The Printer Works

CX Parts Catalog

Printers and Controllers
QMS Lasergrafix Controllers

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Quality Micro Systems Lasergrafix Controllers

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Model Information

GENERAL INFORMATION

Quality Micro Systems (QMS) was founded in Mobile, Alabama, by James L. Busby in 1977, and became one of the pioneers in the laser printer business. The company initially developed controller technology in the form of graphics add-on cards, called Magnum boards, for industrial line printers. These improved printer interfaces were popular for labeling boxes in factories and warehouses. The magnum boards converted standard character printers into graphics output devices that printed large letters for people to read from a distance and bar codes for computers to read. QMS management was early to recognize the potential of laser printers and became one of the first OEM customers for the Canon LBP-10 (the limited edition predecessor to the CX), as well as the Xerox 2700 and Ricoh 4150 printers.

QMS marketed a CX-based printer for virtually every application and market segment. This wide array of products is recounted in this and the next three pages.

QMS Lasergrafix

The QMS Lasergrafix family consists of:

QMS Lasergrafix 800: Suggested Retail Price: $6,495

QMS Lasergrafix 800 II: Suggested Retail Price: $7,995

CONTROLLERS OR REFURBISHED PRINTER AVAILABLE

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Controller Notes

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CONTROLLER SPECIFICATIONS

Part Number                     CPU (Lower Board): 2390334G
                                Memory (Middle Board): 2390335
                                Interface (Upper Board): 2390325
                                Parallel Daughter Board): 2390156A
                                RS-232 Daughter Board: 2390155A
                                3270 Daughter Board: 2390159B

Designer/Mfg.                   QMS

Design Similar to               None

Languages (Std & Opt)           QUIC, Diablo, Qume, Tektronix 4010/4014

CPU & Clock Rate                68000 running @ 8 MHz

Base RAM                        512K

Max/RAM                         2 Megabytes

ROM                             Up to 2 Megabytes

Control Panel Type              7-Segment LED on Printer

Standard Interfaces             RS-232 for testing

Optional Interfaces             RS-232, Centronics, IBM 3270, SCSI, & Others

QMS Lasergrafix Controller for CX Engines

An "External Video Controller"

At many points in this catalog, we refer to "External Video Interface" versions or the "VDO" model. The Lasergrafix controller is a classic example of an external video controller. It was one of the very first laser printer controllers ever designed. Inside the large Lasergrafix controller box are three large circuit boards, plus a fourth, smaller board for the host interface, called a "daughter board." A daughter is basically a sort of circuit card, which "piggy-backs" onto a larger card that is often called a "mother board." Many different daughter boards were designed to match various host computer interfaces. In this way, all host interfaces were essentially optional and only one interface could be used at a time.

Lasergrafix controllers were designed at the dawn of the laser printer industry: circa 1982, about two years before the CX engine was introduced. At that time, Canon was manufacturing the forerunner of the CX, called the LBP-10. Evidently, the LBP-10 was not nearly as robust as the CX and it required considerable tweaking to obtain decent image quality. Lasergrafix controllers found homes in the science and engineering departments at many colleges and universities. Custom applications were often written for things like map making. Sometimes, the only output device compatible with the application was a Lasergrafix printer equipped with QMS's proprietary graphics language, called QUIC.

By today's standards, the original Lasergrafix controllers seem ridiculously large, cumbersome and expensive to manufacturer. One has to remember that this large, external box was conceived at a time when no one really knew how laser printers were going to be used or what languages they would interpret. The flexible and expandable architecture of the Lasergrafix controller allowed QMS to change and adapt the design quickly and inexpensively as the market evolved. Eventually smaller, embedded versions of the Lasergrafix family were created. Lasergrafix-based printers were manufactured and marketed by QMS from 1982 to about 1992, when QMS management decided that the sacred Lasergrafix cow should finally become history.

Ordering Information

Model Information | Controller Notes | Return to Graphic Version

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

PRINTER

Part Number           Description

4700002               Printer, QMS-Lasergrafix 800C


CONTROLLER BOARDS WITH FIRMWARE

Part Number           Description

1720461               QMS-LaserGrafix for CX


DOCUMENTATION

Part Number           Description

1720461A              Manual, QMS, LaserGrafix

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