Star Receipt Printer SP512

[shellas]

I am trying to develop a pos solution in FM6. I recently got a Star receipt printer SP512 and attach it on to the serial port of the computer. While the printer is recognized under "Printers & Faxes" in Windows, I cannot get it to print even the test page. Anyone has the solution to this? Any suggestion or help is appreciated.

[shellas]

I finally get it to print! I was installing the printer on the wrong port. I installed it on Com 1 port, but it actually works on the Com 2 port. However, on the Com 2 port the printer is no longer identified as Star SP512, instead it is identified as TUP992. And after the test page prints, the printer prints all gibberish. Does anyone know why this is happening and how I can fix the problem?

[stanley]

Shellas:

Welcome to the Forums. Can you print from any application at all? If not, you could be dealing with anything from a faulty printer to some strange software setup issue - you've already encountered some weird behavior...

I think the lack of response may indicate that nobody here has used the Star SP512 in a FMP solution. Maybe someone will chime in, but otherwise, you could surely contact the manufacturer, especially as the thing misidentifies itself.

-Stanley

[shellas]

Thank you for your comments, Stanley. I tried printing something from Excel, but again all gibberish gets printed. I did see, however, that the manual states there are some codes which need to be inputted or entered in order to print correctly. I will look at those today and see if I can find a solution.

[shellas]

I finally get a solution and I'm back to let you know what the problem was. First off, the software that downloaded for the Star printer had drivers for all different printers manufactured by Star Micronics. I was clicking through the installation too fast and didn't realize that I had "picked" the TUP992, thus the printer was recognized as such. After the posts here my experience with the printer had gone from weird to strange. I had to install and uninstall numerous times with no effect. When I got in touch with Star Micronics support, the technician had me open up the Phillips screw at the bottom of the printer and set the DIP switch to proper alignment (one of the pins was set to "off"). After doing this adjustment I was able to print from Windows application.

I still cannot print from FileMaker, however. Can anyone give me pointers for this?

[stanley]

Shellas:

Sounds like that printer is going on the "do not buy" list.

Make sure your settings are correct in Print Setup and see if you can get a result from a simple layout with some static text in the very upper-left of the layout. Also, check to see if Layout mode shows the correct boundaries for the page.

If you can print from other applications, you should be able to print from FileMaker. Can you print to other printers from FMP?

-Stanley

[shellas]

Stanley,

Yes, I can print to all other printers from FMP. These include a HP1320 Laserjet, a HP7350 Photosmart, and a Xerox XD100. I am wondering, however, whether I need to get a plug-in for FMP to write to the COM1 port, as it is connected to the computer via a serial port. If it is necessary, I would like to know how to program the software to communicate with the serial port.