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Any HP printer gurus around? I need a DOS printer emulating a HP Laserjet II.


JL Sargent

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I use two old DOS based software programs that only talk to a HP Laserjet series II or a dot matrix printer. I have been rocking along with a now 25 year old HP LJ II until last week when the wheels came off it. A feed problem has arisen and toner cartridges worth a crap are scarce. HP quit making these toner carts 10+ years ago. Of course a 10yr old NOS toner cartridge is in a word "worthless".

 

Now I understand that PCL 3 is the language my now kaput HP LJ II likes and I see there are some printers out there that can work with PCL 5e and may be backward compatible to PCL 3 with limited resolution at an output (300x300).

 

Anybody got experience with using HPs PCL printer language? Do I have any chance of reviving my printer output?  

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My friend who uses Dos exclusively with dot matrix printers in his business used an old Epson Stylus Color printer that I gave him and it hooked itself right up without any trouble. No doubt I was amazed. His cost to modernize with updating the customized programs would be about $30,000.00.

JJK

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  • 2 weeks later...

So I took a leap of faith and bought a printer off Ebay that will accept PCL 5e language for a test. My old LaserJet series II was PCL 3. The printer I got was a Brother HL 2070 laser printer which has a parallel port and supposedly with work. I hooked the printer up to my 386 computer with DOS 5.0 and sent a report to it and it worked like a champ. Problem solved.

 

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1 hour ago, babadono said:

There are no HP printer gurus even at HP. DO NOT buy another HP.:angry2: Just MHO or $0.02

Buy any ink for an HP lately? I just got some for my HP6600 from Staples. Holy cow! 75.00 for a black and multi color cartridge pack!

HP has put in parameters that won't use generic cartridges any more.....rant over!

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On 8/9/2017 at 0:27 PM, babadono said:

DO NOT buy another HP.:angry2: Just MHO or $0.02

 

On 8/9/2017 at 1:31 PM, Tasdom said:

HP has put in parameters that won't use generic cartridges any more.....rant over!

 

I hear you guys, but 25 years on the last one I bought and the last toner I found I stretched out for 3 years with two toner fills I performed myself. Seriously, lets give the devil his due.

 

Anyway as far as generics go, surely there is a way to do it!

 

 

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