benefit of using OPOS versus windows driver

Personally I have way way better luck getting Windows Drivers to work than OPOS and I find overall you have more control. Having said that now guys that have been around for a while (lets call them dinosaurs) and have been doing this for 20 years are going to say that OPOS is the way to go.

Rob

"Shoby" wrote:

OPOS sucks, big time!

I'm one of those dinosaurs and I say "Why fix it if it ain't broke?"

Fine idea, implementation still sucks after what, 10 years and they _still_ can't get it right. ;-(

We have been using Epson TM printers, if we use Windows driver, we have more control but it prints slower and the cash drawer will pop every time it prints (even when printing duplicate receipts). Using OPOS, the printer prints faster, the cash drawer doesn't pop when printing duplicates, but we have less control over the fonts and printing designs.

So, each has their advantages and disadvantages.

Also, when using the RMS preferred acquirer credit card processing interface, with the Epson windows driver, there's no way to perform a cut between the receipt and the CC signature slip - but with the Star windows driver there is. All OPOS drivers I'm familiar with have that capability.

You guys REALLY need to quit using these damn Epson printers!

Star's Windows drivers work just great, speed is about the same as OPOS, with 3 different print qualities. Yep, the drawer opens every time, I'm almost positive there is a mod that needs to be added the receipt template to stop/intercept it. Its on my long list of things to do. Paper cuts work fine too.

Star's OPOS drivers have the same problem as all OPOS drivers do (the biggest for me is the lack of wraparound for long description, serial number and item comments) , but they don't update them every month either. Last update was 11/2004!!

Star's Windows W2K/XP drivers were updated last year for the first time in 2 years, but their Win9x are still from 2003!! They just work!!

Longer warranties, more options with different price points. Like the special they have right now, free 3 year overnight replacement for their new model TSP100 if purchased between 01/06 and 03/06. Frankly, in 19 years of selling them, I had 3 fail.

We use Epson with the windows drivers and it cuts the CC receipt just fine.

Rob

Could you explain the setting so I don't have to load the driver to find it?

Rick Brown DataBasics

I found a new TM88III win driver on the Epson pos site (9/05). It seems to have more features than the one I tried over a year ago when I wasn't able to find a way to do a cut between the receipt and signature slip (it was discussed in the partner forum at the time). What driver version do you use and what setting enables the cut?

Rick Brown DataBasics

ATM_301bE is the version that I use. I can't do it right now but I will check the receipt that I have, I believe it has an EPSON character, similar to the one that pops the cashdrawer, that sends the paper cut command to the printer.

Rob

Hey Jeff,

If you ever get the mod working to stop the drawer poping everytime, I'd switch to Windows driver immediately. Let me know :)

To anyone who is using Epson with the Windows Drivers, you will surely notice how slow it prints compared to OPOS. This happens when you use TrueType Fonts such as Arial and Courier New (these are the default fonts in the recept templates that come with RMS).

The way to fix this is by using the Epson Fonts, which are called "FontA11", "FontB21", etc. You can view the available fonts by going to Printer Properties for the Epson printer that you have installed (using Epson Windows Drivers), then to Printing Preferences, then to the Font tab. You will have to do modify the receipt templates and print using different fonts to find the ones that suit you best. I use FontA11 for "Default" and FontB22 for "Large".

The main difference I notice between Windows and OPOS is that OPOS does not do text wrapping. The only real advantage I see to OPOS is that you can pop the cash drawer without printing a recept.

There are two ways to pop the cash drawer and cut the receipt when using Epson Windows drivers. The easiest way is to set this up in your Printing Defaults in the printer properties, under the Operation tab. The other way is by using the "ControlA" font to send control codes (I believe the defaults are K and C to cut the paper and open the drawer).

I posted further up in this thread about how to overcome the speed issues that you find with the Epson Windows Drivers.

I've only had 1 Epson device ever fail on me, and it was just the cutter on a printer that stopped working, not that actual printer. I don't know about price differences with Star, because I've always just stuck with Epson. Epson is by far the most popular (the Beer Store and LCBOs use the TM-T88's, which are both heavy users), and I've never had any complaints about them.

"The only real advantage I see to OPOS is that you can pop the cash drawer without printing a recept." I was able to setup a convenience store with a second receipt that always sent the command to pop the cash drawer without printing a receipt. You have to choose in the Printer Preferences to NOT do a line feed at the end of the document otherwise it spits out an inch worth of paper every time you do a transaction. For CC transactions the cashier just presses a Custom POS Button that calls the Internal Command: Reprint Last Receipt or Shift - F11.

On my second receipt all I called was the "KickDrawer" function below:

tbNone "EPSON" "^~" PageWidth "A"

Rob

Rob,

I don't think enabling the cut is related to the receipt. There's a selection in the Star windows driver that enables the cut between the Sales Receipt and the Signature slip when using preferred acquirer processing, and there isn't one that I know of in the Epson Windows driver I originally looked at. But that new driver you refer to might have a setting. Do you remember how you enabled the cut in the new driver?

Rick Brown DataBasics

Rob,

I downloaded that driver (actually a little newer one) and see that it now has paper cut settings. So I installed and tested with RMS and it does the cut just as you said. Thanks for the heads up.

Rick Brown DataBasics