Apple Silentype
The Apple Silentype is the first printer from Apple Inc. , announced in 1979 and released in March 1980 for US $ 599, shortly after the Apple II Plus. The firmware of the Silentype was written by Andy Hertzfeld, who later also co-developed the Apple Macintosh . The Silentype is a thermal printer that uses 8.5 inch (21.59 cm) wide special paper and can output 80 lines. It was also compatible with the Apple III. The Silentype printer requires a special interface card or an Apple III with an integrated Silentype port. It is mechanically identical to TrendCom Model 200, with the exception of the Apple logo in the lower left corner of the front cover. The internal layout was completely redesigned by Apple. The relatively expensive microprocessors and memory chips were removed.
At the time, the Silentype was cheap compared to other printers that cost more than US $ 1000 at the time, although the print image could keep up with the dot matrix printers widespread at the time. There were also other advantages over other printers at the time, including quiet operation, very small size, printing speed, and reliability. These properties made the Silentype particularly attractive for use in the hospitality industry.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Apple II History Chapter 13
- ↑ Apple.com - Silentype: Pinouts (10/94)
- ↑ Bernsten, Jeff. Genie, A2 Roundtable, Apr 1991, Category 2, Topic 16