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Generic Receipt Printer Information
It is important to understand what type of interface you need for your receipt printer. There are 3 main choices: Below is a discussion of each to assist you in determining what type you need. Please contact your software vendor if you are still unsure of which interface to select. Less commonly referred to as the Centronics Interface after the company that designed it, later redesigned by Epson. The parallel port found on the back of IBM compatible computers is a 25-pin (Type DB-25) computer interface found on IBM compatible computers commonly used to connect printers to the computer, below is an example of the DB25 interface. The interface found on the back of parallel interfaces is commonly a 36-pin male / female connector that is held in place with levers on each side of the cable.
The Apple Macintosh computers use SCSI, which is parallel, as its interface. However it is a lot more flexible when compared to the standard PC parallel port. TYPES OF PARALLEL PORTS Unidirectional - 4-bit standard port which by factory default did not have the capability of transferring data both ways. Bi-directional - 8-bit standard port which was released with the introduction of the PS/2 port in 1987 by IBM and are still found in computers today. The Bi-directional port is cable of sending 8-bits input and output. Today on multifunction printers this port can be referred to as a bi-directional, Centronics, PS/2 type or standard port. EPP - The Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) was developed in 1991 by Intel, Xircom and Zenith Data Systems and operates close to ISA bus speed and can achieve transfer rates up to 1 to 2MB/sec of data. EPP version 1.7 released in 1992 and later adapted into the IEEE 1284 standard. All additional features are adapted into the IEEE standard. EPP version 1.9 never existed. ECP - The Enhanced Capabilities Port (ECP) was developed by Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard and announced in 1992 is an additional enhanced Parallel port. Unfortunately with ECP it requires an additional DMA channel which can cause resource conflicts.
A connection or interface on the computer used to connect a serial device to the computer. Serial ports are typically identified on IBM compatible computers as as COM (communications) ports. For example, a mouse might be connected to COM1 and a modem to COM2. With the introduction of USB and FireWire, Serial ports are not being used as frequently as they had been in the past. SERIAL PORT ABCs The serial port is an Asynchronous port which transmits one bit of data at a time, usually connecting to the UART Chip. Serial Ports are commonly found on the majority of PC Compatible computers. Usually referred to as a DB9 or DB25 connection both of which adhere to the RS-232c interface standard and defined in ISO 2110 and ISO 4902. D represents the shape of the connector if placed vertically as shown in the below illustrations. The number 9/25 indicating the number of pins found on the connector. DB9 Serial connections are now commonly found on modern PC's where DB25 is commonly found on older computers. SERIAL PORT DEVICES The following is a listing of various hardware components which can be purchased and used with your Serial port. Mouse - One of the most commonly used devices for serial ports, usually used with computers with no PS/2 Ports or laptop computers. Modem - Another commonly used device for serial ports. Used commonly with older computers however is also commonly used with computers for its ease of use. Network - One of the original uses of the serial port, which allowed two computers to connect together and allow large files to be transferred between the two. Printer - Today is commonly used device for serial ports (not applicable to the DB25 or Parallel Port). DB9 INFORMATION In the illustration below you can notice several factors to help correctly identify the DB9 Serial connection. First you will notice that the DB9 connection has 9 pins which are each described in the below chart. The illustration below is an example of the female serial connector which would usually be located on the connector that would connect to the computer. Each serial connector generally has two screws measuring .3cm to allow the serial connection to be securely connected to the back of the computer.
Identifying:
The
DB9 serial connection is identified first by its 9 pins. The following is a listing of each of the pins located on the DB9 connector and what each of these pins are for.
DB25 INFORMATION In the illustration below you can notice several factors to help correctly identify the DB25 port. First you will notice that the DB25 connection has 25 pins which are each illustrated in the below chart.
Identifying:
The
DB25 serial connection is identified first by its 25 pins.
Short for Universal Serial BUS, USB is a standard that was introduced in 1995 by Intel, Compaq, Microsoft and several other IT computer companies. USB 1.x is a External BUS standard that supports data transfer rates of 12 Mbps and is capable of supporting up to 127 peripheral devices. USB 2.0 also known as hi-speed USB was developed by Compaq, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Lucent, Microsoft, NEC and Philips and was introduced in 2001. Hi-speed USB is capable of supporting a transfer rate of up to 480 Mbps and is backwards compatible meaning it is capable of supporting USB 1.0 and 1.1 devices and cables USB ABCs USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a new external bus developed by Intel, Compaq, DEC, IBM, Microsoft, NEC and Northern Telcom and released to the public in 1996 with the Intel 430HX Triton II Mother Board. USB has the capability of transferring 12 Mbps, supporting up to 127 devices and only utilizing one IRQ. For PC computers to take advantage of USB the user must be running Windows 95 OSR2, Windows 98 or Windows 2000. Linux users also have the capability of running USB with the proper support drivers installed. To determine if your computer supports USB on the back, front or sides of the computer look for a small connector with the following symbol.
USB cables are hot swappable which allows users to connect and disconnect the cable while the computer is on without any physical damage to the cable.
The above illustration is an example of what the end of a USB connector looks like. There are two standards of USB connectors. Type A connectors are found on the computer and or USB hub and Type B connectors are found on the peripheral. All USB cables should only be legally 5m (16ft) max as defined by the USB standard. When exceeding this length or utilizing extensions in the cables data loss will occur. The below illustration is the slots used for each of the connectors shown in the above illustration.
USB VERSIONS USB 1.0 - The original release of USB support with support of 127 devices transferring 12 Mbps. USB 1.1 - Also known as full-speed USB, USB 1.1 is similar to the original release of USB however minor modifications for the hardware and the specifications. This version of USB still only supports a rate of 12 Mbps. USB 2.0 - USB 2.0 also known as hi-speed USB was developed by Compaq, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Lucent, Microsoft, NEC and Philips and was introduced in 2001. Hi-speed USB is capable of supporting a transfer rate of up to 480 Mbps and is backwards compatible meaning it is capable of supporting USB 1.0 and 1.1 devices and cables.
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