Grappler CD (Commodore 64)

Grappler CD (Commodore 64)

This ad is from the June/July issue of Commodore Power/Play and advertisers an add-on for the Commodore 64 that most people don't think of being an add-on today (because it isn't usually). It's for a printer interface.

The Commodore 64 did not provide a standard printer port out of the box. However, it had a user port that could be adapted to a number of uses, including as a printer port. Unfortunately, this required buying a separate adapter. These typically cost in the neighborhood of $30-$50 depending on the brand and time period we are talking about.

There were printers by Commodore and other 3rd party vendors that would connect directly to your Commodore 64 without an adapter but your choices would have been very limited. Adapters like these would allow you to connect your Commodore 64 to most major printers of the time. These would have been printers that connected to a parallel port (this was pre-USB) and usually either dot matrix or daisy wheel though an expensive laser printer was also a possibility.

I never heard of this particular printer interface and have no idea what the "CD" stands for in Grappler CD. However, Orange Micro was a major vendor at the time so I assume this would have been a quality product. I had a different and I think more generic brand but it always worked okay for me.