Apple's five most important printers

Remember when Apple made printers? Yes, printers. Apple once produced--and was quite famous for--its own printer line that worked well with its computers. This may come as a surprise to newer members of the Apple community, especially in light of a modern Apple corporate ethos that often fetishizes the glossy and the cutting edge. In a world of iPods and iPhones, flat-panel all-in-one Macs and sleek laptops, machines that squirt ink on dead trees seem like the last thing Jobs and Co. would be interested in.

Of course, Apple did make printers--for 20 years--and the wizened old fogies amongst you are probably already tabulating mental lists of every single Apple printer you've ever laid a finger on. (This slideshow of Apple's most memorable printer models may help jog your memory.)

Apple printers stake out a significant portion of the company's history that many often overlook. To rectify that, let's begin a new era of Apple printer appreciation with an analysis of the history's five most important Apple printers.

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Remember when Apple made printers? Yes, printers. Apple once produced--and was quite famous for--its own printer line that worked well with its computers. This may come as a surprise to newer members of the Apple community, especially in light of a modern Apple corporate ethos that often fetishizes the glossy and the cutting edge. In a world of iPods and iPhones, flat-panel all-in-one Macs and sleek laptops, machines that squirt ink on dead trees seem like the last thing Jobs and Co. would be interested in.

Of course, Apple did make printers--for 20 years--and the wizened old fogies amongst you are probably already tabulating mental lists of every single Apple printer you've ever laid a finger on. (This slideshow of Apple's most memorable printer models may help jog your memory.)

Apple printers stake out a significant portion of the company's history that many often overlook. To rectify that, let's begin a new era of Apple printer appreciation with an analysis of the history's five most important Apple printers.

While reading through this, keep in mind that these printers aren't necessarily the best or highest selling models--they're the ones that had the most impact and influence over time.

5. Apple LaserWriter 8500

(Image Caption: Apple LaserWriter 8500)

• Released: August 1997
• Type: Laser
• Original Price: $3,100

Why it's important: The LaserWriter 8500 is much more important symbolically than technologically: as the last printer Apple introduced, it marked the end of a long line of technical excellence in Apple printers. It also marked the end of a famous brand that revolutionized publishing.

Apple endured a famously bad financial first half of the 1990s, and while cleaning house around 1997, Apple decided that printers weren't part of its core business. Apple downsized its printer division and ceased work on new printers, but still produced a few models--like the 8500--until 1999.

By that time, printers had become a cutthroat business with low profit margins, and universal standards like USB and Ethernet (both supported by Apple in 1998) obviated the need for Apple to provide specialized printers to interface with the Macintosh's unique LocalTalk port or to operate on an exclusively AppleTalk network.

The LaserWriter 8500 itself was a beast of a machine; as a 600-dpi workgroup printer, Apple designed it to handle multiple paper sizes and a heavy workload (20 pages per minute). Its translucent-green accents foreshadowed the radical design revolution Apple's products would undergo the following year, making it the closest thing to an "iPrinter" you'll ever find.

4. Apple StyleWriter

(Image Caption: Apple StyleWriter)

• Released: March 1991
• Type: Inkjet
• Original Price: $599

Why it's important: In the early 1990s, inkjet printers like the StyleWriter quickly overtook dot-matrix printers in the low-end consumer printer market due to their low noise, low price, and ability to print almost laser-quality graphics on plain sheets of fancy-looking cut paper (no more tractor feed!).

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