The user reporting the issue needs to provide you with a set of steps we can walk through to duplicate this issue. The resolution we can offer will only be as reliable as the set of steps they provide for duplicating the issue.
Evosus and Printing:
For any printing or Document Generation issue, the troubleshooting steps should be -
Step 1: Is the computer where they are running Evosus either Windows 10 Pro, Windows Server 2016 Standard, or Windows Server 2019 Standard?
- Yes – Continue to the next troubleshooting step
- No – The next troubleshooting step is to duplicate the issue on a computer with a supported Windows Operating System
Step 2: Are any of the printers listed in the users ControlPanel\Devices and Printers in an Error\Offline\Documents stuck in Queue state? (Control Panel\Devices and Printers – Right click on the NAME column and choose ‘More’. Check the Status box. *see screenshot 1 at the bottom of this document)
- Yes – [even if it isn’t the printer they are trying to use] ‘You will need to contact your tech to resolve the printer installation issue(s). Or if they say it isn’t a printer they need to have installed on this computer, have them remove the printer and try again.
- No- Great. Move on to the next step
Step 3: Is the printer connected to your workstation with a USB Cable? (the printer must be installed by IP address onto the computer where they are running the Evosus software)
- Yes - Have your tech install this printer on your computer using the local IP address assigned to that printer
- No, it is connected to an Ethernet cable to the wall (or router) – Continue on to the next troubleshooting step below
- No, it is installed onto another computer and shared. I connect to it that way – Have your tech install this printer on your computer using the local IP address assigned to that printer
Are you trying to print a 3” wide receipt, an 8.5”x11” document, or a Barcode Label?
Receipt –
Make sure that their Evosus Administration > System > Evosus Defaults > Manage Evosus Forms Parameter is set to POS Receipt-Small as Default
Supported Receipt Printers:
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Ethernet version of the Star TSP143
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Ethernet version of the Star TSP654
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Ethernet version of the Epson TM-T88v
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You can suggest they see if the Red Error Light is ON. If so, try restarting the printer or they should have the person who installed the printer resolve the error or contact the manufacturer
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Check to see if the paper is loaded correctly
8.5x11 Doc-
Supported 8.5”x11” Printers:
We have yet to find an Ethernet Single Function Printer that does NOT format & print properly with Evosus. Multi-Function (Fax\Print\Scan) devices are not supported.
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You can suggest they see if the Red Error Light is ON. If so, they should have the person who installed the printer resolve the error or contact the manufacturer
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Check to see if the paper is loaded correctly
Barcode Label-
Supported Barcode Label Printers:
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Ethernet Connected Bixolon SRP770iie
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Ethernet Connected Bixolon SRP770iii
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You can suggest they see if the Red Light is ON. If so, they should have the person who installed the printer resolve the error or contact Bixolon Support. http://www.bixolon.com/html/en/customer/technical.xhtml
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Check to see if the labels are loaded correctly (diagram on the underside of the printer lid)
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Make sure that they have the installation document that we have created (M:\Client Services\Support\Network Stuff\How-To\Bixolon Barcode Printer Install) – this walks them through the installation and configuration step-by-step. We have created very detailed instructions for this printer. If they need further assistance, they will need to contact their tech or they can contract one of our hardware team to perform their installation and troubleshooting at $125/hr. Jump to the Action section below
What is the Make & Model of printer that is set as the users Default Windows Printer?
Is it appropriate for the document they are trying to print?
When creating a receipt in Evosus a Supported Receipt printer must be set as this Windows Users Default Windows Printer
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When creating an 8.5x11 document in Evosus an 8.5x11 Single Function printer must be set as this Windows Users Default Windows Printer
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When creating Barcode Labels in Evosus an 8.5x11 Single Function printer must be set as this Windows Users Default Windows Printer
Yes – Continue to the next troubleshooting step
No - Switch the users Default Windows Printer to the correct one, recreate the document, and try it again
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If the user is working on a Terminal Server, open Task Manager (right click on start and choose Task Manager) and choose the Users tab. Are any of the listed sessions showing a Disconnected Status?
