SX PARTS CATALOG

PRINTERS AND CONTROLLERS
QMS PS-810 Series

QMS-PS 815 AND -PS 825 PRINTERS

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Controller Notes | Supplies and Accessories | Ordering Information | Text Only

Model Information

GENERAL INFORMATION

The 815 and the 825 are the replacements for the 810/820 and 810/820 turbo printers. The QMS-PS 815 and PS 825 are the big cousins of the very popular 4 ppm PS 410. The 410, 815, 825 have four features that previous QMS PostScript based printers did not have: ESP, SIO, FontCard Slots, and LCD operator control panel. The PS-825 is the dual bin version of the PS-815. All other features are the same.

ESP Emulation Sensing Processor

The PS 410, 815, and 825 all have automatic emulation sensing and interface switching, which QMS calls ESP. The incoming data stream is monitored and the processor determines whether the data is a PostScript program or HP LaserJet language commands. It then sets the emulation mode automatically. Users no longer need to concern themselves with switches on the controller or commands from the host computer to select emulation mode. This can be important in installations where the printer is being shared between a Mac and PC (at least when the PC is running non-PostScript programs).

SIO Simultaneous Interface Operation

With SIO, all interfaces (AppleTalk, RS-232, and Centronics Parallel) are always active. ESP and SIO were introduced with the 410 and QMS added them to the 8 ppm line with the 815 and 825. Previous QMS printers had to have switches set on the controller to enable the specific parallel or serial port, and only one port could be active at a time.

LCD Control Panel

Unlike the earlier QMS-PS800/800+, PS-Jet/Jet+, PS-810/820, and PS-810 turbo/820 turbo printers that offered only status LED's, the 815/825 control panel is based on the Canon circuit design first introduced with the HP LaserJet Series II and the Canon LBP-8II. This standard circuit assembly is also used by most other OEM buyers of SX printers. It's different from the unique one QMS used for the rarely seen Kiss Plus. The versatile panel design can easily be customized with OEM unique lexan overlays, different colors and numbers of LED's, different numbers of momentary switches, and special programming of messages and languages on the alphanumeric LCD display. QMS did a brilliant job of implementing the design and programming of the full-function panel for the PS-815/825 printers. Set-up and control commands are very intuitive and easy to learn. The status messages are very nice to watch as they indicate exactly what's happening at every instant. It displays "PROCESSING" when creating the image in memory, it displays "PRINTING" when sending the rasters to the printer, and states "ON-LINE IDLE" when waiting for data. All of the usual error messages are also displayed, and a nice set-up menu is included for controlling special features and options.

Font Card Slots

The 410, 815, and 825 all have font card slots. These cards are intended for adding additional resident fonts and emulations such as HP-GL.

FONT INFORMATION

The PS 815 and 825 have 45 resident fonts, just like the PS 410. These fonts are the standard 35 plus 6 styles of Adobe Garamond and 4 styles of Helvetica Condensed (similar to Helvetica Narrow).

REFURBISHED PRINTERS AVAILABLE

The QMS-PS 815 and 825 have been discontinued, but The Printer Works can build them from parts at special request. Refurbished printers are in like-new condition and come with a Six-Month Warranty. For a price quote, select the printer's part number in the ordering information table.

Controller Notes

Model Information | Supplies and Accessories | Ordering Information | Text Only

The PS-815/825 controller is a completely new design for QMS. The only similarity to the earlier PS-810/820 turbo controller is that they are both based on the Motorola 68020. The PS-815/825 uses a fast 20 MHz 68020, while the older PS-810 turbo uses the 16 MHz version. The single-tray SX-based QMS-PS 815 and the two-tray TX based QMS-PS 825 use exactly the same controller board.

The controller determines whether it is installed in an SX or a TX engine and changes the start-up page accordingly. If the controller sees a TX DC controller, the top-left corner of the start-up page will have a banner printed that reads "QMS-PS 825". If the same controller is installed in an SX engine the banner will read "QMS-PS 815". A second name appears in the top-center of the start-up page. This is the user programmable name which appears on the Apple chooser. This name is preset at the QMS factory to match the printer model name. The programmable name can easily be changed to comply with the PS Executive utilities that are shipped with the printer. The controller determined name cannot be changed without changing the control programs in ROM.

On board RAM is 2 MB, but it can be expanded up to 8 Megabytes with the addition of slide-in cards that are factory populated with 2, 4, or 6 megabytes of surface-mount RAM chips. To our knowledge, an expandable memory card is not currently available from QMS or any other third party memory board manufacturer.

The PS-815 design includes many new features. The most noticeable difference is the addition of two IC card slots for font data and optional emulations.

We noticed that when printing a simple text document the controller appears to be essentially "single-tasking". It does not process incoming data during printing. This resulted in text printing that was only 6.2 ppm as opposed to the full 8 ppm rated speed of the engine. The control panel displayed "PRINTING" for about 8 seconds and "PROCESSING" for about 2 seconds for each page. Other Adobe implementations we've tested print text at full-speed, since the contoller can receive, rasterize, and drive the print engine simultaneously when the data is simple text. Adding extra memory did not improve the speed, as it does with some controller designs that use the extra memory to build the next page while sending the current page to the printer. This dual-page processing is sometimes called "duplexing". Xante has it and they call it "Advanced Memory Management".

Supplies and Accessories

Model Information | Controller Notes | Ordering Information | Text Only

You can check prices or order these items from the ordering information table below.

TONER

The QMS-PS 815 and 825 use the same toner cartridges as all other SX-based printers.

PAPER HANDLING

The QMS-PS 815 and 825 printers use the same shaped paper trays and high-capacity feeders as all other SX-based printers. All versions are physically interchangeable, but there are slight color differences. (See also Diagram 300.)

MEMORY

On board RAM is 2 MB, but it can be expanded up to 8 Megabytes with the addition of slide-in cards that are factory populated with 2, 4, or 6 megabytes of surface-mount RAM chips. To our knowledge, an expandable memory card is not currently available from QMS or any other third party memory board manufacturer.

CONTROLLER UPGRADE OPTIONS

For improved print quality, the 815/825 MR controllers presented in the next section are the logical upgrade. These controllers offer all of the benefits of the 815 controller, plus they can print at 600 dpi.

Ordering Information

Model Information | Controller Notes | Supplies and Accessories | Text Only

For price and ordering information or to place the item in your shopping cart,
select a Part Number in the table.

Model Information | Controller Notes | Supplies and Accessories | Text Only