Configuring receipt printers
The following instructions are for specific receipt printers, but can probably be used to help with setup of other brands as well.
For Epson TM-T88III (3) and TM-T88IV (4) Printers
In the print driver
For these instructions, we are using version 5,0,3,0 of the Epson TM-T88III print driver; the EPSON TM-T88IV version is ReceiptE4. Register at the EpsonExpert Technical Resource Center website to gain access to the drivers; go to Technical Resources, then choose the printer model from the Printers drop-down list.
Click Start > Printers and Faxes > Right click the receipt printer > Properties:
Advanced Tab, click Printing Defaults button
Layout Tab: Paper size: Roll Paper 80 x 297mm
TM-T88III: Layout Tab: Check Reduce Printing and Fit to Printable Width
TM-T88IV: Check Reduced Size Print; Click OK on the popup window that appears. Fit to Printable Width should be automatically selected.
OK your way out of there.
In Firefox
Under File > Page Setup:
Shrink to fit page on Format & Options tab
0,0,0,0 for Margins on Margins & Header/Footer Tab. This makes the receipts use all available space on the paper roll.
Set all Headers/Footers to -blank-. This removes all of the gunk you might normally find on a print from Firefox, such as the URL, number of pages, etc.
Click OK
Set the default printer settings in Firefox so you don’t see a “Print” dialog:
Go to File > Print
Set the Printer to the receipt printer.
Click the Advanced (or Properties) button
Layout Tab: Paper size: Roll Paper 80 x 297mm
TM-T88III: Layout Tab: Check Reduce Printing and Fit to Printable Width
TM-T88IV: Check Reduced Size Print; click OK on the popup window that appears. Fit to Printable Width should be automatically selected.
OK your way out, go ahead and print whatever page you are on.
Type about:config, in the address bar. Click “I’ll be careful, I promise!” on the warning message.
Type, print.always in Filter.
Look for print.always_print_silent.
If the preference is there then set the value to true.
If the preference is not there (and it shouldn’t be in most browsers) you have to add the preference.
Right click the preference area and select New > Boolean
Type print.always_print_silent in the dialog box and set the value to True. This sets the print settings in Firefox to always use the same settings and print without showing a dialog box.
Warning
Setting the print.always_print_silent setting in about:config DISABLES the ability to choose a printer in Firefox.
For Epson TM-T88II (2) printers
Register at the EpsonExpert Technical Resource Center website to gain access to the drivers; go to Technical Resources, then choose the printer model from the Printers drop-down list.
In Firefox
Under File > Page Setup:
Shrink to fit page on Format & Options tab
0,0,0,0 for Margins on Margins & Header/Footer Tab. This makes the receipts use all available space on the paper roll.
Set all Headers/Footers to -blank-. This removes all of the gunk you might normally find on a print from Firefox, such as the URL, number of pages, etc.
Click OK
Set the default printer settings in Firefox so you don’t see a “Print” dialog:
Go to File > Print
Set the Printer to the receipt printer.
Print whatever page you are on.
Type about:config, in the address bar. Click “I’ll be careful, I promise!” on the warning message.
Type, print.always in Filter.
Look for, print.always_print_silent.
If the preference is there then set the value to true.
If the preference is not there (and it shouldn’t be in most browsers) you have to add the preference.
Right click the preference area and select New > Boolean
Type, print.always_print_silent in the dialog box and set the value to True. This sets the print settings in Firefox to always use the same settings and print without showing a dialog box.
Warning
Setting the print.always_print_silent setting in about:config DISABLES the ability to choose a printer in Firefox.
For Star SP542 printers
Installing the printer
While the following comments are based on the Star SP542 receipt printer, they probably apply to all printers in the SP5xx series.
The Star SP542 receipt printer works well with Koha and Firefox on Windows XP SP3. This printer, with either the parallel or USB interface, is fairly easy to install and configure. You will need the following executable file which is available from numerous places on the Internet:
linemode_2k-xp_20030205.exe
This executable actually does all of the installation; you will not need to use the Microsoft Windows “Add Printer” program. We recommend that when installing, the option for the software monitor not be selected; we have experienced significant pauses and delays in printing with it. Instead, simply choose to install the receipt printer without the monitor.
Additionally, the install program may not put the printer on the correct port, especially if using the USB interface. This is easily corrected by going to “Start -> Printers and Faxes -> Properties for the SP542 printer -> Ports”, then check the appropriate port.
A reboot may be required, even if not indicated by the installation software or the operating system.
Windows 7 users should refer to this page: http://www.starmicronics.com/supports/win7.aspx.
Configuring Firefox to print to receipt printer
Open File > Page Setup
Make all the headers and footers blank
Set the margins to 0 (zero)
In the address bar of Firefox, type about:config
Search for print.always_print_silent and double click it
Change it from false to true
This lets you skip the Print pop up box that comes up, as well as skipping the step where you have to click OK, automatically printing the right sized slip.
If print.always_print_silent does not come up
Right click on a blank area of the preference window
Select new > Boolean
Enter “print.always_print_silent” as the name (without quotes)
Click OK
Select true for the value
You may also want to check what is listed for print.print_printer
You may have to choose Generic/Text Only (or whatever your receipt printer might be named)