eBay purchased legacy printer - Troubleshooting help

I purchased a legacy HP 4M+ to temporarily replace my old Apple
LaserWriter. Ok. Its old and I don't have a manual (HP doesn't have the
user manual online anymore I needed a quick replacement and couldn't
afford a new laser printer. I probably should have held out for a newer
model, but I was in a hurry. The printer prints text, browsers, and
email fine.

It chokes on Adobe Illustrator. I searched groups and found out down
rezing from 600 to 300 dpi will help. It eliminated some errors, but
I'm still having trouble with the fonts. Will someone explain the deal
with downloading fonts to the 4M Plus? If I change fonts frequently,
what do I need to do to keep postscript printing? Can I convert the PS
output w/o creating a PDF? The 4M Plus has another language called
PCL-- what is this?

I know its a lot of questions. If you print from a postscript
application you'll likely have the real questions that I need to be
asking. ehehe.

NB

<> wrote:
> I purchased a legacy HP 4M+ to temporarily replace my old Apple
> LaserWriter. Ok. Its old and I don't have a manual (HP doesn't have the
> user manual online anymore I needed a quick replacement and couldn't
> afford a new laser printer. I probably should have held out for a newer
> model, but I was in a hurry. The printer prints text, browsers, and
> email fine.
>
> It chokes on Adobe Illustrator. I searched groups and found out down
> rezing from 600 to 300 dpi will help.

This makes it sound like a lack of memory. The LJ4M takes 8M 72-pin
SIMMs, and you may be able to find them for next to nothing:

http://www.shawnbehrens.de/hpmem.htm

> It eliminated some errors, but I'm still having trouble with the
> fonts. Will someone explain the deal with downloading fonts to the 4M
> Plus? If I change fonts frequently, what do I need to do to keep
> postscript printing? Can I convert the PS output w/o creating a PDF?

I can't recall any problems with LJ4M fonts, but it's been a while.

> The 4M Plus has another language called PCL-- what is this?

HP's PDL:

http://undocprint.printassociates.co..._languages/pcl

--
Warren Block * Rapid City, South Dakota * USA

My simple, and perhaps simplistic, response is that I have never had any
difficulty printing anything with PostScript on a LaserJet 4M, 4M+ or 5M as long
as the on-board memory is maxed out. For the LJ4M+, this means installing
three 16MB 72-pin fast page mode SIMMs (strictly conforming to JEDEC spec)
alongside the PostScript SIMM. I used a 4M+ for a number of years, and have
used a 5M for a couple now. When I say never, I mean NEVER. To install the
SIMMs, you may need to remove the usual 4MB SIMM that comes along with the
PostScript.

Open up the panel on the right side (one screw, then it slides off toward the
back), then open up the metal door which covers the SIMM sockets.

I have also sold a number of these printers, always with memory at the max of
50MB, and never gotten a complaint from anyone about being able to print
something.

Illustrator could possibly be a little convoluted in the way that it generates
its PostScript output. You might also try producing a PDF with Illustrator,
either through Acrobat (if included with the Adobe software you bought) or a
VERY handy bit of Open Source software called PDFCreator, which I use often.

Finally, PCL5 is the 5th incarnation of HP's proprietary Printer Control
Langauge. HP might have seen it as the answer to PostScript, but it is
decidedly inferior when handling PostScript files generated by Adobe products.
Adobe even has on line help for its Acrobat Reader, suggesting that when
printing to a PCL printer the output should be generated as a bitmap, one of the
Acrobat Reader checkbox options. I seem to recall that Illustrator has this
option, too. You might try it, until you've added memory to your LJ4M+.

If you do not have a reliable source for 16MB 72-pin SIMMs for HP printers,
contact me off line. I have a bunch and will sell three at a fair price.

