Newton IrDA printing update

Just recently I have been working out the best way to print from a Newton. Normally, I will run a mile to avoid having to print, so I will send email, faxes, or even beam notes to another Newton so that I don't have to get involved with configuring a printer. But the two most recent Newton models, the eMate 300 and the MessagePad 2000, both support printing via IrDA (infra-red link) to a suitable printer. The Hewlett-Packard DeskJet 340C has an infra-red option, and is one of only two IrDA printers supported by Newton (the other is the Hewlett-Packard Laser Jet 5MP). It prints well and the results look good, but the first page took more than five minutes to print. This can be corrected by installing the IrDA printing patch, available from the Newton web site.

With the patch installed a full page took around a minute to print to the DeskJet.

Words and design by:
Paul Lynch
Last updated: November 21, 1997