new printer

[lane416]

Looking to buy a printer, notice they have system requirements. I Have win 95, 166 mhz, 80 ram, 2 gig harddrive, how important are these for new printer? Looking at mimimum req. of: 64 ram, 233 mhz, 100 mb free space. Thanks.

[Mark Miller]

HI,
I hope you don't have a problem finding one new to work with win 95. Also processor seems a little slow. The three best names though are epson, hp, and lexmark. Some of the real inexpensive basic ones could work. Hope fully someone else will post with a more solid answer.
Anyway Welcome to Pc Guide.
Mark:D

[Steve]

Hi lane416,

You shouldn't have a problem. Just get a basic printer with a parallel port connection. You can't really use USB with win95.

You don't mention what you want to do with this printer so I'll presume basic stuff.

HERE (http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1472279742.1039654 543@@@@&BV_EngineID=eadcfliifedebfdmcfjgckidnf.0&oid=22966681) is a pretty good one.

HERE'S (http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1472279742.1039654 543@@@@&BV_EngineID=eadcfliifedebfdmcfjgckidnf.0&infoType=Specs&oid=22708391&category=Products) another good one.

Good luck. Hope it helps...:)

[Paleo Pete]

The printer itself shouldn't have a problem working in some fashion with even a 286 machine, it's the software that comes with it that requires a certain CPU speed and memory. I've used a HP DeskJet 400 on a 286 machine, it worked fine and didn't exist until several years after the 286 was designed. The fonts were very limited, but it would print color graphics from an ancient Paint type program pretty well, and great text, but the only font available was something that looked exactly like a typewriter...

As mentioned above, you might want to stick with a parallel printer, what little USB support did exist with windows 95 was in the 95B version, and was flaky at best. USB at that time was very new technology and wasn't even close to perfected, most of the bugs weren't worked out until winodws 98 SE was released a few years later.

In the case of a win95 machine I would think it would be a good idea to check out parallel printers and not worry about software requirements, then check the Internet to be sure Win95 drivers can be found for any specific printer you like before buying.

The software requirements will be an issue, but usually only pertaining to the software applications included on the CD that comes with the printer. Often they will include applications to create greeting cards, business cards, print pictures, business presentations etc. Some of the applications already on the computer should handle those tasks, and many can be downloaded from the Internet as well.

Again, remember to make sure you can find Win95 drivers before buying...

[david eaton]

I have found that HP seem to have the most varied selection of drivers.
Just replaced my deskjet1220c, and drivers for win3.1 are included! Win 95 is not a problem with any of their printers.

DON'T get a winprinter - one that relies on windows to do the processing - unless you want your computer to reach the speed of molasses on a frosty day!

David

[Mark Miller]

Hi Dave
Good to know about win 95 and printers [I did not know this] I am going to dig out my wife's old notebook and see if it works with my printer. With the proper drivers of course. I also realize all the software might nort work.
Thanks again Mark:)

[yawningdog]

Um, good luck finding a parallel printer. When I was printer shopping about 2 months ago, everything at Best Buy was usb.