Hey, I just got a dot matrix printer in 2019, and you can still buy ribbons for ยฃ 5.
using System.IO; using System.Runtime.InteropServices; using Microsoft.Win32.SafeHandles; public class ParallelPrinter { [DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)] static extern SafeFileHandle CreateFile(string lpFileName, FileAccess dwDesiredAccess, uint dwShareMode, IntPtr lpSecurityAttributes, FileMode dwCreationDisposition, uint dwFlagsAndAttributes, IntPtr hTemplateFile); public static void Print(string text) { using (SafeFileHandle fileHandle = CreateFile("LPT1:", FileAccess.Write, 0, IntPtr.Zero, FileMode.OpenOrCreate, 0, IntPtr.Zero)) { if (fileHandle.IsInvalid == true) throw new ApplicationException("Printer is Invalid"); using (FileStream stream = new FileStream(fileHandle, FileAccess.Write)) { using (StreamWriter writer = new StreamWriter(stream, Encoding.ASCII)) { writer.Write(text); } } } } }
There are no drivers, you just need a parallel port, you can get a PCI-e card if you do not have one.
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