Tek-Tips is the largest IT community on the Internet today!

Members share and learn making Tek-Tips Forums the best source of peer-reviewed technical information on the Internet!

  • Congratulations Mike Lewis on being selected by the Tek-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!

Aloha Cash Drawer and Printer Problem

Status
Not open for further replies.

Links56

IS-IT--Management
Feb 15, 2008
16
US
Hi I finally got mostly everything working for my client. I'm an IT guy with no prior Knowledge of Aloha. Well I certainly know some about it now! Anyway, I can't get the Cash drawer or printers to work. The printers are Epson one is a TM-88 and one is a TM-220, there is no exact selection in aloha for these models its just TM80 and TM200 I just assume that is for the the model family and should include these printers. then I have a cash drawer hooked to the printer and have selected Use printer Interface. Do these printers have to be Installed on windows? Ive never had one thing print from them yet. the printers are hooked to COM1 and COM2 and are set that way on Aloha. Thanks again guys I really appreciate it.
 
Are these new printers that have never worked?

If so the problem is most likely the dip switch settings on the printers. If the system is using a 9600 baud rate (you can find that by searching "baud" in aloha\data\aloha.ini)the settings are as follows
TM88 - bank 1 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
x x o x o o o x
bank2 - all off except 2 unless the printer has no autocutter then all are off

TM220 - bank1 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
x x o x o o x x
bank2 - all off except 2 unless the printer has no autocutter then all are off

You do not have to install the printers as Windows printers.

If these are printers that did work and now don't more details are needed.

 
When you run a self test from the printer, you should see:

Serial Interface
Baud rate : 9600 bps
Data bits : 8 bits
Parity : even
Stop bit : 1 bit or more
Handshaking : XON/XOFF
Receive error : prints '?'
 
the dip switches are set. They were hooked up before because this was a used system from another business. I checked them anyway. How do you do a print test? It says on the terminal Print queue is full fix print errors or have a manager reroute bad printers. This and the cash drawer is the last thing I should have left to get working. I really appreciate it though. Thanks.
 
Turn the printer off, hold down the FEED button, then turn the printer back on. It will print a self test. Press the FEED button again and it will print the character test.
 
Okay I did a print test and there are three printers actually two TM-U220B's and a TM-T88III we only need two of them though so I switched them both to the U220B so they're the same paper size.(I didn't realize they were different)the self test says: Serial Interface
Baud rate : 9600 bps
Data bits : 8 bits
Parity : even
Stop bit : 1 bit or more
Handshaking : XON/XOFF
Receive error : prints '?'

So that should be right. When the terminal came up it said that both printers were offline because they were out of paper, I put paper in them and light went off and the error went away on the terminal. That means that It recognizes the printers I would think. when you try to log in as a manager(or anyone) It says "printing is full please fix errors or ask a manager to rerout bad printers." Thanks again.
 
1st off delete the print logs.
"aloha\data\prt*.log" (the * will be a number that corresponds to the printer number...)
Be sure to only delete the prt log files and not prt.dbf or prt.cdx.

2nd, be sure the FIFO buffers are turned of on both com ports on the terminal.

Are the printers connected with NULL Modem cables? If the remote "kitchen" printer is connected over cat5 then you need adapters plugged into the serial port and onto the printer that will emulate a NULL Modem cable. Most Aloha dealers seem to use a true NULL setup but that requires jumping 2 of the wires and can cause problems. You can emulate a Laplink cable and get solid results much easier.

If deleting the print logs and setting FIFO buffers does not fix the problem reply with what kind of terminal you are using and what type of cables.

Good luck.

 
Well Good news!! I got the cables sorted out and that was the problem. So now the cash drawer works too. but.. How do I set the printer in the kitchen to print the order ticket? I have them both set up in aloha but it still prints both the order ticket and receipt on the receipt printer. Also how how do you make a custom LOGO for the receipt? And I cant remove tables ever or close them what do I have set wrong? and on the front of the terminal is a screen like to say the total or something and it has never lit up What should I do about that? Thanks again, Sorry for so many questions. Im so glad the printers at least work now.
 
If I change the default printer then it will print both the order ticket and receipt on the other printer. So they both work it just wont split them up. Thanks again.
 
To print to the kitchen.
-See what printer group is assigned to your items.
-Assign only your kitchen printer to that printer group.
-Do not assign you kitchen printer anywhere in terminal configuration.

Custom logos are handled by the printer and not Aloha. Look to your printer user manual for assistance as all printers work differently.

Please better describe the rest of you questions.

 
Got the Kitchen printer working fine. It is a Radiant terminal with touch screen and on the back side there is a black screen it looks like. Where it might scroll a message or the price. Maybe im wrong.
 
on the back side there is a black screen it looks like. Where it might scroll a message or the price."

I would think that most of us here in the forum do not quite understand this statement. Please clarify.

Do you understand the printer group logic in Aloha as Posrescue mentioned above?
 
Yes I do understand the printer group logic. I had it in another printer group on accident. This is my first aloha setup. I don't know how to better describe the screen on the back side of the terminal. Its about 2 inches tall and 4 inches wide. Its shiny black like it might have Green LEDs in it. Its on the side that would point toward the customer and the touch screen is on the opposite side. Maybe I'm wrong and they just put a shiny piece of black plastic there for some reason.
 
If it's a Radiant terminal, it sounds like an OCD. Download the orderpoint software to get it working
 
Where could I download this software at? Thanks again.
 
You have to get it through Radiant or your reseller. You don't need any extra license for it, except that you need to turn on Aloha COM. In the latest versions it's called Aloha Connect, which does require a license.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Part and Inventory Search

Sponsor

Back
Top