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Dot Matrix collectibility / usability?

offensive_Jerk

offensive_Jerk

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Jul 13, 2009
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Location
Wisconsin
Does anyone here still use dot matrix printers as their 'daily driver' printer? Not counting work unless it's a home business. I mainly just use my laser printer for serious printing and will play around occasionally with the few dot matrix printers I have.

I have a IBM Proprinter III and an Apple Imagewriter. I don't use then unless I want to play around, but for the most part they sit there. The only dot matrix printer I really want is the 5151 to compliment my other IBM machines.

As far as other printers, I don't really care about them. It doesn't seem like they are very collectible in the community, but I'm sure there are a few people who enjoy collecting them.
 
I avoid printers, all of them even the new ones (but I have one) I used to keep one around for printing large pdf files or similar media, but now its getting harder to find fan fold paper, ribbons, and A tablet does the job I dont anymore

Last time I saw them in large use was in warehouses where they were printing pick tickets, and even by the time I left a decade ago they were moving everything to scan guns. I think now days the only application for them is carbon paper
 
POS terminals, to the best of my knowledge are still dot-matrix. I've still got a few older printers, (daisywheel, NLQ dot matrix) but don't use them much. Wasn't the one for the 5150 basically an Epson MX-80?
 
I keep a Epson LX-80 around for testing purposes. The laser printer is cheaper per page, quieter, and produces much better quality so the dot matrix gets very little use.
 
I've got a Panasonic 24-pin dot matrix I keep around for when I feel like running something on fanfold -- usually labels or greenbar. I keep a case of 8.5" tractor feed greenbar around for event flyers and such. I had an ImageWriter II I used with compact Macs (I've had a number over the years, only a SE/30 now) but gave it away during our move from NY as I didn't use it much.

Additionally, I've got a small thermal dot matrix "microterminal," similar to a Silent 700, but it requires some repair to be useful.

I've got a few panel mount dot matrix and 7-segment printers that print on cash register receipt type paper, both thermal and impact. I keep thinking I'll use them for test result logging or something.

I know of a few printer collectors out there. I'm not sure if they use vintage printers as their daily hard copy devices, though I doubt it with the proliferation of PDFs.
 
I keep trying to find an excuse to use my dot-matrix printers, but aside from firing up the original Print Shop and printing a couple of vintage-ish greeting cards, I'm kind of hard pressed.

These days people don't use print for much of anything any more. In the old days, it was common to print out lengthy manuals from text files because you couldn't read that text file at the same as the program was running. Or printing out program code so one could get the hell away from the computer yet still work on it. Or printing out important electronic communications.

I actually bought a box of fanfold paper ("Single Part" form paper as they called it) 3 or 4 years ago at the local Office Depot, but now days they don't have much of anything at all there.

And yes, the IBM 5152 printer was just a rebadged Epson MX-80. It was also rebadged by many other OEMs such as the TI-99/4A Impact Printer. Only the ROMs differed a bit, and the earlier vanilla MX-80s did not support graphics printing without upgrade "Graftrax" ROMs.
 
You can still purchase 11x14" tractor feed "greenbar" paper from the likes of OfficeMax. Special order, but I checked and it's still available.

Even multipart forms can be had.

These days people don't use print for much of anything any more. In the old days, it was common to print out lengthy manuals from text files because you couldn't read that text file at the same as the program was running. Or printing out program code so one could get the hell away from the computer yet still work on it. Or printing out important electronic communications.
Click to expand...

If I'm designing from databooks, I'll print them out--flipping back and forth between printed documents and jotting notes is ever so much easier than trying to manage the electronic forms.
 
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I started buying old dot matrix printers a while ago, but eventually stopped doing it as I got frustrated dealing with ribbons.
Even models where the ribbon was available "new" - they'd turn up sealed but I still couldn't get any ink out - then I tried the WD40 trick, and after a lot of fussing about, got no where, so I hung in the towel.

