductor, tray and two toner disposal boxes) || M3761G/A
|-
| Fuser Replacement Kit, 110 V; 220 V (with transfer drum cleaning unit and air and ozone filters) || M3867G/A; M4234G/A
|-
| Fuser oil || M3755G/A
|-
| Transparencies, Letter; A4 || M3876G/A; M3877G/A
|-
| 250-sheet feeder; universal cassette; internal hard disk; 16 MB memory kit || M3762G/A; M3874G/A; M3875G/A; M4255LL/A
|}

== Maintenance and repair ==
* [[Apple Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS General Maintenance]]: safety, consumables and Apple's replacement points, fuser oil, levelling, cleaning and moving the printer. Covers the 12/660 PS.
* [[Apple Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS Troubleshooting Guide]]: POST and EPOST codes, flowcharts, fuser errors, oil overflow, the circuit breaker and print quality. Covers the 12/660 PS.

== Documentation ==
* [[Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS and 12/660 PS Service Source]]: Apple's 376-page Service Source for both printers.
* [[Apple Service Guide Laserwriter Printers Volume Iv Nov 1995]]: Apple's 1995 field service booklet for the 12/600 PS.

== Related pages ==
* [[Apple Color LaserWriter 12/660 PS]]
* [[Apple LaserWriter]]

== References ==
<references />

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[[Category:Apple Vintage Accessories]]