Thank you jbartos for the link, I'm sure it could get me some more parts but this is not what I need right now. I have 7000 parts in stock but I want a new design that will last for many years of production.
Allegro no longer make their quad darlington drivers ULN2068 amongst others. We use these to drive unipolar stepper motors driven from INTEL 8255 ports in full stepping mode with a 24v zener from the catch diodes to the 12V supply which is also connected to the centre of each motor winding...