Common Tech Questions

Problems with printing and opening a cash drawer can stem from several factors.

1. Most commonly, if a receipt printer is not printing the solution is in the setup of the printer. Either it has not been set up or has been set up incorrectly.

In the Powerstation, go to Options -> Control Room -> Printer Setup. Select "Device Setup" for your receipt printer. You will need to know what kind of connection your printer has so we know what settings to look at.

Windows Driver

 If you are using a Windows Driver, select "Use a Windows Device" and select the appropriate option from the drop-down list. You cannot use a Text Only Printer Driver installed by Windows.   You must use the driver distributed for your model of printer and the operating system you are using (i.e. Windows 98, 2000, XP, etc).

 

Direct Connections

If you do not want to use a Windows driver and instead want to go with a direct connection (prints faster, but you can't edit the receipt layout), you will need to know if the printer is using a Parallel or Serial connection.

A parallel connection is a standard 25-pin printer connection. This plug is about two inches long. A serial connection is a nine pin adaptor and about one inch long.

If the connection is parallel, select the LPT port the printer is connected to. 99% of the time this will be LPT1.

If the connection is serial, select the COM port the printer is connected to. Most commonly this will be COM1 or COM3.

Common configuration is as follows:

Baud Rate: 9600

Parity: None

Bit: 8 Data 1 Stop

2. If the program is freezing up completely at the point of printing, either a setting is wrong or the receipt printer is not communicating with the computer.

First, check your settings. You may want to try selecting a different parallel or serial port in case it is connected to a different port. Otherwise, check your printer to make sure it has power, is turned on, has paper, and is not out of ink. Occasionally the problem will be with the cable connecting the printer and computer. If you have another printer, try swapping the cable to see if it works with a different cable.

3. Another common problem with the receipts not printing stems from a setting in the Manger's Workstation. If the receipt is set up properly, but at the point of tender the receipt does not print, there is probably a group of selections at the bottom of the screen.

F1 - Print Receipt

F2 - Print Invoice

F8 - No Print

This setting can be changed to automatically print a receipt by going into the Manager's Workstation -> Control -> Company Information -> Point-of-Sale Options. There is an option here called "Completing a sale print option." Select "Receipt" if you want it to automatically print a receipt. You will have to exit and reopen the Powerstation before this setting takes effect.

4. If you run into a situation where the receipt printer is printing but the cash drawer that connects into it is not opening, there are a few solutions here:

Not set up

Go into the Powerstation -> Options -> Control Room -> Other Devices. Check the Cash Drawer options and click "Device Setup". The settings here are going to be the same as they would be for your receipt printer.

Once that is done, click "OK". The Open Code field should now be highlighted in green, and next to it will be a button that says "Click Here for Help". This will bring up the Open Drawer Code Wizard. The option for the cash drawer connecting through the receipt printer will be checked. Select your model of receipt printer from the drop-down list. This will put a code in the last field. Selecting "Test" will pop the drawer.

Drawer is set up, but still not opening

Go into the Manager's Workstation -> Control -> Company Information. The top tab will be the Payment Types tab. For each payment type there will be a column that says "Open". Set this to Yes for each payment you want the cash drawer to open for. The Powerstation will need to be shut down and reopened for this option to take effect.