in the 80s we used an interfaker to connect parallel ports to a serial port to capture data from cpm and non dos computers that otherwise could not transfer data to a pc.
https://live.staticflickr.com/4155/34580317352_3b87d19630_b....
https://live.staticflickr.com/4155/34580317352_3b87d19630_b....
one of those obscure pieces of hardware around before the internet and apart from a few photos on auction sites doesn't exist online.
https://www.tzsupplies.com/modular-technology-mt25-iv-interf.../
and a 1 page pdf of the manual. https://docs.rs-online.com/e9af/0900766b8001aeab.pdf