Parallel Connection

[Chris]

The Epson TM-T88iii is a very popular thermal slip receipt printer. Newer printers in this range include the TM-T88iv.



Making The Physical Connection

The Epson TM-T88iii, when configured with a parallel interface, has a "Centronics" connector on the back of it as shown below.



The parallel port on a standard PC however is different and is known as a 25 pin "D-Type" connector as shown below.



The Epson TM-T88iii should be shipped with a parallel cable that will connect the two interfaces together. This cable should have a male Centronics connector on one end and a male 25 pin D-Type connector on the other end. This cable is commonly known as a "parallel printer cable" and is shown below.



Epson OPOS Driver Installation

To use any parallel connected receipt printer with EPOS-Excel you first need to install the manufacturer's OPOS driver. An OPOS driver handles all connected POS hardware on your system and allows EPOS-Excel to communicate with it. Epson provide a very good OPOS driver for this purpose and the following instructions should be followed in order to download it from the Epson website.

1. Visit https://download.epson-biz.com/modules/pos/
2. Click on 'OPOS ADK For .NET' under the software section.
3. Click on the latest version of the driver (normally only the latest version is shown unless you are logged in with an Epson user account).
4. Read the licence agreement and, if you agree, click the 'Download' button.
5. Follow the installation steps to complete the installation
   

Once the Epson OPOS installation has completed we now need to configure your printer for use with EPOS-Excel. From the Start Menu click on the SetupPOS link in the 'Epson OPOS for .NET' program group. The setup tool will open as follows.



The left-hand panel shows all devices currently configured on your system. You'll see that I have already set up a receipt printer and cash drawer in this example. For this tutorial however we're only concerned with the slip receipt printer settings.

Adding Your TM-T88iii OPOS Printer

To add your Epson TM-T88iii to the device list simply follow these instructions...

• Click on the 'Add' button. The 'Add Device' dialog will be shown.
• Ensure the Logical Device Name (LDN) is set to 'PosPrinter'.
• Ensure the Device Catagory is set to 'PosPrinter'.
• Select 'TM-T88iii' from the device list.
• Click on the 'Next' button. The connection port settings are shown.
• Select 'Parallel' for the Port Type.
• Select the LPT port number you have connected the printer to (usually LPT1).
• Leave the Buffer Size parameter as default setting.
• Click on the 'Next' button. Extra custom settings are now shown. These can be left as default for the time being but can be adjusted at a later time if you have any specific configuration requirements.
• Click on the 'Done' button. The printer will now be added to the device list.
  

EPOS-Excel Setup - OPOS Printer

To enable EPOS-Excel to communicate with your newly added OPOS printer we need to complete the following few steps...

1. Enter the EPOS-Excel admin section.
2. Click on the 'Hardware' tab.
3. Check the 'Enable slip receipt printer' checkbox.
4. From the Interface Type dropdown, select 'Use OPOS Driver'.
5. Click on the save button at the bottom of the page.
   

On pressing the save button you should be able to exit the admin section and start using your slip receipt printer. As a test you can either put through a dummy transaction or if you've already performed a past transaction you can press the 'Print Last Receipt' button from the main sales screen. Your receipt should be printed normally.

Troubleshooting Printing Problems

The printer does not print at all.

• Ensure that your printer is switched on and showing online status with no errors.
• Ensure that you have correctly specified the port number that the printer is connected to (LPT1 for example).
• Ensure that you have specified the correct LDN (Logical Device Name) for your printer in the Epson OPOS setup utility.
  

The Epson Cash Drawer Interface

Your Epson TM-T88iii is equiped with a cash drawer "Kick Out" connector. This connector is a standard RJ11 interface and is located on the rear of the unit, just next to the power connector. The port is shown in the image below.



This port provides the 24 volt drive signal or "pulse" to the cash drawer's open solenoid. It is VERY important to ensure that the cash drawer you connect to the printer's DK port has an "Epson Interface". You can normally specify the interface type you require when buying a cash drawer. NOTE: Connecting the wrong type of cash drawer to your printer could damage the drive circuit inside the printer!!

Add Cash Drawer To OPOS Device List

Before we can start using our cash drawer in EPOS-Excel we first need to add the cash drawer as an OPOS device using the Epson SetupPOS utility. To do this simply follow these steps...

• Click on the 'Add' button. The 'Add Device' dialog will be shown.
• Ensure the Logical Device Name (LDN) is set to 'CashDrawer'.
• Ensure the Device Catagory is set to 'CashDrawer'.
• Ensure the Device Name is set to 'Standard'.
• Click on the 'Next' button. The connection port settings are shown.
• Select 'Parallel' for the Port Type.
• Leave the Buffer Size parameter as default setting.
• Click on the 'Next' button. Extra custom settings are now shown.
• Select the Connected Printer as 'TM-T88iii'
• Leave all other settings on this page as default.
• Click on the 'Done' button. The printer will now be added to the device list.
  

EPOS-Excel Setup - OPOS Cash Drawer

Now that we have our cash drawer configured as an OPOS device we can go back into EPOS-Excel and enable cash drawer connectivity. Simply follow these steps...

1. Enter the EPOS-Excel admin section.
2. Click on the 'Hardware' tab.
3. Check the 'Enable printer's cash drawer connection' checkbox.
4. Check the 'Monitor cash drawer status' checkbox.
5. Click on the save button at the bottom of the page.
   

On closing the admin section you should now see that the cash drawer status is showing in the top right of the main sales screen. You can also test that the drawer opens correctly by clicking once on the "hidden cash drawer button". To do this click once on the main sale total readout (green total readout - top right of sales screen). The drawer should open and the drawer status should indicate "OPEN".

Troubleshooting Cash Drawer Problems

The drawer does not open when commanded.

• Ensure that your cash drawer has the correct Epson Interface.
  

The drawer status is not correctly reported.

• Your cash drawer may not be equiped with a position monitoring switch. Please check with your cash drawer supplier to confirm this.