Would like to know before I buy
by Jerry Downs
on
May 24, 2008 at 6:52:42 pm
I posted this on another forum - I think this is the right place now - so here goes a re-post
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Before I spend money on Virtual software - I would like to know if what I would like to accomplish will work. I have a 2.8 iMac Intel Core 2 Duo - running OS X 10.5.2. My color laser printer (used for many years with a PC - but still has a lot of good life in it) is a Konica Minolta MC2300DL. I have searched for drivers to have this printer work with the iMac to no avail. I am thinking of adding VMware and Windows XP to the iMac - to gain the use of the printer and a few Windows based programs that I might like having on the Mac. If I don't gain the use of the printer using virtual software - I really don't see the use of paying for VMware and XP - it would be easier to buy a decent quality inexpensive printer for the iMac.
If anyone has experienced virtual software and driver success such as this - would you share your experiences?
Re: Would like to know before I buy by Tim Wilson on May 24, 2008 at 8:13:12 pm
[Jerry Downs]"Before I spend money on Virtual software - I would like to know if what I would like to accomplish will work."
Yes, this is the forum. :-)
An utter drag that they didn't write Mac drivers for that, ain't it? I think the first one they did Mac drivers for was the 2350, which we had and loved.
So my first suggestion is to download the drivers for THAT one. It's the same series, so you'll likely be fine. You might not have access to model-specific features -- toner watching and such -- but I bet you'll be able to print. The drivers are on the OS side, so it won't hurt the printer for you to try it.
If that doesn't work, you have a couple of other options. The good news on the virtualization front is that both VMware and Parallels offer free trials. Some people like one or the other, but both are awesome tools.
Those are both good if you want to run Mac and Windows at the same time.
Don't forget that you can use the Boot Camp Assistant to create a Windows partition that you can boot from. Kind of a PITA to reboot when you just want to print...but especially if you've got Windows apps you'd like to run, you can't beat the price.
Re: Would like to know before I buy by Jerry Downs on May 24, 2008 at 11:22:23 pm
Dumb question - Is it the Linux Driver that I want to try on the iMac? I find a multitude of drivers for Windows for the Magic Color 2350 - but only 1 Linux driver and no Mac OS drivers.
Re: Would like to know before I buy by Tim Wilson on May 25, 2008 at 12:46:57 am
Not at all a dumb question. These guys REALLY don't make it easy.
Getting this far is easy enough. That's actually as far as I can link -- the driver downloads for the 2350.
The easiest way to get what you're looking for is to use the green "Quick Links" drop-down menu. Select "Drivers, PPDs & Utilities." That will take you to a burnt-orange-ish dropdown menu. From THERE you can select the Mac OS X driver.
I should have mentioned that there's another way that this is a bit of a crapshoot too -- they haven't updated the drivers for a few years now. Again, the worst thing that'll happen is that the drivers don't work, so it can't hurt to try.
Re: Would like to know before I buy by Jerry Downs on May 25, 2008 at 12:25:48 pm
Thanks for all the patience - and good directions. I downloaded the driver - installed and got the computer to recognize the printer - however when printing a 2 line document - I ended up with 6 printed pages of nonsense.
I assume the next step would be - buy an XP OS (I read on another post that Newegg has good prices on an XP Service pack 2) - install the XP version of the 2300DL driver with VMware? OR... - just buy a printer that works with an iMac.
Re: Would like to know before I buy by Tim Wilson on May 26, 2008 at 1:54:13 am
Oh well, sorry about the drivers. Would have been nice, huh? :-)
The question about virtualization or new printer is up to you. When you and I bought our color laser printers back in the day, inkjets were a joke. They looked like poo. Now there are inkjets for a couple of hundred bucks that can print pictures every bit as pretty as those Magicolors did...and sometimes better...and always faster.
So if all you need is a color printer without a lot of advanced paper and job management, get any inkjetter with decent reviews. They're all at least GOOD, and really, really good ones aren't at all hard to find.
That said, those management features may be exactly what you need from your color laser printer, in which case inkjets are almost certainly out of the question for you.
But if you want to use the printer AND have access to your Windows software, or use all of the features of your printer for your Mac docs, go for virtualization.
Re: Would like to know before I buy by Les Kaye on May 28, 2008 at 8:39:20 am
Can't answer your specific printer question, but here's my 2 cents (and this may be echoed elsewhere here):
First, did you contact the manufacturer directly?
Secondly, as long as you have the original drivers, I don't see why your Windows printer would not work using Virtualization. I had an old HP Officejet that did fine under Parallels.
Next, I'm using VMware Fusion with Boot Camp, also because of a few specific Win apps I need. As Tim mentions elsewhere you may be better off simply getting another printer. If your printer is that old (and it probably is if you can't find Mac drivers), you can get something that may be 1/10 the cost, offers more features, and will be less of a headache - regardless of whether or not there's still life in it. And it will work with either OS.
As for Boot Camp, VMware Fusion and Parallels: Boot Camp is fine if you need to need a purely Windows box. But unless you need that serious unrestricted hardware power for games or specific apps like Avid, don't bother with Boot Camp. Under BC, you will need to authenticate VMware (and I believe Parallels) whenever you want to run XP, nor will you be able to simply put XP into standby if using Virtualization with Boot Camp. It's ALWAYS a Power Off - which means "powering up" XP each time. At least that's how it is with VMware.
That said, I do prefer working with Fusion over Parallels. Haven't had to use VMware support yet, but Parallel's was pretty atrocious - and I was an early adopter. If you do a web search you'll also find the consensus seems to be that Fusion is a bit more robust and less buggy - something I can vouch for. The one caveat with Fusion is you need to really "READ THE *** MANUAL" or go through the fairly nicely laid out setup tutorials. Otherwise there will be things that you'll miss (as one of my posts here will attest).
Finally, I have an Epson R200 printer, which is used by both OSx & XP using Bonjour. One of its key features is direct CD printing. In OSx I'm using wireless printing through my Airport Extreme, and for Bonjour, VMware installed generic HP printer drivers for use with the Epson, which means I can't print to CD - at least not yet. You might have a similar problem with your Konica if you'll be doing the same. VMware does offer other options for printer sharing. When I was using Tiger, Parallels was installed within OSx, and I was able to use direct CD printing in both os environments.
Finally, as more Mac apps become available, I find that I have very little need to print in Windows, and as soon as Quicken for the Mac (finally) gains parity with windows, I'll probably jettison Boot Camp.
