POS Printers anybody?
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Anybody here by chance work with a POS Epson Printer? I've got a friend that has one but isn't pleased with the performance, was wondering if it's normal or not... Dac Easy is driving it via serial printer... Thanks, Nick This are my own opinions. You know the rest.....
Yes, I've dealt with the TM-88 series.
-- Not Y3K Compliant
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Yes, I've dealt with the TM-88 series.
-- Not Y3K Compliant
Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote:
Yes, I've dealt with the TM-88 series.
That's what they've got TM-88III. I guess the thing is rated for something like 5" as sec... we aren't seeing that... Got the latest drivers from Epson, but it looks like Dac Easy isn't using them anyways. They grab the serial port and don't let go for anyting... Somebody mentioned that the printer wasn't in "Thermal" mode but was in dot matrix. Make any sense? Thanks! Nick This are my own opinions. You know the rest.....
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Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote:
Yes, I've dealt with the TM-88 series.
That's what they've got TM-88III. I guess the thing is rated for something like 5" as sec... we aren't seeing that... Got the latest drivers from Epson, but it looks like Dac Easy isn't using them anyways. They grab the serial port and don't let go for anyting... Somebody mentioned that the printer wasn't in "Thermal" mode but was in dot matrix. Make any sense? Thanks! Nick This are my own opinions. You know the rest.....
Are you using graphics or true type fonts? With a serial interface, such printouts are horribly slow. For optimal performance, use the built in fonts - it's so fast that you'll have to worry about relativistic effects. ;) I think Arial is a built in font since TM-T88III, but I'm not sure.
Nick Jacobs wrote:
Somebody mentioned that the printer wasn't in "Thermal" mode but was in dot matrix. Make any sense?
That doesn't make any sense at all. :~
-- Painstakingly Drawn Before a Live Audience
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Are you using graphics or true type fonts? With a serial interface, such printouts are horribly slow. For optimal performance, use the built in fonts - it's so fast that you'll have to worry about relativistic effects. ;) I think Arial is a built in font since TM-T88III, but I'm not sure.
Nick Jacobs wrote:
Somebody mentioned that the printer wasn't in "Thermal" mode but was in dot matrix. Make any sense?
That doesn't make any sense at all. :~
-- Painstakingly Drawn Before a Live Audience
Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote:
Are you using graphics or true type fonts? With a serial interface, such printouts are horribly slow. For optimal performance, use the built in fonts - it's so fast that you'll have to worry about relativistic effects. I think Arial is a built in font since TM-T88III, but I'm not sure.
I guess I'll have to go look and see what Dac Easy is sending to the printer.... I almost thing it's just straight text for some reason....
Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote:
That doesn't make any sense at all.
I guess that answers that question... Thanks for the heads up... Nick This are my own opinions. You know the rest.....
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Are you using graphics or true type fonts? With a serial interface, such printouts are horribly slow. For optimal performance, use the built in fonts - it's so fast that you'll have to worry about relativistic effects. ;) I think Arial is a built in font since TM-T88III, but I'm not sure.
Nick Jacobs wrote:
Somebody mentioned that the printer wasn't in "Thermal" mode but was in dot matrix. Make any sense?
That doesn't make any sense at all. :~
-- Painstakingly Drawn Before a Live Audience
Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote:
it's so fast that you'll have to worry about relativistic effects.
:rolleyes:
Ryan
"Punctuality is only a virtue for those who aren't smart enough to think of good excuses for being late" John Nichol "Point Of Impact"
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Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote:
Yes, I've dealt with the TM-88 series.
That's what they've got TM-88III. I guess the thing is rated for something like 5" as sec... we aren't seeing that... Got the latest drivers from Epson, but it looks like Dac Easy isn't using them anyways. They grab the serial port and don't let go for anyting... Somebody mentioned that the printer wasn't in "Thermal" mode but was in dot matrix. Make any sense? Thanks! Nick This are my own opinions. You know the rest.....
Wowser - DacEasy is still around?
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001 -
Anybody here by chance work with a POS Epson Printer? I've got a friend that has one but isn't pleased with the performance, was wondering if it's normal or not... Dac Easy is driving it via serial printer... Thanks, Nick This are my own opinions. You know the rest.....
If DacEasy works like the POS product that I support, then DacEasy isn't going to be dealing with printer drivers - it's going to print directly to your serial port. I think going directly to the port is supposed to be faster than going through the driver. I'm never seen DacEasy, so I don't know exactly what you can set and where along with how it works, but in my experience, a few things you could try are: - Turn the docket printer off, and then switch it back on while holding down the paper feed button on the printer. This will make it print out diagnostic information, including the serial communication settings it is expecting. If the baud rate is quite low, refer to the manual to find out if you can beef it up to something a bit faster (remember the old 2400bps modems? :) ). - If DacEasy allows you to change serial communication settings, make sure that they match the settings that print out in the diagnostic. Also, if it gives you the option of specifying flow control, set it to 'Hardware' using the 'DSR' control method. I have found that this quite regularly resolves the problem. - Check the communication settings for the serial port in Windows itself. Even if DacEasy actually is going directly to the serial port, Windows still controls the access to it, and sometimes if the settings don't match between the POS program, Windows and the printer, the print won't work properly. - If the program allow you to set a 'buffer size', reduce it to as low as possible. This will keep the data coming through at a faster rate. This is also a common one for us, as we find that sometimes, Epson docket printers will 'skip' information or not print the whole docket, and reducing the buffer size in the program resolves it. - Try it on a different computer - you'd be amazed at how often the physical serial port in the system is the cause... it could be an indicator that the port itself is on the way out. - Anti-virus software could be slowing it down as it scans the data flowing through the port. Try preventing the serial ports from being scanned by the anti-virus or disabling it for a short time to do a test. - Install the Generic/Text Only printer driver, and see how quickly the Windows test page prints. This is a good one to tell you if it is a DacEasy issue or a Windows/Hardware issue. I tend to find that the Epson docket printers are a bit fussier than other brands with data flow, settings etc.. Otherwise, you might want to try and convince them to ditch it if it is getting a bit old now...
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Anybody here by chance work with a POS Epson Printer? I've got a friend that has one but isn't pleased with the performance, was wondering if it's normal or not... Dac Easy is driving it via serial printer... Thanks, Nick This are my own opinions. You know the rest.....
OKIDATA - Line Printers - They last FOREVER! http://www.okidata.com/mkt/html/nf/SIDM.html[^] I've seen better runs in my shorts! - Patches O'Houlihan
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OKIDATA - Line Printers - They last FOREVER! http://www.okidata.com/mkt/html/nf/SIDM.html[^] I've seen better runs in my shorts! - Patches O'Houlihan
Blake Miller wrote:
OKIDATA - Line Printers - They last FOREVER! http://www.okidata.com/mkt/html/nf/SIDM.html\[^\]
Except the friend already owns these printers and isn't going to return them. It's a (ok longer than short term) short term fix until something better comes a long... This are my own opinions. You know the rest.....
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Wowser - DacEasy is still around?
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
Wowser - DacEasy is still around?
Unforunately, yea. I hope to guide him to something a little bit more modern, I'd really like to get ride of BTrieve off of the machines and go to something like SQL.. Time will tell... This are my own opinions. You know the rest.....
