Top Questions on the Macintosh 1. Question: How do I connect my Lexmark Laserprinter to my Powermac? Answer: The 4019 and 4029 printers require a third party connecting device. (Contact Lexmark Technical Support at 606-232-3000 for a list of companies.) To connect the 4039 or Optra printers, an Internal Network Adapter (INA) must be installed in the printer. The INA can either be LocalTalk, EtherTalk, or TokenTalk, depending on the type of network connection needed. These INA cards can be purchased through Lexmark Supplies (800-438-2468). The Laserwriter 8 driver along with the appropriate PPDs are shipped with the INA card. You must use this Laserwriter 8 driver when using a powermac. 2. Question: Can I connect the Lexmark Execjet IIC to my mac? Answer: We do not provide a direct connection to the mac for this printer. To connect this printer to the mac, you must go through a third party company. Contact Lexmark Technical Support at 606-232-3000 for a list of companies. 3. Question: How do I install the Laserwriter 8 driver? Answer: The driver that is sent out basically installs itself. Prior to installing the driver, it is best to start your mac with the inits off. To do this, hold in the shift key while starting up your computer. Once you have done this, you can double click on the US Installer and it will ask you to if you want to full install or just the PPDs. If you have Laserwriter 8 installed already, click on "Just the PPDs". Otherwise, do a full install. The driver will install itself into the extensions folder within the system folder. Once it has installed, you can select this driver through the Chooser. After going into the Chooser and selecting Laserwriter 8, you should see your printer appear on the right hand side. Click on your printer and go into "Setup". From here you can either do an "Auto Setup" or you can set this up manually. If you decide to manually set this up, you first need to go into Select PPD. You should see the name of your printer here. Click Select after highlighting the PPD. Then go into "Configure" (you also need to do this even if you choose "Auto Setup"). Here you can tell the mac the options you have on your printer, such as memory or optional paper trays. After setting this up, you need to go into "Printer Info" and update the information. This will bring you back information about your printer, such as memory installed, printer resolution and the correct PPD that should be used. After doing this, you need to get out of the setup and be back at the Chooser. You also need to turn off Background Printing because the print monitor can cause problems such as running out of memory or losing data. 4. Question: Why is it that when I try to choose the second drawer or feeder it is grayed out? Answer: This is because the printer in the Chooser was not configured properly. When using Laserwriter 8, you need to select the printer and go into "Setup". Once you enter this, you will either see the option for More Choices or Select PPD. The first thing you need to do is select the correct PPD. Once you have done this, you need to go into configure and tell the mac what options are installed in the printer. This is where you can tell the mac that you have a second drawer, feeder, or any extra memory that may be installed. After doing this, you should go into Printer Info and update the information about the printer. After exiting Setup, you should also turn off Background Printing. After doing this, you will have the driver setup correctly in the Chooser. 5. Question: What is Markvision for the Mac and what can I do with it? Answer: Markvision is a utility that will allow you to view and monitor the status of printers. It has tools that will allow you to change the name of the printer, display and print fonts, download fonts and Postscript files, get the page count, set configurations, and use a remote op-panel. The remote op-panel will actually let you control the op-panel on the printer from the mac. You can then check or change the settings of the printer without ever having to move from your mac. If your printer supports the Network Printing Alliance Protocol (NPAP), two-way communication between a printer and a computer is available. You can access a dialog box that will allow you too see a picture of the printer, the options installed, the remote op-panel, panel configuration, and any printer information. The printer pictures allow you to tell at a glance" if your printer needs to be checked, such as when the cover is open. If your printer does not support NPAP, you will not be able to use the remote op-panel and set configuration tools. Also, if you are running LocalTalk you will not be able to use these functions since LocalTalk does not support NPAP. Markvision for the Mac comes with the INA cards or you can contact the Lexmark Technical Support. 6. Question: Where can I get the latest printer driver, ppd, Quark pdf, or System 7.5 GX driver for the mac? Answer: You can download these files from the Lexmark Bulletin Board System at 606-232-5238. You can also get these files through the Lexmark Forum on Compuserve. If you have problems, you can contact the Lexmark Technical Support Center at 606-232-3000. 7. Question: I think I have the latest driver and ppd for the Optra, but I still cannot choose 1200 dpi from Freehand? Answer: When the first ppd for the Optra was released, it did not have the correct information to achieve 1200 dpi. Freehand looks at a specific section of the ppd for this feature. The ppd has been edited and we currently have the correct settings to achieve this. The INA's that are being sent out now are shipped with the latest ppd. Any INA's that could have been in stock before the release of this revision may still have this problem. You can get the latest ppd from Lexmark BBS, Compuserve or you can contact Lexmark Technical Support at 606-232-3000. 