adamchevy Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 After searching for some time for a working Atari 820 I am giving up on that pursuit. I need a printer of some kind to output code with as I'm learning assembly on my 800. I would like to know what the most reliable and most available printer that my fellow Atarians use with their 800 computers. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorclu Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 The Atari 1025 printer. The most solid 8-bit printer you can hope to have with the easiest to find paper, standard ribbon, and just less to break down over time. http://www.atarisource.com/hardware.htm Atari 1025 80-Column Printer: ( = Okidata ML80 )- 40 cps (80-column 10 cpi mode)- 5 cpi expanded (40 col), 10 cpi (80 col), 16.7 cpi condensed (132-col)- 5x7 character dot matrix- buffer: 132 chrs at 16.7 cpi, 80 chrs at 10 cpi- paper: roll,fanfold,single sheets. optional:roll paper holder, tractor feed 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marius Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 If you want to use the printer, since you are learning assembly, you'd better search for a solution where you get a Centronics port on your Atari. Get yourself an Atari 850 or a MicroPrint or a P:R: or whatever solutions there are. Then buy a regular printer with a Centronics port. I have a Brother HL5140 laserprinter on my Atari 800xl and a Star LC20. Works excellent. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchevy Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 I can't find any 1025 printers for sale, but I did find an 850 and brother hl5140. Thanks for the info thus far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marius Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Don't forget you'll need a special cable (Atari 850 -> Centronics) I think Best Electronics sells that cable. You also could create it yourself... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russg Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 (edited) I can't find any 1025 printers for sale, but I did find an 850 and brother hl5140. Thanks for the info thus far. If you're doing coding, it would be great to be able to print Atari special/inverse characters. This can be done with old timey Epson and Star dot matrix printers, using the 'G:' device from ANALOG 35. You would need your 850/PR: or other 'printer' port cable to centronics dot matrix printers like the Star SG10 ( I think that was it). or Epson 'Graftrax' dot matrix. The ribbons for those are probably hard to get, maybe the printer and ribbons from B&C and/or Best. B&C or Best could tell you what you need to print graphics with the 'G:' device. I don't think old HP inkjets would work, but maybe. Any printer that can print graphics using Epson code. The ANALOG BASIC program creates an autorun on a DOS 2.0 disk that installs the G: device on bootup. I think G: has to be resident on bootup. Then you can 'LIST "G:"' your code. edit: I just checked Best catalog and don't see Star or Epson dot matrix printers and ribbons. It won't be easy finding them. I did see Star NX-1000 printer, can't find where I saw it, I thought Best.... No, it is in the B&C online catalog (www.myatari.com). Seems there may have been only one. I found a Star SG-10 dot matrix printer in ebay for about $10 plus ship. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Star-SG-10-Dot-Matrix-Printer-Star-Micronics-/111790994191?hash=item1a0743330f GDEVICE.BAS Edited October 10, 2015 by russg 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchevy Posted October 10, 2015 Author Share Posted October 10, 2015 If you're doing coding, it would be great to be able to print Atari special/inverse characters. This can be done with old timey Epson and Star dot matrix printers, using the 'G:' device from ANALOG 35. You would need your 850/PR: or other 'printer' port cable to centronics dot matrix printers like the Star SG10 ( I think that was it). or Epson 'Graftrax' dot matrix. The ribbons for those are probably hard to get, maybe the printer and ribbons from B&C and/or Best. B&C or Best could tell you what you need to print graphics with the 'G:' device. I don't think old HP inkjets would work, but maybe. Any printer that can print graphics using Epson code. The ANALOG BASIC program creates an autorun on a DOS 2.0 disk that installs the G: device on bootup. I think G: has to be resident on bootup. Then you can 'LIST "G:"' your code. edit: I just checked Best catalog and don't see Star or Epson dot matrix printers and ribbons. It won't be easy finding them. I did see Star NX-1000 printer, can't find where I saw it, I thought Best.... No, it is in the B&C online catalog (www.myatari.com). Seems there may have been only one. I found a Star SG-10 dot matrix printer in ebay for about $10 plus ship. