I had one of those. It could wake the dead.
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“Video unavailable”
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We were at a car dealership that still uses one.
I had a printer that used something like a daisy wheel, but more of a cup shape. That thing sounded like a machine gun going off and, as I lived in an apartment, I was very mindful about using it. One night I was printing out some homework and one of the letters (or the spoke that had the letter) broke off, I think it was ‘s’ or ‘e’. There was a blotch wherever that letter was supposed to appear…
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Possibly a NEC Spinwriter. I had one for a while. Built to survive a direct bomb strike, as I recall, and loud as one too.
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I’ve seen a similar printer live in concert.
Man or Astroman - A Simple Text File
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Above: Youtube of Apple Imagewriter ɪ ɪ
Apple Image Writer ɪ ɪ is the one most ingrained in my mind. My father used one until not to all that long ago. He misses Apple Works.
I can’t remember what printer had a LPT (Line Print Terminal) code or codes that put the printer into a “diagnostic” mode that basically systematically lengthened the heads travel and return, until it hit resonance with the table, and then slowly fell out of phase again. I haven’t used those brain cells since the 90s and I don’t even know if I am using the proper terminology. I have no idea why I want to wake those brain cells.
Edit: Added- I think it was a long brown Epson. Super wide. But it could have been emulating an Epson printer (Via a DIP setting). I don’t know if I am remembering the DIP switches or the printer. I think it even had a character cartridge with a dial that was irritating to get to.
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At a previous job, my employer had to print out labels on barrels of waste chemicals, incoming chemicals, scraps, etc. Working in California, we have a lot of regulations and the labels had to be printed: To be fully legible and be able to withstand exposure to daylight+rain+temperature+etc. and still be legible 6 months later. But all the current printing methods rub/wash/deteriorate quickly. We could buy a $5,000 USD solution…all-in-one-printing system.
The only other option: Sit down with a Fine-point permanate Magic-Marker and HAND-WRITE Every Single Label…which is what they were doing for the first year until I heard about this issue.
Instead, I had previously found an old Dot Matrix Accounting Printer that printed the old very-wide format. We hooked it up to an older computer with a Centrix-standard parallel port, bought the $50 USD software, found a place online that supplied printing ribbons(!)…and saved $4,900! It was in-use for years…until our plant was closed (the division was sold to another company).
TQQdles™
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Strange ProDOS there. So what twist of fate do I key in to see witness to the Imagewriter I I meet Russian Overclocking where they stick supply capacitors 5x what they normally are on the board, and put printing plates around the platen?
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Back in t’old days, when I were a young programmer, still getting to grips with punch-cards, we used to repair to t’pub at lunchtime. It was a good idea to buy a drink for the operators (we had OPERATORS back then!) for those who failed to do that, tended to find that a crucial punchcard would have dropped out of their program pack. We used to vie with each other to see who could imitate the sound of a dot matrix printer. We never seemed to tire of it. Perhaps the alcohol had something to do with that.
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Respect & appropriate offerings prevent BOFHs from fucking with you.
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So what twist of fate do I key in to see witness to the Imagewriter I I meet Russian Overclocking where they stick supply capacitors 5x what they normally are on the board, and put printing plates around the platen? -@Flossaluzitarin
I do not know, but I am sure if it does not exist yet Bruce Sterling or William Gibson will call it into being by starting to write a story with that as a minor element only out that it already existed as they wrote about it, not realizing that they were shaping the near future as they wrote.
I can say that they Image Writer ɪ ɪ had a primitive scanner attachment that was the shape of ink ribbon cartridge. The sheet feeder also was terrible. ProDos opened the ability to use more RAM or even a RAM disk before GSos did.
You got me thinking though. The pins were metal, and possibly one could conduct electricity through them to foil paper, and that could act like a printing plate if it removed… I have too many projects.
I have to run a self check.
] KERNEL OK ▌
Edit, add- that should just be KERNEL OK, but I’ll leave the prompt and cursor because I remember it like that with the bell (control-G) sound, but longer sounding and pitched differently.
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Came to the comments to post this. Glad I didn’t need to!
The scanner was called a “Thunderscan”:
https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=Thunderscan.txt
Andy Hertzfeld, from the original Macintosh team, helped with this product.
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Same. 
Saw them play it live back in the day too
Paul Slocum has released the source code for his project to turn the Epson LQ-500 printer into a synth: http://www.qotile.net/dotmatrix.html
I think that was it.
I borrowed an HP Inkjet to finish the assignment, then plunked down $100 to buy one for myself. That wasn’t a fortune in 1995 but nonetheless it cleaned me out until the next payday. That particular HP turned out to be a PoS.
Or don’t care about printing speed.
It was not long ago they were still used for cash register tapes. I remember standing in line waiting for one to slowly print a receipt for each customer. When my turn came, I found it was laboriously printing “THANK YOU - HAVE A NICE DAY” in big letters.
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Imagine if CVS still used them for that one- to two-yard length of paper they give you for that single item you purchased.
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Yeah, your warranty is five years or until your proof-of-purchase fades away.
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We still use them for address and incident details in the fire service, in use all over the UK, incident summaries on return to station can produce miles of paper after a big job.
