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Printer Cables | Tech Info Home Page |

General Information

Parallel printer cables are used to connect computers to printers. The printer cable has two different types of connectors.

To find printer cables for purchase go to the Printer Cables Hardware page.

On one end there is a 25-pin DB-25 male connector which connects to a female DB-25 connector on the back of the computer. The connector has a screw at each end that needs to be tightened after the connector is in place to provide a good contact.

 

At the printer there is typically a "Centronics" style male connector. The connector has small wire holders at each end and they are pushed up until they snap into place after the connector is mated to the printer.

The printer cables come in various lengths ranging from 3 feet to 12 feet.

Note: Unless you are using special cables rated for longer distance, the total combined cable length should not exceed roughly 10 feet. Even lengths of as little as 10 feet can cause problems. This situation can arise if you connect a printer through a pass-through connector such as a parallel scanner. In this case two cables would be used and if each cable is 6 feet the combined length would make the connection unreliable. The length can be longer with better shielded cables such as the IEEE 1284 cables.

 

DB25, Connectors,

The Connector

DB25_2a.gif (5227 bytes) DB25.gif (10365 bytes)

DB-25 Serial Port Pin-out

< means to DTE,

 > means to DCE

  1. -  FG Frame ground
  2. > TD Transmitted Data
  3. < RD Received Data
  4. > RTS Request To Send
  5. < CTS Clear To Send
  6. < DSR Data Set Ready
  7. - SG Signal Ground
  8. < DCD Data Carrier Detect
  9. < DC +
  10. < DC -
  11. < QM Equalizer Mode
  12. < S DCD Secondary Data Carrier Detect
  13. < S CTS Secondary Clear To Send
  14. > S TD Secondary Transmitted Data
    > NS New Sync
  15. < TC Transmitter Clock
  16. < S RD Secondary Received Data
    < DCT Divided Clock Transmitter
  17. < RC Receiver Clock
  18. < DCR Divided Clock Receiver
  19. > S RTS Secondary Request To Send
  20. > DTR Data Terminal Ready
  21. < SQ Signal Quality Detect
  22. < RI Ring Indicator
  23. > DRS Data Rate Selector
    < DRS Data Rate Selector
  24. > ETC External Transmitter Clock
  25. > BUSY Busy

Loopback plug pin-out - (Female DB-25)
1-7
2-3
4-5-8
6-11-20-22
15-17-23
18-25

Centronics, Connectors

 

Cent36a.gif (8077 bytes) Centronics 36 pin Male Connector

 

 

Links

Parallel Port Pinout

 DB25 Connector  Centronics 36 pin Connector
Pin # ... goes to... =>  Bi-directional   Standard   IEEE-1284 
1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2
3 3 3 3
4 4 4 4
5 5 5 5
6 6 6 6
7 7 7 7
8 8 8 8
9 9 9 9
10 10 10 10
11 11 11 11
12 12 12 12
13 13 13 13
14 14 14 14
15 32 32 32
16 31 31 31
17 36 36 36
18 33 -- 19
19 19 -- 20 & 21
20 21 -- 22 & 23
21 23 -- 24 & 25
22 25 -- 26 & 27
23 27 -- 29
24 29 -- 28
25 30 -- 30

 

 

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