No – Continue to the next step
Yes – This means the user did not log off their Terminal Server properly and their session is still running on the server [see screenshot below]. Right click on the Disconnected sessions and choose Sign Out
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If the user is working on a Terminal Server, does the issue still happen after you see them log out properly and log back in?
No – Issue Resolved
Yes – See Additional Support Notes below the Action section
**Action**
Add a Private note to the ticket with the following details:
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A set of steps we can walk through to duplicate the issue
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All Printers in a Ready status?
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What document type are they are trying to print?
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What is the Name of the Users Default Windows Printer?
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A results summary of the troubleshooting steps above
*Assign it to the Device Team
Additional Support Notes:
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If a client uses the smaller receipt printers (3” wide paper roll), for speed at checkout, the user typically has the small receipt printer set as their Default Windows Printer. If this Windows User wants to Create an 8.5x11 doc for print, they must switch their Default Windows Printer prior to creating the document.
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There are Millions of printers, Trillions of printer drivers, and dozens of ways to install each of them. You are contacting Evosus asking for a RELIABLE way to function. That is what we are providing.
Common statements:
“But we have never had to….”
“This has always worked before…”
“We’ve never had a problem with…”
We understand that our clients need a stable & reliable printing environment. We have troubleshooting steps and can offer assistance if you are using the reliable design that we support. We do not have experience with or documentation for other less reliable designs. For assistance troubleshooting an unsupported design, you will need to contact your network tech.
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If they send an 8.5x11 document (Microsoft TEST Page) to a smaller receipt or barcode printer, expect that printer to show the Red light and go into an ERROR state. Power cycle the printer if this happens.
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Terminal Server configurations that include Remote APPs, Published APPs, or Citrix are not supported, (one of the main but not the only reason is) and one of the main reasons is because Users are not able to manage their printers in these environments.
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Also be aware – we frequently have calls about ‘Evosus is Slow’, ‘Evosus is locking up’, or ‘DB Connection Errors’ that are due to Local Printer Redirection. Windows is trying to communicate with all those printers in each session and it takes too long – SQL\Evosus quits waiting for them to respond and the user receives an error.
Redirected Printers:
Take a look at the screenshot below. You see some of the printers have “On Until” after the name & model of the printer. This means the printer is installed onto another computer (named Util) and not directly onto this computer. We only support printers installed a standard TCP/IP port onto the same computer where they are running Evosus.
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The “on computername” is your clue that it is not installed in a way that we support
Multi-Function Print Devices
We are frequently asked Why Evosus does not support Fax\Print\Scan devices.
*Conflicts:* Manufacturers of these devices are always working to add features and functionality. Recently, It has become common for Fax\Print\Scan device software to include an Add-In to Outlook. We have found that these Outlook Add-Ins can interfere with the Evosus Outlook Add-In stopping the ability for users to email out from Evosus.
*Formatting:* The Formatting used by manufacturers for the Multi-Function devices is not as standardized as it is for Single Function printers. It is Very common for different models from the same manufacturer to format differently from each other.
*No Standards:* Manufacturer software even changes from software version to software version – so even the same model that was working may format differently or stop working once a driver\software update has been performed.
*No Control Over Updates:* Further complicating the issue, Most manufacturers have begun using Auto-Update applications built into their software. This software can then update itself at any time – without your knowledge or interaction. It is Very common this device to then stop working for, what seems like, No Reason. We understand that our clients need to have
*Reliable* printing options to run their business. Over the last 15 years we have been unable to find a Multi-Function print device that is Reliable enough to recommend, ie: one that we are able to say – This Make, this Model, this software version will work 100% of the time.
Over the same 15 years, every Make, every Model, every Driver Version released of Ethernet connected Single Function Printers tried by Evosus and our clients has worked correctly out of the box.