AirWriter

Description

The ImageWriter II is a classic dot-matrix printer produced by Apple between 1985 and 1996. They were built like a tank, reliable as heck, and you can still buy new ink ribbons today.

AirWriter is a small device that turns a classic Apple printer, like the ImageWriter II, into an ordinary AirPrint printer accessible on your home network. AirWriter takes whatever your phone or computer sends, rasterizes and dithers it, and streams it to the printer, in color if your ImageWriter II has a color ribbon in.

AirWriter also speaks AppleTalk, so a vintage Mac can print to the same printer with the driver it already has, over your home network or, with the TashTalk add-on, a LocalTalk cable. The Basilisk II and Infinite Mac emulators can print to it too.

The design is inspired by Eurorack synthesizer modules that use printed circuit boards (PCBs) as artistic front panels. The top case is gold plated (rather than tin-copper) with translucency for the 37 LEDs provided by the circuit board substrate itself. The result is a remarkable and unique piece of kit that brings together vintage and modern systems. I hope you have as much fun using it as I did conceiving and designing it 🙂

AirWriter is easy to set up. Just connect to its Wi-Fi network, input your home Wi-Fi name and password, and it’s ready to use. Press the test button on top and it prints a test page with its address on it. Visit that for a handy (and beautifully classic Mac-inspired) settings page with some extra options and debug info.

AirWriter’s hardware design and software are both free and open-source. Buying from Wells Workshop supports the original creator (me!) and continued development of this and other projects.

Configurations

• AirWriter — the full board with 37 mini LEDs behind a dot-grid cover panel, matte black solder mask, gold pads, and translucent black bottom case. A beautiful object.
• AirWriter Lite — the same printing features without the LED array or cover panel: the same black bottom case under a clear acrylic top with the AirWriter mark lasered into it.
• TashTalk add-on — LocalTalk for either build: a PIC12F1840 flashed with TashTalk pre-installed.

What’s inside

• ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 module (8 MB flash, 2 MB PSRAM)
• Two mini-DIN-8 ports: one to the printer, one for LocalTalk
• USB-C power
• A socket for the TashTalk microcontroller (an optional add-on)
• 37 full-color LEDs that show what it’s doing: Wi-Fi, ready, printing, out of paper (not on the Lite)

Requirements

• 2.4GHz Wi-Fi
• A classic Apple printer, like the ImageWriter II
• For the TashTalk add-on, either:
  • A vintage LocalTalk network
  • AirTalk LocalTalk over Wi-Fi device
  • Your own LocalTalk / TashTalk implementation (YMMV, no guarantees!)

Every unit is tested using my own ImageWriter II before it goes in the box. You will need the printer cable a Mac would use with your printer (the crossover one, not straight-through), an optional add-on, otherwise not included.

Hardware is CERN-OHL-S, firmware GPLv3.

Note: while 3D renders are meticulously rendered to give you a realistic sense of what each product looks like, they're not 100% perfect. Some variation or inconsistencies may exist that have little to no impact on aesthetics or functionality, unless otherwise noted. If you have questions or concerns, please ask before purchasing. Thank you!