Hardware Settings - "Printers" Tab
For printers to work correctly in the MicroBiz system, they must first have their drivers specified from the Windows operating system. This is done by going to the "Printers" or "Printer and Faxes" setup screen in Windows, which is found in the Control Panel (among other places). Press the "Add Printers" button and follow the Windows instructions for installing your various printers available to this machine. This section will describe what can be done on this setup page and then run through an example of setting up a printer.
Setting Up Each Printer Type
The first column of this page names each type of printer that can be used by MicroBiz. The text box directly to the right of that displays the local printer name that is currently set for each printer type. To the right of this is the Browse button, which allows you to set the printer. Finally, some printer types allow you to set an invoice type, which is what the buttons to the right of Browse are for.
Always Prompt For Printer (P)
Check this box if you would like MicroBiz to ask which printer to use for receipts. This is useful if you switch between multiple invoice printers often.
Enable Two Printer Two Invoice Types (E)
You can setup two different receipt (invoice) printers on this page, and turning the two invoice type option on will give you the ability to select a different invoice type for each. If left off, you can still set two receipt printers and keep the same invoice type for both. If you enable this feature, you can switch between the two printer/invoice settings at the F9 Tender screen.
Browse Printer Control Code Setups (B)
Click this button to see a list of all control codes available to MicroBiz, and which local printer names are currently using them.
Synchronize All Printers (A)
If you will be selecting the same printer more than once on this screen, you can save time with this feature. Simply setup one of the printer types with the desired printer and control codes, then click the Synchronize All Printers Button to set every printer type to the same. Once this is done you can still make any changes desired to these settings.
Printer Setup Example
For this example, we will select our printer for Printer Name/Invoice/Receipt #1.
- On the Customize Hardware Settings, Printers Tab, click the Browse button to the right of Printer Name/Invoice/Rcpt#1.
- Select the desired printer from the drop-down menu, then click OK. I will be selecting my Epson TMU220 for this example.
- Here comes the Printer Control Code Setup window. To set the correct control code, click the Browse Printer Models button in the lower-left.
- I will select Epson Generic for my printer, although the correct control code for your printer may be different. See below for more information on choosing the right control code. If you know the control code you want to use, click on it in the list, then click Load.
- Click OK/Save to set these control codes, then click the large Default Invoice Type (it won't say this on the button, but above it) button to select your invoice type. (This is the long button to the right of "Browse.")
- The Select Invoice Type window will display the currently selected invoice type. Click Browse Invoice Type, then select the invoice type desired. For my example I will choose 9) Standard 40-column (because I have a 40-column receipt printer). See Invoice Samples for details on the various invoice types available.
- Once you click on the invoice type desired, you can click OK to set it, then Save to finish setting up this printer type.
Control Codes
A control code setup is loaded for various printer types to tell MicroBiz how to communicate with that printer. Choosing the right control code setup is key to making sure your printer works correctly with MicroBiz.
In general, you would want to pick the control code setup that sounds the most like your printer. This can be very straightforward, but not always. The following is a table for some of the less obvious ones:
Control Code Setup | Printers that use this |
Epson Generic | 40-column Epson receipt printers |
Generic Laser Printer | Laser report printers |
HP Deskjet Plus | Used for most report printers |
Standard IBM Emulation | Should work for almost all barcode label printers. Sometimes works for other printer types when no other control code setup applies. |
Star 8340 | Star TSP 300 and Star TSP 700/743 receipt printers |