8. Question: What is the lpi setting or screen frequency for 1200 dpi and the corresponding level of gray for the Optra? Answer: The screen frequency for 1200 dpi is set at 106 lpi. This will give you 129 levels of grays. You can also achieve 129 levels of gray through 600 dpi. This is done by turning on Picturegrade through the printer control panel. This will give the appearance of 106 lpi screen frequency. If you are having trouble changing the screen frequency in 600 dpi, you need to check and see if Picturegrade is turned on. When it is turned on, it "locks" the printer to the setting of 106 lpi. 9. Question: When printing from Illustrator on the IBM Color Jetprinter PS4079, I am getting poor print quality when doing gradients? Answer: You need to be using Laserwriter 8 with the 4079 PPD. If you do not have this, you can get this through Lexmark BBS, Compuserve, or Lexmark Technical Support. If you are using Illustrator 5.0, make sure under Document Setup that the "Output Resolution" is set to 360 dpi and that the "Use printer's default screen" box is checked. This is required in order to utilize the 4079's enhanced screening. Illustrator is optimized for printing to Postscript level 2 printers, which can cause some problems when printing to the 4079 (this is a Postscript level 1 device). If you are still having problems printing gradient fills, then you need to upgrade your application to Illustrator 5.5. In Illustrator 5.5, there is an option under File/ Document Setup menu to check the "Compatible gradient printing" box. If the file still fails to print, check the "Split long paths" box. These two options simplify the Postscript code being sent to the printer, ensuring that all your jobs will print. However, they will increase the print time, so only turn them on when necessary. (The Lexmark Technical Support Center has more information on getting the best quality from the IBM Color Jetprinter PS4079. Contact Lexmark at 606-232-3000 for further information.) 10. Question: I am printing okay, but my fonts are printing with jagged edges. Answer: Print the fonts directory of the printer to see if the font is installed on the printer, then check to make sure that the needed fonts are installed correctly on the Mac. The fonts must be installed and placed correctly to be downloaded to the printer. For System 6, the fonts should be located in the System resources in the System folder. For System 7.0 or 7.01, the fonts are located in the System Suitcase in the System Folder. The fonts are found in the Fonts folder in the System Folder for System 7.1. It is also possible that the selected download font is corrupt. This problem applies to all printers. If the font is a screen font, it will print with jagged edges. If the font is a TrueType or ATM Type 1, the font file itself may be damaged. Try removing it from the System Folder (this is important, as the Mac may not overwrite system files) and then reinstalling the font file with an original font file. If the font is an ATM Type 1, check the ATM version that is currently being used. This can be found under the Control Panel. Click on ATM and then File, Get Info. ATM Version 3.5 or above is required to download fonts with System 7.1. 11. Question: I have my printer connected to the LocalTalk network, but it is not showing up in the Chooser. Why not? Answer: There are several primary causes: 1) The wrong Network is selected under the Control Panels. For example, if the printer is connected to the LocalTalk network and the Mac is set for TokenTalk under Network, then the printer will not show up until the computer is set for LocalTalk. 2) For LocalTalk, verify that the printer cable is connected to the correct port. The Modem port is a serial 8 pin that is physically identical to the printer port. The printer port has a printer icon above it and the modem port has a phone icon above the connector. 3) The printer is turned off. LocalTalk devices won't show up in the Chooser unless they are turned on. 4) Farallon PhoneNet (LocalTalk) cables are being used, some of which are not properly terminated. PhoneNet products require that the end of the cable run be terminated with a resistor. If they are not terminated properly, LaserWriter devices may not be able to broadcast a signal strong enough to be transmitted to the Mac (i.e. they won't show up in the Chooser). Other possibilities include downlevel printer microcode, faulty printer or computer printing ports, or shorted/open network cables. The 4079 Color Jetprinter, microcode version 250.00, won't allow the printer to show up when going across a router. These early-release 4079s were also released with controller boards (system boards) that did not broadcast a signal strong enough to show up in the Chooser over Farallon PhoneNet. To determine the microcode level, press Main Menu twice, List + twice, then Select twice to print the test page. "Software Version" gives the code level. Lastly, the Apple system peripheral-8 cable will not work reliably with LocalTalk devices; this is an 8-pin to 8-pin straight cable. It is actually made for the StyleWriter printer, not a LocalTalk device. Also make sure that AppleTalk is active under the Chooser; this is how the Macintosh queries the printer. 12. Question: I was trying to print a document on the 4079 and the output looked okay but lines (or dots) were missing from the characters. Why? Answer: First see if the following or subsequent outputs also print with the horizontal voids through the characters. If they do, then the problem may lie in one of the four print heads being clogged. Run a "Long Clean" cycle to fix the problem. "Long Clean" is under the Test menu. Press Main menu twice, Select once, list + until Long Clean is displayed, then press Select. If two of these Long Cleans do not remedy the problem, then the print head may have to be replaced. It is also possible to run the Print Sample under the Clean Heads menu to see which print head is failing. The 4079 has a one year on-site warranty, so if the printer is less than a year old, call IBM service at 800-IBM-SERV (800-426-7378). The Lexmark Technical Support Center can be contacted at 606-232-3000. Lexmark Parts can be contacted at 800-553-9727. Lexmark Supplies can be contacted at 800-438-2468.