Is an infrared printer still worth getting?

[Archilog]

Hello there,

Every infrared Panamatik (Woodstock or Spice series) model should be mentionned as well, in my humble opinion.
I own two ir printers and they do the job, even with rechargeable batteries.
It’s a quite cheap product for its efficiency - a bit slow when linked to the 41 system, nevertheless.

[Eddie W. Shore]

I ordered a 82440B - it works perfectly. The print is clear and crisp.

[toml_12953]

(10-08-2021 04:20 AM)Eddie W. Shore Wrote:  I ordered a 82440B - it works perfectly. The print is clear and crisp.

You can't go wrong with a real HP. I use mine all the time. It's much sharper than the TI PC-100 printer I use with my TI-59.

[Eddie W. Shore]

(10-05-2021 03:28 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  I think it's definitely worth having a printer if you've got any of the supported models. It's especially handy with the 17BII or 19BII running in trace mode so you can have an audit trail of financial calculations, or print out the whole set of TVM variables, for example. It's great with the 42S since you can make use of the printer within programs. And of course it's useful for making hard copies of solver equations or programs (though you'll want to digitize them since thermal paper isn't exactly archival quality).

Personally, I feel like the wired printer for the HP 41 (82143A) is a bit nicer - and quieter - but the IR model gets the job done. It also runs on AA batteries, which are easier to deal with.

Off the top of my head, it works with these models, so if you've got a few of them, it's worth picking one up.

17B
17BII (don't know about the 17BII+)
18C
19B
19BII
27S
28C
28S
41C with the IR printer module (not cheap!)
42S
48S/SX/G/GX
DM41X
DM42

Not sure about the status of the 49G/50G family, but it might work with some of them.

I think it will also work with the 95LX and maybe 100LX/200LX if you install some kind of drivers to support it, but I've never experimented with this.

I can confirm that the printer works with the 17BII+.

[RMollov]

I'm not impressed with these printers at all. I've got one collecting dust (it's in a genuine leather pouch) for the last 30 years. Cons: slow, noisy, power-hungry, (thermal paper) printouts fade away with time. Last year I threw away two boxes of paper being around all that time.
AFAIC they are useless.

[toml_12953]

(10-09-2021 10:52 AM)RMollov Wrote:  (thermal paper) printouts fade away with time. Last year I threw away two boxes of paper being around all that time.
AFAIC they are useless.

That's why HP tells you to make photocopies of any data you want to keep permanently. The thermal paper copies are very legible and permanent.

[BobVA]

(10-09-2021 10:52 AM)RMollov Wrote:  ...Cons: slow, noisy, power-hungry...

The HP printers are (were?) commonly used for industrial purposes, so perhaps that market will generate a modern replacement? (Swiss Micros?)

I seldom keep any printouts long term, but I do find them very handy for developing programs and keeping track of lengthy financial calculations (checkbook balancing, taxes, etc.). Consequentially my printer gets a fair amount of use.

It's possible to tinker up an inexpensive fast/quiet printer using a modern thermal line printer module. Here's an example I did last year with just some tiny modifications to work done by Meindert and Martin Hepperle. It's replaced my 82240.

I didn't implement graphics because I don't use them, but I think the module I used would support it.

[RMollov]

SwissMicros can do all that is necessary easily if they want to. It is similar to a number of emulators doing it and storing printout as a file that can be viewed, sent, printed etc.
No tedious and annoying printing on HP IR printer and then photocopying etc...
Sooner or later they will do it.

I strongly doubt HP or others would start producing this kind of printing device.

[teenix]

I've got this as an optional printer for the 97 CPU board. It can be switched on to bypass the internal printer and sends the data via Bluetooth to the PC.

I don't have one of these printers so I am guessing the operation. Does the print head always print the full width of the printer platen or does it return earlier for short print lines?

cheers

Tony

[toml_12953]

(10-10-2021 07:48 AM)teenix Wrote:  I've got this as an optional printer for the 97 CPU board. It can be switched on to bypass the internal printer and sends the data via Bluetooth to the PC.

I don't have one of these printers so I am guessing the operation. Does the print head always print the full width of the printer platen or does it return earlier for short print lines?

cheers

Tony

It travels the length of the platen. That makes both the hardware and software simpler.

[John Keith]

I have the 82440A which I got with my 48SX way back when. I have not used it in years for the same reasons as others here. While it is pretty neat that many emulators can print to a standard printer connected to a PC it would be useful to have a small but decent printer for portable use.

I am looking at a recent receipt from a grocery store and the print is nearly as crisp as an ink-jet or laser printer. The thermal paper is 3-1/8" (79mm) wide. I don't know what the power requirements for the printer module are so it may not be practical for portable use. At least it shows what a modern thermal printer is capable of. I recall some threads a few years ago where folks were adapting Casio thermal printer modules for calculator use but I don't know how their print quality compares.

I am also bothered by the lack of any portable full size (letter or A4) battery-powered printer. They seemed to be common 30 years ago or so but I haven't seen any recently. The ThinkJet 2225B was nice in it's day but I would like to see a printer with lithium-ion batteries and modern ink-jet technology. Getting output from any HP calculator to such a printer would be problematic however.

