Epson TM-T88II won't print.

[MysticWar]

Trying to get this POS receipt printer to work but the darn thing just won't print anything. I tried the regular uni driver and the advanced driver on epson's webpage(pos.epson.com) but the thing still won't print. It uses serial connection. I was able to get it to print ONCE but all it printed was a bunch of ?????'s I used the self test feature on the printer and it printed all the default settings OK, but it just won't print anything from the computer.

Does anyone know what's causing the problem here?

And what's the difference between TM-T88IIP, TM-T88IIM, and the one I have TM-T88II.

Thanks.

 

[morkinva]

In the printer's properties, does it show its printing to a COM port and not an LPT port?

edit>> I'm looking at the manual, and it says that ??????? means 'data receive error'

 

[MysticWar]

Yup it is using COM1. It is not a cable issue either because the cable works fine with my antique external 14.4k modem. I set the baud rate, parity, etc to match the exact settings of the printer and it still won't work. I've tried everything possible in the last 3 hours. Epson website isn't much help either. Even google can't help.

Yeah I have the manual here too and it doesn't help at all. I was able to get it to print all those ???'s once. Now it will not print anything and I keep getting print error when I try to print.

I'm gonna have to give Win9X a try. But for the love of god, I really don't want to change the store computers to Win9X.

 

[morkinva]

So did you get the printers interface settings by looking at the dip switches or when you printed the self test?

 

[MysticWar]

I switched dip #7 on and the baud rate went up to 19200. It was at 9600 before. I got the interface settings from the self test. I already tried all the 4 possible baud rates and it was of no help.

 

[morkinva]

Is this the cable that came with the printer?
Can you post here the interface parameters?

 

[MysticWar]

Firmware Version 3.14 ESC/POS

Serial Interface
Baud rate: 9600bps
Data bits: 8 bits
Parity: none
Stopbit: 1 bit or more
Handshaking: DTR/DSR
Receive error: prints '?'

Buffer Capacity
4K bytes

Handshaking Operation (busy condition)
Off line or receive buffer full

Resident Character
Alphanumeric

Print Density
Light [ 1 2 3 ] Dark

Yep, the cable came with the printer.

 

[morkinva]

some thoughts:

Its strange that you can't duplicate the ????? -- the manual shows the inch-type hex screws and the alternate millimeter type screws for the connectors on the cable. Is the connector fully seated on both ends?

Was there a software setting for the handshaking control? Try changing the handshaking control dip switch (1-3) to xon/xoff, turn off/on the printer and try again.

The next step might be to do the hex dump

 

[MysticWar]

Just tried the XON/XOFF and it still doesn't work. I read about the HEX DUMP part in the manual. What exactly does it do?

I was using the uni driver when I printed those ???'s Then I installed the Epson Advanced Printer driver. The driver added some special ports(EPD_LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, EPD_COM1, etc) Ever since that point, I was unable to print the ???? again. I tried removing the Advanced printer driver and reinstalling the old uni driver but it still won't work. I have a feeling that the APD did something to the system. I'll try to do a clean install of WinXP later on today to see if that will help.

 

[morkinva]

It should tell you what print codes were received by the printer when you tried to send it a printjob.

Firstly tho, I was just wondering if there is a conflict in your interrupts. Your com1 should be using irq4 - see if there is a conflict with irq4 when you run msinfo32.exe or Winmsd.exe


edit>> I'm goin to sleep, but first some more (probably silly) ideas. Are you sure the port you're connected to is Com1 -- Is this port enabled in your bios - When you install the driver can you have it search for the printer.

Lemme know your results

 

[MysticWar]

Nothing else is using IRQ4 except for COM1. It is indeed enabled in the BIOS. I'll try the hexdump later on. This thing is keeping me awake for way too long.

Thanks for your help.

 

[MysticWar]

I just did a clean install of Windows XP and installed the UNI driver. Now I can get it to print, but it seems to be an error that's why it's printing nothing but ?'s. It wouldn't print anything at all with the Advanced Print Driver.

Just did the HEX DUMP and the printer is receiving nothing but 3F 3F 3F 3F from the computer when I print.

 

[morkinva]

3F is hex for ? in ascii -- My uneducated guess would be a hardware problem, either with the serial port on the computer, the cable, or electronics in the printer. How can your software be sending ??? to the printer? Its not, but the printer is interpreting it this way.

Is there another computer you can hook it up to? Warranty service?

 

[MysticWar]

I already tried it on 3 different computers. I think the serial cable is the culprit. The FAQ on epson website states that model serial cable will not work with the printer. It says that I need Null Modem Cables, Serial Printer Cables, or Serial Cross-Over Cables. Went to many electronic stores and couldn't find such cables. So I tried to make my own using the pin out diagram on epson website. It didn't work of course, and I'm too tired and lazy to redo the wiring again. I'll probably find this cable on e bay so I'll give that a try.

Thanks.

 

[Overmann]

Sorry to necro this thread, but I am at a los with these printers. I have 3 tm-t88ii partial cutters on Serial, and using FreePOS. 2 out of 3 were printing fine, and one kept puking up an "i". That's all it would print. And the print spooler backup system would print to another printer. 1 month later, after it all lies dormant, I go check the system and wadya know, they're all printing "i". The backup system tries each printer systematically, but no avail. I've checked and confirmed every setting there is, and ts all right. Is there something I'm missing? The epson manual says nothing about printing a lonely "i".