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Star-SG-10-Dot-Matrix-Printer-Star-Micronics-/111790994191?hash=item1a0743330f Thank you! I placed a bid on the star dot printer you had listed that's on eBay. Now for some ribbons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MacRorie Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 The Atari 1025 printer. The most solid 8-bit printer you can hope to have with the easiest to find paper, standard ribbon, and just less to break down over time. 1025.gif http://www.atarisource.com/hardware.htm Atari 1025 80-Column Printer: ( = Okidata ML80 )[/size] - 40 cps (80-column 10 cpi mode)[/size] - 5 cpi expanded (40 col), 10 cpi (80 col), 16.7 cpi condensed (132-col)[/size] - 5x7 character dot matrix[/size] - buffer: 132 chrs at 16.7 cpi, 80 chrs at 10 cpi[/size] - paper: roll,fanfold,single sheets. optional:roll paper holder, tractor feed[/size] This printer is the best direct connect 8bit printer ever. It is just a tank. Easy to get ribbons for. It only does tractor-feed which is kind of a pain. It also has no lower case descenders (g,j,y). I remember this vividly because a professor complained when I turned a paper in printed on that. No, really. Other than that, amazing 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idavis Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 (edited) I remember this vividly because a professor complained when I turned a paper in printed on that. I turned in a paper in high school printed on a dot matrix printer and it was rejected because I was "cheating" by using a computer. That's when my Dad picked up a 1027 and made it our mission to ensure I was able to keep using the computer to turn in my reports. The teacher just thought the 1027 output was from a typewriter which was of course acceptable at the time. I tell that to my kids who are now almost forced to use a computer to do schoolwork. My how times change. Edited October 10, 2015 by idavis 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilsaluki Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 Man, the Atari 820 Printer. It has served me well for decades. I just used it today to jot my son a note (included with a check for his college expenses, yes a check). I used to love the 1027, but we all know what happened to them. I have a Fortis dot matrix, a XMM-121, 1020, 1025, Okimate 20, and others. I love printers, but printing is fading. No one writes letters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchevy Posted October 12, 2015 Author Share Posted October 12, 2015 Man, the Atari 820 Printer. It has served me well for decades. I just used it today to jot my son a note (included with a check for his college expenses, yes a check). I used to love the 1027, but we all know what happened to them. I have a Fortis dot matrix, a XMM-121, 1020, 1025, Okimate 20, and others. I love printers, but printing is fading. No one writes letters.Unfortunately Best Electronics ran out of Atari 820 printers a few years ago. I found a fixer upper on eBay , but could never get it working . I suspect it was the main PCB because I replaced everything else. I would love to have a working 820. I keep a close watch on eBay but they don't show up more than once or twice a year. I really just want a working printer without paying upwards of $200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanmercer Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Has anyone ever made a way to virtual print? SIO2PC then emulate a printer and print to pdf? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Z Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Has anyone ever made a way to virtual print? SIO2PC then emulate a printer and print to pdf? not to PDF, but text printing is easy enough to implement in SIO2PC software, and is supported in RespeQt, AspeQt, APE, probably the old DOS SIO2PC, etc. from there, you can pretty easily convert to PDF one way or another. I believe AspeQt and RespeQt have some fonts that someone made which are supposed to be atari fonts for use with the printer emulation. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchevy Posted October 12, 2015 Author Share Posted October 12, 2015 not to PDF, but text printing is easy enough to implement in SIO2PC software, and is supported in RespeQt, AspeQt, APE, probably the old DOS SIO2PC, etc. from there, you can pretty easily convert to PDF one way or another. I believe AspeQt and RespeQt have some fonts that someone made which are supposed to be atari fonts for use with the printer emulation.Eventually everything probably will move to purely digital print like PDF and other popular document formats. I grew up in a print shop down in Las Vegas, and my Dad eventually moved on to buying and selling all kinds of printing equipment. Around the year 2000-2001 there was huge shift in the printing industry from offset to digital printing. Most of the old offset printers have been being exported out of the United States. It really takes me back to when I was a kid looking at all of these older computer printers. I boxed many of them up for transport over the years when I would help my dad move print shops as they would get bought and sold. Its a shame I wasn't interested in this hobby back then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchevy Posted October 14, 2015 Author Share Posted October 14, 2015 I ended up winning the bid on the Star sg-10! With a new ribbon and some paper hopefully it will work great. Thanks for the input! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilsaluki Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 That Star SG-10 Was a STAR in its day. I am sure you will be happy with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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