.... Ben Myers

On 7 Dec 2006 17:37:11 -0800, wrote:

>I purchased a legacy HP 4M+ to temporarily replace my old Apple
>LaserWriter. Ok. Its old and I don't have a manual (HP doesn't have the
>user manual online anymore I needed a quick replacement and couldn't
>afford a new laser printer. I probably should have held out for a newer
>model, but I was in a hurry. The printer prints text, browsers, and
>email fine.
>
>It chokes on Adobe Illustrator. I searched groups and found out down
>rezing from 600 to 300 dpi will help. It eliminated some errors, but
>I'm still having trouble with the fonts. Will someone explain the deal
>with downloading fonts to the 4M Plus? If I change fonts frequently,
>what do I need to do to keep postscript printing? Can I convert the PS
>output w/o creating a PDF? The 4M Plus has another language called
>PCL-- what is this?
>
>I know its a lot of questions. If you print from a postscript
>application you'll likely have the real questions that I need to be
>asking. ehehe.
>
>NB

One more thing. You can print a test page from the printer control panel. Take
the printer off line, then cycle through options with the menu button until you
see "TEST MENU". Hit the Item button once, then Select to print a test page,
which will tell you how much memory the printer has, as well as other
information like pages printed... Ben Myers

On 7 Dec 2006 17:37:11 -0800, wrote:

>I purchased a legacy HP 4M+ to temporarily replace my old Apple
>LaserWriter. Ok. Its old and I don't have a manual (HP doesn't have the
>user manual online anymore I needed a quick replacement and couldn't
>afford a new laser printer. I probably should have held out for a newer
>model, but I was in a hurry. The printer prints text, browsers, and
>email fine.
>
>It chokes on Adobe Illustrator. I searched groups and found out down
>rezing from 600 to 300 dpi will help. It eliminated some errors, but
>I'm still having trouble with the fonts. Will someone explain the deal
>with downloading fonts to the 4M Plus? If I change fonts frequently,
>what do I need to do to keep postscript printing? Can I convert the PS
>output w/o creating a PDF? The 4M Plus has another language called
>PCL-- what is this?
>
>I know its a lot of questions. If you print from a postscript
>application you'll likely have the real questions that I need to be
>asking. ehehe.
>
>NB

<> wrote:
> I purchased a legacy HP 4M+ to temporarily replace my old Apple
> LaserWriter. Ok. Its old and I don't have a manual (HP doesn't have the
> user manual online anymore I needed a quick replacement and couldn't
> afford a new laser printer. I probably should have held out for a newer
> model, but I was in a hurry. The printer prints text, browsers, and
> email fine.
>
> It chokes on Adobe Illustrator. I searched groups and found out down
> rezing from 600 to 300 dpi will help. It eliminated some errors, but
> I'm still having trouble with the fonts. Will someone explain the deal
> with downloading fonts to the 4M Plus?

Another thought: maybe you have Illustrator set to output PostScript
level 3 code. The LJ4M is PostScript level 2.

--
Warren Block * Rapid City, South Dakota * USA

The HP 4 seems to be very versitle. If there are any modifications to
improve the 4M, I'm sure I'll find them in the groups. With eBay 4Ms
are going to be around even longer.

My 4M+ came with 32MB and its lightening fast on all my other print
jobs. (BM, do you sell memory on eBay or in a B'nM store?)

The trouble with Illustrator may be worse. I've read in a few groups
that the newer applications have a lot of print bloat. Maybe
Illustrator X for Mac OS X is not compatible with the 4M+.

I'm going to keep asking to try to learn more about how the 4M works
with postscript fonts--until I find the User Manual.

NB

Good point! I hadn't thought of that, even though I did a lot of work with a
client and Illustrator recently. Well worth a try to produce PostScript Level
2 output... Ben Myers

On Fri, 08 Dec 2006 04:51:16 -0000, Warren Block <> wrote:

> <> wrote:
>> I purchased a legacy HP 4M+ to temporarily replace my old Apple
>> LaserWriter. Ok. Its old and I don't have a manual (HP doesn't have the
>> user manual online anymore I needed a quick replacement and couldn't
>> afford a new laser printer. I probably should have held out for a newer
>> model, but I was in a hurry. The printer prints text, browsers, and
>> email fine.
>>
>> It chokes on Adobe Illustrator. I searched groups and found out down
>> rezing from 600 to 300 dpi will help. It eliminated some errors, but
>> I'm still having trouble with the fonts. Will someone explain the deal
>> with downloading fonts to the 4M Plus?
>
>Another thought: maybe you have Illustrator set to output PostScript
>level 3 code. The LJ4M is PostScript level 2.

The sole modifications possible for the 4M+ are additional memory and an
Ethernet card. It does make sense to "network" a laser printer even if only
one computer is using it. Ethernet is much, much, much faster than either
AppleTalk or parallel port. Is there the possibility that the cable between
computer and printer is defective?

