Canon bj-200 under windows 8 (no LPT)

[DrMrLordX]

I need to run an old Canon BJ-200 on an HP 1155 AiO running Windows 8 64-bit (default installation). It will have to be an adapter cable since PCI cards won't work here.

I've been looking at a Startech cable, but I can't find any evidence supporting the idea that it will work in windows 8 64-bit.

Any suggestions?

 

[fralexandr]

doesn't look like there are even any drivers for the BJ-200 past windows 98/me? This doesn't mean it won't work in XP, however I don't think getting that printer to work on 64-bit is feasible.

The move to 64-bit ended driver support on a lot of printers/scanners/etc much newer than the BJ-200.

 

[code65536]

You could try getting something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833127043

I used one of those for a long time with an old LaserJet from the early 90's. Solves the LPT problem and makes the printer a networked printer--two birds with one stone. And those LaserJets had great generic PCL driver support, too, so that was never an issue.

Not sure how good the generic driver support for that model would be--there are generic Canon inkjet drivers in Windows 8.1, but I don't know how well they would work (if at all) for that particular model.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

You could try getting something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833127043

I used one of those for a long time with an old LaserJet from the early 90's. Solves the LPT problem and makes the printer a networked printer--two birds with one stone. And those LaserJets had great generic PCL driver support, too, so that was never an issue.

Not sure how good the generic driver support for that model would be--there are generic Canon inkjet drivers in Windows 8.1, but I don't know how well they would work (if at all) for that particular model.

That's how I'd do it. I don't know about driver support for that particular model, but I had Win8 recognize an old HP Deskjet 840C without any issues at all. Though that was across USB.

 

[DrMrLordX]

doesn't look like there are even any drivers for the BJ-200 past windows 98/me? This doesn't mean it won't work in XP, however I don't think getting that printer to work on 64-bit is feasible.

This is my mom's old printer from about two decades ago. It ran under XP 32-bit just fine. I've got an XP driver downloaded to install in compatibility mode if Win8 won't choke on it.

The move to 64-bit ended driver support on a lot of printers/scanners/etc much newer than the BJ-200.

Oh yeah, don't I know it. This printer is ancient. But, it works, and the ink is still pretty cheap.

You could try getting something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833127043

Interesting. Sadly, that has a Centronics connector. This printer wants a 25-pin female connector.

I used one of those for a long time with an old LaserJet from the early 90's. Solves the LPT problem and makes the printer a networked printer--two birds with one stone. And those LaserJets had great generic PCL driver support, too, so that was never an issue.

Not sure how good the generic driver support for that model would be--there are generic Canon inkjet drivers in Windows 8.1, but I don't know how well they would work (if at all) for that particular model.

I'll burn that bridge when I come to it. If Win8.1 just can't get along with the BJ-200, we'll have to retire it. It was hard enough getting mom off the XP machine from 2003 with MS pulling the plug. She didn't want Linux, and Vista/7/8 wouldn't have worked on a machine with 512 megs of RAM, so . . .

That's how I'd do it. I don't know about driver support for that particular model, but I had Win8 recognize an old HP Deskjet 840C without any issues at all. Though that was across USB.

That's good to know. I would expect more support for native USB devices, though.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Updating this thread since I found a solution. Someone out there may find this information useful.

First off, in my ignorance, I assumed this Canon BJ-200 needed a 25-pin female connector. It doesn't. It needs a 36-pin Centronics! The printer cable we've had attached to this printer since . . . 1993? It's an adapter cable to connect a 36-pin female Centronics connector to a 25-pin female LPT port on an old PC. All I had to do was pull the adapter cable and, bam, I found the Centronics port on the printer. Duh.

grumble grumble

Anyway, against my advice, my mother went with a USB to Centronics cable (I recommended some of the mini print servers linked above). She bought it locally at Office Depot so she could return it if it didn't work. What she wound up with is an Ativa 828-565 for about three times as much as she could have bought it from eBay. Oh well.

Anyway, the OS gave no indication that it detected anything new installed once this thing was plugged in (I made sure to plug it in while the computer was off). However, when installing a legacy (non-PnP) printer device from device manager, one of the port options was "USB001: Virtual printer port for USB". So I selected that.

Then it asked me to select a driver, but there wasn't anything from the BJ series listed, so I asked Windows Update to extend my list of available print drivers. After about 10 minutes of downloading (slow connection), I found "Canon Bubble-Jet BJ-F200" on the list. I selected that driver, and it worked.

So, yes, you can run a Canon BJ-200 printer under Windows 8 using an Ativa 828-565 USB-to-Centronics cable.

Despite charging a lot of money for this cable, I have to give props to Office Depot for deciding to carry a product that not only works, but works with the latest version of Windows AND with a PC she bought in their store (again, against my advice, but she didn't want a refurb from Tiger Direct, oh well). So maybe they earned their extra bucks by not carrying a confusing array of crap that might or might not work.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

So, yes, you can run a Canon BJ-200 printer under Windows 8 using an Ativa 828-565 USB-to-Centronics cable.

Glad to hear you found a usable solution.

 

[EvanClifthorne]

Thank you for posting your solution! I just made this work with a Canon BJ-100 and couldn't be happier that my grandmother doesn't have to get used to yet another new piece of technology.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Good deal. I am sorry to report that my mother's poor old BJ-200 finally bit the dust (something in the control board/firmware went haywire), so she wound up getting a new printer anyway. Sigh. But, for a brief glorious few months, it did work.