POS problems

[dbguyjosh]

We are currently building a POS system using Filemaker Pro 11. We have a local printer (to be used for regular 8.5 x 11 reports and letters) and a network receipt printer for purchases. Our problem is that any letter-size documents get printed out to the local printer with the document specs for the receipt printer - with the result that we are losing the right half of all the 8.5 x 11 documents! How do we fix this?

Nothing we have done so far changes the printer setup instructions getting sent to our local printer. We did initially find that the FM layouts had been mysteriously changed from a right margin of 18 to 397 px (eh?!! Why did FM change this on its own??) Nonetheless, even when we corrected this, the printed out documents still retained the receipt specs regarding document size. The documents look fine in preview mode but, obviously, the hard copy printout is missing the right half of the document. Anybody else encountered this problem and how did you fix it?

Here's a bit more background. The client specified an impact receipt printer because they want "long-lived" receipts - i.e. ones that will not fade over time. We chose an Epson U220 impact receipt printer with a parallel report and a centronics plug. (We could not find one with a serial port.) As a go-between the computer where the FM db is resident and the receipt printer, we ended up using a printer server (HP compaq dc 7600 with Win XP x86) so that the receipt printer is shared and it is shared via the print server. This was after several other failed "go-between"attempts including a USB to serial/parallel adaptor cord, a USB-centronics adapter and failed attempts at parallel port emulation). The present setup works fine -- for receipts -- but everything else is a problem!

[fseipel]

Are you printing through a script? If so, the problem may relate to printer settings being saved in the script. Does the problem occur even when not printing through the script? i.e. when you go to page setup 'manually' using Mouse, and select 8.5" x 11" paper, does it print correctly? Does it print correctly in other applications such as Notepad, or are Windows printer settings correct? i.e. in Notepad, if you type a long line, is it cut off when printed?

You should have separate layouts for 8.5" x 11" and receipt printer.

Consider purchasing a PCI centronics card; these are compatible with just about anything, very, very fast, and cost about $15 or $20 for a 2-port variation. These don't have some of the issues that USB adapters and other options have, it's more like having a computer with an inbuilt port, which are hard to find nowadays.

[dbguyjosh]

1) We do not print through the script at all, the user physically clicks on file -> print (although we have tried both ways) this is where the problem exists. Even when the user clicks on the 8 1/2 x 11 paper size, the printer will only print 76 mm of the full document. We have found that we can save to pdf file, then print from adobe reader and it prints fine, but there has got to be an easier way to do it without adding more hardware. There are also no problems when printing in other programs

2) There are seperate layouts for 8 1/2 x 11 and receipts, but they are all printing the same way

3) We want to try and avoid adding new hardware as the only available slots are PCIe

[fseipel]

I'm not suggesting centronics card will remedy problem, I've simply found they are often a good solution to add a reliable centronics port. pci-e versions run about $20 ea. Since you're already able to print, and it works fine in other applications, I doubt this is the cause.

If you create a new database, say from one of the FM templates, does it exhibit the printing problem? If you uninstall the label printer driver does problem persist? This may help isolate where problem lies. What is the driver/connection method/brand of the 8.5" x 11" printer, and does problem exist with other standard paper size printers on the LAN?

[ncairns]

Hi. I work with dbguyjosh. Normally I would not post, but dbguyjosh is not at work today and this has to be fixed fast.

If you create a new database, say from one of the FM templates, does it exhibit the printing problem?

Yes.

What is the driver/connection method/brand of the 8.5" x 11" printer, and does problem exist with other standard paper size printers on the LAN?

The 8.5" x 11" printer is a Brother DCP-7040, connected via USB directly to the host computer, not the print server.

The problem also occurs with any standard paper size printer over the LAN, when printed from the computer with the receipt printer installed. These printers are network printers, and don't have a print server.

Other printing problems noted:

• layouts new and old have a right margin of 397 pixels (about 5.5 inches). Forcing the right margin to be anything less generates the error “Some margins are smaller than the minimum allowed by the printer. Some objects located near the edges of the page may be clipped.” even when the printer is set to be the Brother DCP-7040, and the layout is designed for standard letter pages.
• sometimes FileMaker will print a receipt as a letter sized document, even when told to use the Receipt printer’s settings. This means that the receipt printer will continue feeding paper until the page is 11 inches long.

Solutions attempted:

• If the user logs on to the database file remotely from another computer without the receipt printer installed, there is no issue. They really don’t like this solution because the user has to leave their position as front desk / greeter person, go to a different section of the building, and interrupt another user’s work to get their printing done.
  
• Also, we have setup a ‘print’ script that saves the record(s) in Preview Mode as a PDF document, then sends a print command to the PDF document. The problems with this solution are 1) the user cannot select the printer to print to and 2) they will eventually run out of storage space.

Would uninstalling and reinstalling FileMaker Pro 11 Advanced solve the problem?

Edited October 29, 2010 by Guest