The only "vintage" printer I keep running is a HP Deskjet Plus (1989) - and you can still buy brand new inkjet heads/cartridges for it. But even that's short lived, after long periods of time it seems the ink eats through destroying the print head (even when sealed), and I don't print with it very often, so I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep it alive - 5 years, 10 years who knows - but eventually it'll be ornamental.
 
You can still buy new dot matrix printers today. They cost about $300, but for businesses which rely on printing out multi-part forms, that's a lot cheaper than overhauling their entire computer system. The printers haven't changed since the early '90s, except for the addition of USB and optional Ethernet interfaces.

And one advantage of dot matrix printers is that they are ready to use almost instantly after you turn them on, unlike inkjet printers...

 
I have a couple but have not used them in a while. Mostly for printing code on retro machine so I keep a few stacks of perf paper around as well. I hate inkjets because of consumables, old ribbons seem to be ok it stored correctly (except for color Apple ones).

To be honest I went for laser printers in the mid late 90's and never looked back. A good old HP 4si Postscript with Ethernet, Appletalk, and Tokenring is good for pretty much anything.
 
I still use a 24 pin Panasonic as my primary printer.

I despise inkjets as I use the printer infrequently and that means you use the cartridge once or twice and then it's clogged. :)

I've got several Panasonic and Citizen printers, including color and wide carriage in addition to the standard printers that are available if anyone's interested in one.
 
I have a few dmps, but I rarely use them, if ever. One's an IBM, but I don't recall the model. I also have an early HP tractor feed bubblejet and some ESD printers, with the silver paper and all.

Honestly, unless you're printing multi-part forms, laser is the way to go. And you can even buy reams of paper now that come in three colors, sorted so that the pattern repeats, as an easy way of replacing multi-part setups.
 
Yes. Two of them. A 9-pin Star and an HP82143A. I really do use them a lot.

I despise inkjet printers. Though I do own a large number of them, I don't use them. I have three nice laser printers; though my beloved HP LaserJet 6MP is pretty useless now without some expensive repairs. I've got two colour LaserJets, one which someone shipped with the cartridges installed despite my request that they don't (and their agreement), and one which gave up the ghost yesterday when the USB connector in it broke. That one worked very well but it irritates me because it requires Windows XP.

I also have two large format Daisy wheel printers which I would like to use but don't have the space to set them up at the moment.
 
I keep a few stacked in storage but it's mainly a storage problem that prevents me from having them setup semi-permanently.
 
I have 5 dot matrix printers because they are the same brand as computers I collect, I also have 2 dot matrix printers that I bought in the eighties to use.
I bought an ink jet printer a couple of years ago simply because it was only £2, I have never even taken it out of its box.
I haven't printed anything since the eighties.
 
roberttx said:
Honestly, unless you're printing multi-part forms, laser is the way to go. And you can even buy reams of paper now that come in three colors, sorted so that the pattern repeats, as an easy way of replacing multi-part setups.
Click to expand...

Ditto on the laser. I have several, including a big Xerox duplexer that can take 11x17 paper. The little Brother desktop ones have shown themselves to be inexpensive and very reliable.
 
Unless I'm printing full pages of something in high quality mode, my dot matrix printer will typically print faster than my laser printers, start to finish, and with considerably less power.

I print a lot of my programs, often, and having them on continuous paper is a godsend. I always wondered why laser printers couldn't use that.

I like the Brother printers as printers but they are forbidden in my house due to the frustration I had trying to print PCB transfers on them.

KIMG0603.jpg
 
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KC9UDX said:
Unless I'm printing full pages of something in high quality mode, my dot matrix printer will typically print faster than my laser printers, start to finish, and with considerably less power.
Click to expand...

I hadn't realized that dot matrix printers can print 1200 dpi resolution at 28 ppm, edge-to-edge. :)

A lot of my printing goes into multipart music scores. I've never even considered anything but a laser printer for those.
 
My laser printers won't do that either, and they also don't start printing immediately after power-on. I never liked printing graphics on a dot matrix. High resolution makes for mutilated paper on an impact printer

I use this one so much I completely forgot to mention it:

 
We need to know your beer inventory now. Got anything that goes nice with a Laphroaig?
 
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