Skip to content

MicroStuffer Printer Buffer

Home    |    Hardware    |    MicroStuffer Printer Buffer
  • REPRINT
  • PORTLAND ATARI CLUB
  • MAY 1985
  • AUTHOR: CLYDE PRITCHARD
  • SUBHEADINGS & GRAPHICS ADDED BY ATARI BASICS

The MicroStuffer, from Microbits Peripheral Products in Albany, Oregon, is a 64K Printer Buffer. It has a 1 year warranty. The list price is $149.95, but it can be purchased locally for as little as $120.00. It is designed to work with any computer that uses the standard Centronics parallel interface. For the Atari, this means that you need an 850 Interface, or one of the other parallel printer interfaces to use the MicroStuffer. I have used the MicroStuffer on my Atari 800 with the 850, an IBM PC, and a KayPro 4. It seems to work fine on all of these systems. 

The installation of the MicroStuffer is quite easy, because it is an external unit rather than an internal unit that requires installation inside the printer. To install the buffer, all you have to do is unplug the printer cable from your printer, plug it into the back of the buffer, then plug the cable from the buffer into the printer, and finally plug in the buffer’s power supply. The power cord is at least six feet long, but the cable from the buffer to the printer is on the short side, only about two feet in length. 

MicroStuffer 64K Printer Buffer by Microbits Peripheral Products, shown with attached cables and front-facing ports on a slightly yellowed plastic casing.

What's a Printer Buffer?

Now, for those of you who aren’t sure what a printer buffer is, I will give a short (hopefully) explanation. A printer buffer is (in most cases) a hardware device that contains RAM (Random Access Memory), and is installed between the computer and the printer. The buffer receives the information to be printed from the computer, stores it in RAM, and sends it to the printer for printing. 

The primary benefit is that the buffer can receive the information much faster than the printer, which means that your computer will think the printing is done long before the printer stops. This is true as long as the amount of RAM in the buffer is large enough to hold everything you are printing. If so, you are able to go on to your next task on the computer while the buffer and printer keep working away. No more long waits for the printer to finish that letter to mom, you can start playing your favorite game right away! 

Back view of the MicroStuffer 64K Printer Buffer showing power input, ribbon cable connection, and 36-pin Centronics-style printer port.

How Does It Work?

The MicroStuffer has only three switches. First is the power on/off switch. Next is a switch to clear the buffer before you start printing your next document. The third switch is a copy switch. This lets you send one copy of your document to the buffer, then use the copy switch to print further copies. You can also use the copy switch to reprint something if you had a paper or ribbon problem the first time. The copy function only works if what you are printing is smaller than 64K. 

There are also two indicator lights on the front panel. One of them indicates how full the buffer is getting by flashing faster and faster as the buffer fills. The second light comes on if the buffer has been overflowed, which means that you cannot use the copy function. 

The MicroStuffer comes with a six page instruction booklet. It covers installation, operation, buffer self-test and has information of printer cable connections. 

Front panel of the MicroStuffer 64K Printer Buffer featuring three labeled LEDs (Repeat, Full, CLR), two black buttons, and a toggle power switch.

There is no discussion of RAM expansion in the manual, and I haven’t had time to contact MPP to see if it can be done, but 64K is more RAM than most of us have in our Atari computers, so it will be adequate for most things that we do at home. 

PHOTO CREDIT: