I'm often asked what type of cable does one buy to connect their old HP Plotter to a computer that doesn't have a parallel port. For those of you who remember, the parallel port is the 32 pin connection that was used (in the olden days) on all printers and a big fat gray cable connected the printer to the computer.
Today you need to use the USB to Parallel Cable like the one pictured at the left. When searching for this cable look for "Bidirectional USB to Parallel Printer Cable." The best idea is to buy a new one, unless you already have one that is proven to work. USBs are tricky little things and there is nothing more frustrating than trying to get a driver loaded and thinking that you've done something wrong when it won't work and doing it over and over...only to later realize it is the USB cable that is bad! If the cable you are using doesn't specify "BI-DIRECTIONAL" it is probably not going to work right and yet it will appear that it is working.
So, don't be cheap...go and buy a new one! You can buy it online for about $19. But remember, if it doesn't say Bi-Directional in the details on the packaging or product info, it is NOT the cord or cable that you want!
Today you need to use the USB to Parallel Cable like the one pictured at the left. When searching for this cable look for "Bidirectional USB to Parallel Printer Cable." The best idea is to buy a new one, unless you already have one that is proven to work. USBs are tricky little things and there is nothing more frustrating than trying to get a driver loaded and thinking that you've done something wrong when it won't work and doing it over and over...only to later realize it is the USB cable that is bad! If the cable you are using doesn't specify "BI-DIRECTIONAL" it is probably not going to work right and yet it will appear that it is working.
So, don't be cheap...go and buy a new one! You can buy it online for about $19. But remember, if it doesn't say Bi-Directional in the details on the packaging or product info, it is NOT the cord or cable that you want!