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Preferred Serial Printers? — Parallax Forums

Preferred Serial Printers?

xanatosxanatos Posts: 1,120
edited 2011-09-07 10:34 in General Discussion
I'm looking for a serial printer that I can drive from a basic stamp (or from a buffered basic stamp...) Ideally a thermal printer that I can just SEROUT to with a few lines of data (basically, start count, end count, date & time and probably a couple of line feeds so the user can tear off the ticket). Is there a particular printer that seems to be a favorite for ease of use amongst us?

Thanks,

Dave

Comments

  • Beau SchwabeBeau Schwabe Posts: 6,568
    edited 2011-09-02 17:22
    Years ago I remember some talk about a serial printer able to do just that... connect directly to a Basic Stamp II. I'll have to do some digging, but I believe it was 1995-1996 time frame.
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2011-09-02 17:34
    Unfortunately, you are going to be looking at USD$200+ because the market for non-Windows printers has shrunk to the size of a turnip and economies of scale no longer apply. Your best bet would be a point of sale printer designed to print register receipts. We use several of these in my industry, both tape-strip and ticket printers, and they do accept normal serial data without a Windows driver but the cheapest of them I've seen recently is still over $200.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2011-09-02 17:35
    If you can get your hands on one of these old clunkers, they're super easy to use and very reliable:

    -Phil
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2011-09-02 18:23
    Dave,

    I have one of these from SparkFun.

    It's nice and small. Although I've had it for several months, I still haven't taken the time to try it out.

    I plan to use it with a Propeller but I still have a couple Basic Stamps I could dust off to try it with.

    Let me know if you have any questions about it that you think I might be able to answer.

    Duane
  • Beau SchwabeBeau Schwabe Posts: 6,568
    edited 2011-09-02 21:07
    Here is the article that I remember... (Chapter 3)

    http://www.ckuehnel.ch/PDF/bs2pCommnFeat.pdf

    ... with one external IC and a Basic Stamp II it shows an example of how to communicate via CTP (Centronics Transmission Protocol ) using I2C

    I think originally I saw this discussed as a data logger on an alarm system to create a hard copy printed event log.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2011-09-03 02:06
    Look for an old Diablo daisywheel printer and be prepared to ink you own ribbons. Try EBay.

    http://compare.ebay.com/like/150635344583?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&_lwgsi=y
  • xanatosxanatos Posts: 1,120
    edited 2011-09-03 05:57
    Duane Degn wrote: »
    Dave,

    I have one of these from SparkFun.

    Duane

    I believe this fits the bill nicely. Other non-windows printers may work as well, and since my friend's buying the parts and has a fairly nice budget, the $200+ items may work fine also, but I'll definitely try the SparkFun unit first. I'm still open to other finds/suggestions should any pop into mind. eBay and one-off's won't work because if this first option works, he'll want a few more.

    Thanks everybody!

    Dave
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2011-09-05 14:13
    That Sparkfun printer is by far the cheapest solution I have seen in the last 10 years or so. In fact, I'm probably going to let my boss know about it.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2011-09-07 10:24
    Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »
    If you can get your hands on one of these old clunkers, they're super easy to use and very reliable:

    -Phil

    Good call, PhiPi! I emailed that seller and bought that printer for $25 shipped. I hope it's easy to connect to. It can be powered by 5 C-cells, so now I can have a mobile robot with an onboard printer!

    Specs:

    26‑1261 $99.95 [RSC‑12] Low-Cost Thermal Matrix Printer with Graphics

    Ideal for the TRS-80 Color Computer

    Prints Graphics and Alphanumerics

    Whisper Queiet - Measures 3 x 8 x 5"

    Prints 32 characters per line at 30 characters per second on 4-1/8"-wide thermal paper. Features include elongation mode for expanded print and a special repeat function to make graphics programming easier. Color Computer-compatible serial interface only. U.L. Listed.

    Specifications: Print Density: 5, 10 cpi. Print Speed: 30 cps. Character Set: 96 ASCII, 16 graphics. Line Spacing: 1/6". Dimensions: 3 x 8 x 5". Weight: 3-1/2 lbs. Power: 5 "C" batteries or 120VAC, 60 Hz, 18W.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2011-09-07 10:34
    Thermal paper is rather generic. About the only problems you might get into with an old or discontinued thermal printer are a failed printer head or a lack of proper size paper rolls. You can roll your own from other stock though. I like the SparkFun one. It seems that it can actually print Chinese as well if one so chooses.
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