Redundant Printer ?
Derryck Croker finds a way to save an Atari Laser printer from redundancy...MagicSLM is a Hewlett Packard PCL (Page Control Language) to Diablo graphics converter wrapped up in a desktop accessory shell.
MagicSLM enables anyone owning an Atari SLM804/605 laser printer to continue using a real Atari ST machine as the middle man to produce printed output from a Falcon, PC, Mac or other platforms.
A real Atari ST machine is required because only these models include the DMA interface used to drive Atari laser printers. MagiCSLM is a compromise and cannot match the speed of accessing the printers via the original DMA interface, but if you have one gathering dust in a corner it's a lot better than putting it on the scrapheap!
The Atari ST must have at least 2Mb of memory and a monitor. More memory to use as a RAM disk or a hard drive are useful extras.
Apart from the MAGICSLM.ACC desktop accessory itself you'll need to install a copy of Atari's Diablo emulator which runs from the AUTO folder of your boot disk.Getting into print
With the ST up and running as your printer server, and both the Diablo emulator and MagicSLM installed, you can begin experimenting to find the best way to print files from applications on your other machine. There are two alternatives:
Falcon owners, and probably Atari emulator users on other platforms, running applications which can output via NVDI get an easy ride. In the NVDI DRIVERS.CPX select one of the Hewlett Packard 300dpi Deskjet or Laserjet drivers and redirect printed output to the serial port or a disk file.
- Via a null modem link (modified serial cable). MagicSLM, running on the ST, can intercept printer data on the serial port and produce printed pages.
- From a file printed to disk on your other machine.
For serial transfer to work the serial ports on both machines must be configured. Use any serial port setting utility such as Atari's CONTROL.ACC or Peter Rottengatter's SERIAL.CPX set the following parameters on the ST:
- 8 data bits
- No parity
- One stop bit
- Baud rate to highest setting both computers will support. For an
- unmodified ST this is 19200
- No handshaking
On the client machine (the computer you want to print from) use the same settings apart from handshaking which should be set to XOn/XOff.
Applications which have built-in printer drivers may only offer a print to disk facility, the resulting file contains the printer control codes and page description which MagicSLM can use to produce a printed page.
You can take the simple approach and copy the file to floppy disk and walk between your machines or, more elegantly, if you have a working network between your machines, send files via the serial, parallel or MIDI ports.
Using a RAM disk or local hard disk on the ST offers the advantage of leaving your other machine free for work while MagicSLM goes about its business - but you'll need to be on hand to select each file in turn for printing.
A printer spooler is another option to consider to catch output from application programs so it can be redirected to a disk file, Calamus SL allows this if the Other box is selected. Set GEMSpooler's queue to "stop" before printing.
With the help of this article you should be able to breathe new life into old kit and obtain printed output from almost any machine - keeping your trusty ST and Atari laser printer away from the classified adverts!
Availability
MagicSLM was written by Harald Schoenfeld and originally published in a German print magazine. With Harald's kind permission it is also available from the CIX atari.st/files98 topic, any BBS connected to the FANfiles network and from:
URL: http://www.cix.co.uk/~derryck/index.htm
The Diablo emulator was included with all Atari laser printers but is available for download from various FTP sites including:
atari.archive.umich.edu
ftp.lip6.fr
Requirements
Atari SLM laser printer and a Falcon, PC or Mac. Software solution requires an ST with a minimum of 2Mb memory, the Diablo emulator, a null modem cable and a monitor/TV.Pros
There's no other way of using an Atari laser printer with any other computer, easy to useCons
No built-in way of printing multiple copies, direct printing of plain text files isn't possible.85%
Networking options
Mark Wherry's Networking feature in AC#7 includes some useful ideas or you could try the parallel port copy program PARCP320 between a Falcon or PC and the ST server.
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The running display as MagicSLM performs, side number, commands read and status - which can be waiting, reading, receiving, printing or writing
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A click on the Modem button sends MagicSLM to the background where it awaits data arriving on the serial port
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The PCX option produces a graphics file that can be imported into other applications after suitable conversion
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