Flashing Red Status Lights on the LaserWriter IISC
If you switch on the LaserWriter IISC without connecting the SCSI cable, the two red status lights will flash. If this happens, switch the printer off again, connect the SCSI cable as described in the Owner’s Guide, and then switch the printer on again.
Installing Background Printing
If you want to be able to print in the background with MultiFinder, select “Background LaserWriter.” The Installer will put the necessary software files into your System folder. This includes the new LaserWriter files “LaserWriter” and “Laser Prep.”
Note that these new LaserWriter files will also work with older LaserWriters and LaserWriter Pluses. The older files are not recommended for use with the LaserWriter IINT or LaserWriter IINTX, so everyone on your network should install the new LaserWriter and Laser Prep files.
If you want to print in the background with MultiFinder on the LaserWriter IISC, simply drag the LaserWriter IISC software file into the System folder on your startup disk. See the LaserWriter IISC Owner's Guide for more information.
If you only want to use the LaserWriter IISC and not the LaserWriter IINT or LaserWriter IINTX, you can throw away the “LaserWriter” and “Laser Prep” files.
System 4.3 Required For LaserWriter IISC
In order to use the LaserWriter IISC, you MUST install System 4.3 (or a later version). The Finder lets you check the version of your System: choose the “About the Finder…” item from the Apple menu, and a dialog box will appear. In the dialog box you should see a System version number of 4.3 or greater. If your System is earlier than 4.3, you need to get the latest software from your Apple dealer.
4X Fonts For The LaserWriter IISC
The LaserWriter IISC comes with a set of diskettes containing four fonts — Times, Helvetica, Courier, and Symbol — in several sizes. These are to be installed in your System file with the Font/DA Mover.
Remember that for high-quality text printing your System file must contain the font that is 4 times the size of the font displayed on the screen. For example, if you want to be able to print 12-point Helvetica, you must use have the Helvetica 48 font in your System file. Then, in your document, select Helvetica 12. When you print the document you will get the best possible quality.
Apple recommends that you install all of the fonts supplied with your LaserWriter IISC. However, if your startup disk is a diskette, or a hard disk with a limited amount of space, you may need to make some choices about which fonts and which sizes you will install. For example, if you don’t have Times 72 in your System file, you can still print Times 18, but the quality will be lower. Alternately, you might choose to install Times but not Helvetica, or vice versa.
If you are using MultiFinder, Apple recommends that you turn off MultiFinder and restart the Macintosh before using the Font/DA Mover to install the fonts supplied with the LaserWriter IISC. Apple also recommends that before installing any of the fonts supplied with the LaserWriter IISC, you first remove all fonts from your system file that have the same name, so that you will be using only the new fonts.
Remember that most applications use the Geneva font if you don’t change it to something else. The Geneva font will NOT print with the best quality, so change your document’s text to a font for which you have installed the larger sizes.
LaserWriter IISC Text Smoothing
The Text Smoothing feature of the LaserWriter IISC can give you some improvement in quality in cases where you don’t have the 4X font to match the size you are trying to print. However, text smoothing slows down the printing process and requires a lot of memory (see next section).
Note that text smoothing is automatically turned on for any text size over 64 points.
LaserWriter IISC Memory Usage
The LaserWriter IISC uses more of the Macintosh’s memory than other printers, and you may occasionally have trouble printing under MultiFinder. This is especially true when you use text smoothing or format your document in the “sideways” orientation.
If you are notified that there is insufficient memory to print there are several things you can try:
1. If Print Monitor runs out of memory in background printing, it will offer to increase its memory size and try again. Try letting Print Monitor do this, and your job may print successfully. Print Monitor will remember its new memory size the next time the Macintosh is restarted.
2. You can also manually increase the memory size of Print Monitor by selecting the Print Monitor icon in the System Folder and choosing Get Info from the File menu. See the MultiFinder User's Guide for how to change the memory size of an application.
3. When printing under MultiFinder but not in the background, the application may run out of memory when trying to print. If this happens, you may get better results by turning on background printing in the Chooser and trying again. You can also quit the application, increase its memory size by selecting its icon and choosing Get Info from the File menu, and try again.
4. Some applications print better with background printing turned on. If unable to print with background printing off, turn it on.
5. Some applications print better with background printing turned off. If unable to print with background printing on, turn it off.
6. In some cases it may be necessary to turn off MultiFinder and do your printing under the Finder.
LaserWriter IISC Performance Tips
There are three things that will slow down the LaserWriter IISC:
1. A page with “sideways” orientation takes much longer to print than one with normal orientation.
2. Text smoothing slows the printing process considerably.
3. A picture created with MacDraw or a similar application may take a long time to print, if it contains a great many objects or if it contains complex objects like freehand curves or many-sided polygons.
The LaserWriter IISC’s “Exact Bit Images” Option
The “Page Setup” dialog for the LaserWriter IISC has an option called “Exact Bit Images (Shrink 4%).” This is only useful for documents that contain graphic images created by MacPaint or similar applications, or images created by a scanner. If printed normally, these images may show imperfections that look like thin horizontal or vertical lines. The “Exact Bit Images” option makes bit images print perfectly, but everything on the page will be shrunk by 4% and the quality of printed text will suffer.
Incompatible Applications
A few applications may not print properly with the LaserWriter IISC. If the notes in the preceding sections do not help, contact the developer of your application. Some developers are revising their applications to work better with Apple’s current and future printers.
