Editing Apple ImageWriter II General Maintenance

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[[File:Apple ImageWriter II with ribbon cartridge.jpg|thumb|360px|ImageWriter II and ribbon cartridge (photo: Blake Patterson, CC BY 2.0)]]
Routine care and adjustment of the '''[[Apple ImageWriter II]]''', from Apple's ImageWriter II Technical Procedures. The ImageWriter II/L uses the same adjustments; its own manual is in the same volume.<ref name="tp">Apple Computer, ''ImageWriter II Technical Procedures'', in ''Apple Service Technical Procedures, Cross Family Peripherals, Volume Two'' (PN 072-0230, November 1991), hosted as [[:File:Apple Service Technical Procedures Cross Family Peripherals Volume Two Nov 1991.pdf]]. Section 1, Basics (rev. Aug 87): ribbon cartridge pp. 1.6-1.7, periodic maintenance pp. 1.11-1.12, maintenance schedule p. 1.13 (PDF pp. 119-126); Section 4, Adjustments (rev. Sep 88): ribbon assembly pp. 4.3-4.6, firing hammer p. 4.7, impression lever p. 4.8, carrier belt p. 4.9, paper guide p. 4.10, Apple II Peripherals Diskette p. 4.11 (PDF pp. 222-232); Section 5, Additional Procedures, shims pp. 5.2-5.5 (PDF pp. 235-238).</ref><ref name="tpl">Apple Computer, ''ImageWriter II/L Technical Procedures'', in the same volume, contents (Feb 90), PDF pp. 332-336: Section 4 has the same ribbon assembly, firing hammer, impression lever, carrier belt and paper guide adjustments and Section 5 the same shim procedure.</ref> For the original ImageWriter and the Dot Matrix Printer see [[Apple ImageWriter General Maintenance]].

== Periodic maintenance ==
Apple's instruction is to clean the printer as often as needed and to lubricate it once a year, or more often in heavy use.<ref name="tp" />
# Switch off. Remove the tractor cover and the paper cover, then the paper and the ribbon cartridge.
# Wipe the dirt off the carrier shaft with gauze or absorbent cotton. Apple refers to the take-apart section for removing the carrier assembly and carrier shaft for this and the next step.
# Put four drops of Tellus lubricating oil on each of the felt wipers under the carrier assembly.
# Find the detector plate, on the right side of the printer just below the on/off switch, and brush off the paper dust.
# Clean the dot head with a lint-free cloth and a low-residue cleaner such as isopropyl alcohol or Freon.
# Refit the ribbon cartridge and run the self-test.<ref name="tp" />

{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:100%; text-align:center;"
|+'''Manufacturer's recommended maintenance (ImageWriter II Technical Procedures, p. 1.13)'''<ref name="tp" />
! Task !! Operator, as required !! Dealer, during service !! Dealer, yearly or 500,000 lines !! Dealer, every 2 years or 1,000,000 lines
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Clean and lubricate carrier shaft || || X || X ||
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Lubricate platen sleeve bearings || || || X ||
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Lubricate tractor sleeve bearings || || || X ||
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Clean dot head || || X || X ||
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Clean detector plate || || X || X ||
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Check motor mounting screws for looseness || || || || X
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Clean platen, feed rollers and paper bail rollers || X || X || X ||
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Check print quality || X || X || X ||
|}

== Ribbons ==
With the power off, lift off the paper cover, set the cartridge on the ribbon plate and push it down until it snaps in, then turn its knob clockwise until it clicks and the ribbon is taut. To remove it, press the cartridge latch arms and lift. The printer will not print with the paper cover off.<ref name="tp" /> Apple's Service Source gives the yields as about two million characters for the black fabric ribbon and about one million characters per colour for the four-colour ribbon.<ref name="ss">Apple Computer, ''ImageWriter II'' (''Service Source''), hosted as [[:File:Imagewriter ii.pdf]], Specifications; described at [[ImageWriter II Service Source]].</ref>

== Adjustments ==
=== Colour ribbon assembly ===
Needed when colour printing fails, after the colour ribbon assembly is replaced, or when dots are missing with a black ribbon. Run the self-test first: the colours should come out black, yellow, red, blue, orange, green and purple, one line each, with no overlap.<ref name="tp" />
* Newer assembly (serial number 244451 and above): push down and hold the red locking ring, then turn the top of the assembly (the part with the arrow) two full turns, clockwise if the bottom halves of the letters in the first black line are missing, anticlockwise if the top halves are missing or half blue. Rerun the test and repeat until the colours are solid. If the top will not turn, it is the non-adjustable version: do not force it, fit a new assembly.
* Older assembly: loosen the lock nut, turn the adjustment nut half a turn in the same sense, tighten the lock nut and rerun the test.<ref name="tp" />

=== Firing hammer ===
Only after replacing the carrier belt, carrier shaft, carrier motor or circuit board. With the printer connected to a computer, print a few lines of capital H; if the verticals do not line up, change DIP switches 2-5 and 2-6 one at a time until they do. The Apple II Peripherals Diskette has a registration (firing hammer) test and a colour test for these two adjustments.<ref name="tp" />

=== Impression lever, carrier belt and paper guide ===
* Impression lever: under the carrier cover at the far right; it moves the dot head towards or away from the platen. If moving it does not cure light or dark print, adjust the lever with its adjustment screw.
* Carrier belt: the tension screw is under the carrier cover on the right. Loosen it and push the metal plate below it to the left to set the tension.
* Paper guide: loosen its two screws and slide it forward or back. With the impression lever fully forward, the guide should move about 0.0005 in when pressed towards the platen at the centre, and with two sheets of copy paper rolled under the platen it should be snug with little or no movement.<ref name="tp" />

=== Print head gap and shims ===
Shims set the distance between the print head and the platen. First check that the cam washer on the left of the carrier shaft is in place, with the narrow part of its hole at the top. Remove the paper cover and ribbon, pull the impression lever up so the head is at its closest, and measure the gap between the front of the print head and the metal shield on the paper guide with the carrier at the far right and then at the far left. Apple's figure is about 0.013 ± 0.002 in (0.33 mm). Subtract the right-hand reading from the left-hand one: if the result is positive, fit the shim nearest to it (0.002, 0.004 or 0.008 in) on the left of the carrier bar with needle-nose pliers; if negative, remove any shim fitted there. Run the self-test afterwards.<ref name="tp" />

== Related pages ==
* [[Apple ImageWriter II]]
* [[Apple ImageWriter II Troubleshooting Guide]]
* [[Apple ImageWriter II Documentation]]

== References ==
<references />

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