Did the PET 2020 Printer Ever Get into Production?

[administrator]

FR: Duncan

I had - and still have - an offical 4-page A4 flyer for the UK 'chicklet' PET, as well as a more detailed 8-page A5 flyer (which also features the PET 2020 printer - I only ever saw one of these, at a Commodore demo; did it ever go into production?)

[administrator]

Hi Duncan;

As far as the 2020 goes, I have never seen one but have several flyers making reference to it. The funny thing is the pictures are show 2 obviously different products! I suspect they were little more than prototype based marketing hype.

http://www.commodore.ca/gallery/brochur ... 001_2a.jpg

http://www.commodore.ca/gallery/brochur ... us2020.jpg

http://www.commodore.ca/gallery/brochur ... t_2001.htm

http://www.commodore.ca/history/company ... ochure.htm

Bo Zimmerman's C= list shows no production information. http://www.zimmers.net/commie/docs/cbm-products.txt

Has anyone ever seen a PET 2020 printer?

[minton5]

I've seen and played with a 2020 printer; it was friction feed, using a continuous roll of paper - and the friction was insufficient, which meant that after a few inches (let alone pages!) alignment drifted off. It was included in a Commodore UK publicity session in late 1977 or early 1978, and I gathered from the Commodore people that they knew about the feed problem, and a revised version would be released 'real soon now'. As a PET owner, I really wanted a printer - but even I ruled out a 2020! - duncan

[administrator]

I wonder then if it is was just a prototype, demo batch of 2020's because C= needed to show a printer to sell PET's. Did you ever see a 2020 in a store for sale?

What did you end up buying instead?