[teenix]

(10-10-2021 02:04 PM)toml_12953 Wrote:  

(10-10-2021 07:48 AM)teenix Wrote:  I've got this as an optional printer for the 97 CPU board. It can be switched on to bypass the internal printer and sends the data via Bluetooth to the PC.

I don't have one of these printers so I am guessing the operation. Does the print head always print the full width of the printer platen or does it return earlier for short print lines?

cheers

Tony

It travels the length of the platen. That makes both the hardware and software simpler.

Thanks Tom

cheers

Tony

[BobVA]

(10-10-2021 03:26 PM)John Keith Wrote:  ...I am looking at a recent receipt from a grocery store and the print is nearly as crisp as an ink-jet or laser printer. The thermal paper is 3-1/8" (79mm) wide. I don't know what the power requirements for the printer module are so it may not be practical for portable use. At least it shows what a modern thermal printer is capable of. I recall some threads a few years ago where folks were adapting Casio thermal printer modules for calculator use but I don't know how their print quality compares....

The module I used needs 5 VDC and I'm sure it would work fine from a lithium pack. Seems to be similar to those used in mobile receipt printers. It takes a TTL level serial data stream.

The characters are fully formed and very sharp. It prints an entire horizontal row of dots at once so the only sound the is paper feed (which is very quiet). It's nowhere as fast as a supermarket receipt printer, but it's much faster than the HP82240. The '240 does seem to be more robust regarding placement - I think I may need better electrical or optical shielding of the IR module.

Example print out attached. I mapped the special HP characters to the closest ones in in the printer's native font, but a custom downloaded font would probably be a nicer solution.

So yep - a commercial product incorporating a modern thermal printer would be a nice thing to have. Tacking the HP IR format onto an existing commercial bluetooth mobile receipt printer (like car rental agents use) doesn't seem like it would be huge lift.

[John Keith]

Looks nice, what is the paper width?

[Gerson W. Barbosa]

(10-09-2021 11:20 AM)toml_12953 Wrote:  

(10-09-2021 10:52 AM)RMollov Wrote:  (thermal paper) printouts fade away with time. Last year I threw away two boxes of paper being around all that time.
AFAIC they are useless.

That's why HP tells you to make photocopies of any data you want to keep permanently.

That's always a good idea. BTW, that's the adapter I use, with no batteries in the printer:

[BobVA]

(10-11-2021 01:03 PM)John Keith Wrote:  Looks nice, what is the paper width?

2.25 inches

[striegel]

(10-11-2021 05:20 PM)Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote:  ...
That's always a good idea. BTW, that's the adapter I use, with no batteries in the printer:

This is the same one as I already have for the multiple HP palmtop PCs of type 100LX and 200LX. Note that the 95LX used a 9-volt adapter (HP model 82241A).

[striegel]

(10-02-2021 04:31 PM)toml_12953 Wrote:  

(10-02-2021 03:51 PM)Eddie W. Shore Wrote:  ...
Is $80 to $100 a good price? I am going to try to get on with an AC Adaptor.

I usually pay about $150 so, yes, $80 - $100 is a great price!
...

This must sound like bragging, but I feel really lucky that I found one for only $18.00 back in 2018. Now, this one didn't come with a box, manual, or AC power supply but it arrived in great condition and even came with a nearly-full roll of thermal paper installed.

[Siegfried]

(10-12-2021 08:04 PM)striegel Wrote:  This must sound like bragging, but I feel really lucky that I found one for only $18.00 back in 2018. Now, this one didn't come with a box, manual, or AC power supply but it arrived in great condition and even came with a nearly-full roll of thermal paper installed.

I got a B with repaired battery terminals for 40EUR including shipping last June and a fully boxed A (sold together with a box full of calcs) for about about the same. They seem to see less love in Europe.

There is a modern replacement that supports the HP IR protocol but when trying to buy one I was quoted a price of EUR 357 plus tax plus delivery which seemed a bit over the top. I had a suspicion that that might be for a pack of more than one but never got a reply when asking the vendor. As printers of this size and type are are sold for around 25-50 EUR on amazon, I wonder where that price tag comes from. Tinkerers could probably mod a modern printer to accept the HP IR protocol but you still would not gain any speed advantage as the printer won't send data any faster. I'll stick to my oldies for the time.

[Thomas Okken]

(10-15-2021 09:49 AM)Siegfried Wrote:  Tinkerers could probably mod a modern printer to accept the HP IR protocol but you still would not gain any speed advantage as the printer calculator won't send data any faster. I'll stick to my oldies for the time.

Well, at least you might be able to keep DELAY set to 0 at all times!
How tolerant are such frankenprinters of abnormally high speeds, I wonder? Can they handle an overclocked 42S?

(Is overclocking Pioneers even possible? When I was in college, the college bookstore offered a service where they would modify the oscillator and double the speed of 41s and Voyagers, but that was before the Pioneers came out...)