I sell quite a bit of stuff on eBay (eBay ID ben_myers with consistent good
feedback for years), but for a small transaction eBay is not worth it. If your
printer has 32MB of memory, it would either a pair of 16MB or one 16MB + 2x8MB,
with the 4th SIMM socket occupied by the PostScript SIMM. You would need
either one or two 16MB SIMMs, depending on the present memory setup. If you
want to get some memory, I'll sell it direct with payment via check or PayPal.

Print bloat seems to be a spreading disease with nearly all software these days.
Microsoft is still the world leader in producing software with unnecessary print
bloat. The very complexity of Adobe's graphics oriented software leads to print
bloat. Maxing out printer memory is one way to deal with the bloat.

The other possibilities really involve print parameters, both at the level of
the operating system and Illustrator itself. Although limited visually, try
producing something with Illustrator selecting from among only the standard 35
fonts, making sure that Illustrator knows to use the fonts baked into the
printer. If you have Adobe Acrobat or the Mac has a version of PDFCreator, try
producing PDF as an intermediate result, then printing the PDF. Those are the
only other suggestions that come to mind right now... Ben Myers

On 7 Dec 2006 21:16:59 -0800, wrote:

>The HP 4 seems to be very versitle. If there are any modifications to
>improve the 4M, I'm sure I'll find them in the groups. With eBay 4Ms
>are going to be around even longer.
>
>My 4M+ came with 32MB and its lightening fast on all my other print
>jobs. (BM, do you sell memory on eBay or in a B'nM store?)
>
>The trouble with Illustrator may be worse. I've read in a few groups
>that the newer applications have a lot of print bloat. Maybe
>Illustrator X for Mac OS X is not compatible with the 4M+.
>
>I'm going to keep asking to try to learn more about how the 4M works
>with postscript fonts--until I find the User Manual.
>
>NB

On the seventh day, wrote...

> The trouble with Illustrator may be worse. I've read in a few groups
> that the newer applications have a lot of print bloat. Maybe
> Illustrator X for Mac OS X is not compatible with the 4M+.

Postscript is probably one of the most durable and compatible standards
there is (with a few minor exceptions to the rule). Having said that, it is
highly unlikely your printer is at fault. Also, PCL is not that bad. There
are, however, newer versions of the PS standard. If Illustrator doesn't
support the old (I think it must be v.2) PS, you're definitely better off
using PCL and bitmaps.

Check your printer driver (use the newest you can get) and its settings. A
good rule is to try out both printer languages. So, if one fails, you might
still get results using the other. It is crucial that you follow Ben's
advice to max out memory.

I am still using a 5SiMx and some 4. They are slower for the first page and
besides having max. memory they work noticably longer on graphics than
newer printers such as the 43x0, but other than that, they are rock solid
workhorses. I have never had any troubles, neither with the hardware, nor
with Postscript.

HTH

--
mit freundlichen Grüßen/with kind regards
Christian Dürrhauer

Ford Prefect: We're safe. Arthur Dent: Ah. Good. Ford Prefect: We're in a
cabin of one of the spaceships of the Vogon Constructor Fleet. Arthur Dent:
Ah. This is obviously some strange usage of the word "safe" that I hadn't
previously been aware of.

The HP LASERJET 4, 4, 4M, 4M, 5, 5M, 5N Service Manual.pdf
http://www.feedroller.com/Store/hp_manuals.php
(Scroll down on the above page).

On 7 Dec 2006 17:37:11 -0800, wrote:

-|I purchased a legacy HP 4M+ to temporarily replace my old Apple
-|LaserWriter. Ok. Its old and I don't have a manual (HP doesn't have the
-|user manual online anymore I needed a quick replacement and couldn't
-|afford a new laser printer. I probably should have held out for a newer
-|model, but I was in a hurry. The printer prints text, browsers, and
-|email fine.
-|
-|It chokes on Adobe Illustrator. I searched groups and found out down
-|rezing from 600 to 300 dpi will help. It eliminated some errors, but
-|I'm still having trouble with the fonts. Will someone explain the deal
-|with downloading fonts to the 4M Plus? If I change fonts frequently,
-|what do I need to do to keep postscript printing? Can I convert the PS
-|output w/o creating a PDF? The 4M Plus has another language called
-|PCL-- what is this?
-|
-|I know its a lot of questions. If you print from a postscript
-|application you'll likely have the real questions that I need to be
-|asking. ehehe.
-|
-|NB