I have a wideformat printer which only connects via scsi or parallel cable. On the printing unit, it has 2 ports - there's what obviously looks like a parallel port - 25 hole for a 25 pin connector. There's also another port which is small, slim and looks like a stretched out triangle - actually it has 4 corner points but it closely resembles a rectangle. Today, I went to get a parallel cable and found out that I'd get more out of a scsi cable, because it's way faster. However - I went online and saw various scsi cables - also the back of my desktop doesn't have the triangular port - only the parallel port (which is why I was looking into purchasing a parallel cable). I saw ones that had 25 pins and I saw ones that had the triangular shape that looked like it'll fit in the other port on the printing unit. My question is: Will the 25 pin scsi cable work if I plug it into the parallel port on my computer and the parallel port on the printing unit? Which scsi connector is best to get - the 25 pin or triangular one? If the triangular one is the best to get is there a card available that has the triangular port , that I could install on my computer? The wide format printer I have is Canon BJ W9000 - it's an old but functional printer. Thank you very much.

Canon's web site info for the W9000 makes no mention of a parallel port. That "obvious" parallel port may in fact be a narrow 25 pin SCSI port. You would need to add to your computer a SCSI adapter card such as the Adaptec 2906 (http://www.adaptec.com/en-US/products/scsi_tech/entry/AVA-2906/). Also see SCSI Connectors (http://www.ramelectronics.net/scsi_connectors.ep). Are the HD50 connectors your other connector? An Adaptec 2930 (http://www.adaptec.com/en-US/products/scsi_tech/entry/AHA-2930CU/) would suit that style of connector.

Note I used Adaptec as an example only, numerous other vendors make compatible (and probably less expensive) SCSI adapters.

Canon's web site info for the W9000 makes no mention of a parallel port. That "obvious" parallel port may in fact be a narrow 25 pin SCSI port. You would need to add to your computer a SCSI adapter card such as the Adaptec 2906 (http://www.adaptec.com/en-US/products/scsi_tech/entry/AVA-2906/). Also see SCSI Connectors (http://www.ramelectronics.net/scsi_connectors.ep). Are the HD50 connectors your other connector? An Adaptec 2930 (http://www.adaptec.com/en-US/products/scsi_tech/entry/AHA-2930CU/) would suit that style of connector.

Note I used Adaptec as an example only, numerous other vendors make compatible (and probably less expensive) SCSI adapters.

I am using a 2930CU at the moment with one of these printers. I believe it's an UltraSCSI card with a high density 50 pin connector. I'm wondering if there may be a pci-express version of this card as the Mac Pro now doesn't have PCI slots.

Thanks on advance for your help.
Craig

I'm wondering if there may be a pci-express version of this card as the Mac Pro now doesn't have PCI slots.

Adaptec has a 29320LPE (http://www.adaptec.com/en-US/products/Controllers/Hardware/scsi/entry/ASC-29320LPE/) PCI-E adapter but the specifications do not list Mac as a supported operating system (inquire with Adaptec). The only adapter with listed Mac support that I could find with a casual search is a Atto UL5D (http://www.attotech.com/ultra5D.html) which is rather expensive. A Firewire-SCSI adapter such as Ratoc's (http://www.ratocsystems.com/english/products/FR1SX.html) may be a less expensive solution but confirm printer compatibility with the vendor first.

Adaptec has a 29320LPE (http://www.adaptec.com/en-US/products/Controllers/Hardware/scsi/entry/ASC-29320LPE/) PCI-E adapter but the specifications do not list Mac as a supported operating system (inquire with Adaptec). The only adapter with listed Mac support that I could find with a casual search is a Atto UL5D (http://www.attotech.com/ultra5D.html) which is rather expensive. A Firewire-SCSI adapter such as Ratoc's (http://www.ratocsystems.com/english/products/FR1SX.html) may be a less expensive solution but confirm printer compatibility with the vendor first.

Scleros,
Thanks for your reply. I rang Adaptec and they confirmed no support for the Mac which is a shame. Initial searches on the Atto show a price of just over £300 which is expensive but if it gets the printer working will be a lot cheaper than replacing the whole printer. The Ratoc FR1SX looks a lot more like it in terms of price at just over £100 but like you say it depends on compatibility with the Canon. I did ring Canon this morning to ask the initial question asked here but they were particularly useless when it came to knowledge of SCSI and as a get-out told me that the product was too old to be supported anyway, I got the impression they couldn't be bothered to deal with it. I know there is always a risk with converters/emulators but I guess as long as the computer recognises it as an Ultra SCSI port then hopefully it should work.
Thanks again for your help, I'm sure it will prove invaluable.
Craig