CUPS printing

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CUPS is the program which manages ViewTouch Printer operations.

Bixolon is the preferred and recommended brand for ViewTouch Point of Sale Printing.

PPD files for Bixolon printers are included in the ViewTouch image file for the Raspberry Pi. PPD files have been downloaded from Bixolon's web site and installed on the image.

The best way to add Bixolon POS printers to a ViewTouch site is to make use of the Print Settings Icon which is available on the ViewTouch desktop. Instructions for adding a printer using the Print Settings program can be found here. When printers are added to a ViewTouch site, each printer is given a name using simple names as: receipt, kitchen, bar, receipt1, kitchen1, bar1, etc. An alternate, optional method for adding printers is to use the CUPS browser interface following these instructions. In a browser, under 'Administration' select 'Add Printers'. The important thing when adding printers is to pay attention to the 'Name' field, also known as the 'Queue Name'. This alternate method of using the browser to add or manage printers begins with setting the browser URL to localhost:631.

If you are not using the ViewTouch image you must install the Bixolon PPD files yourself, else you must use the printer's raw printing capabilities. Download Bixolon PPD driver files for your printers from http://www.bixolon.com/html/en/download/download_list.xhtml?all_yn=Y;

Note ! If CUPS print test works but ViewTouch print test doesn't work, it is necessary to download and install the cups-bsd file. Use Synaptic Icon on the ViewTouch Blue Marble Desktop to do this.

ViewTouch needs to know the 'Name' of any printers you have added. If you have tested your printers in the Print Settings or CUPS program and if ViewTouch knows the name(s) of your printer(s) then everything will work as it should. This is the page in ViewTouch where the Name(s), also known as the Printer Queue Name of your printer(s) can be entered. Important: Receipt printer names are located in the definition of the terminal they are associated with. Remote Printers on Remote Displays and in food and beverage prep site locations are attached to the network and are not associated with any specific terminal and are therefore defined independently of any terminal.

If you are located remotely to the ViewTouch PoS printer then you can still access the CUPS interface and do most everything as a local user can. The ssh command with a port redirection argument makes it a simple matter to monitor and administer the Point of Sale printers at locations which are remote to you. The ssh command for this is ssh -L 6310:localhost:631 ipaddress. After you have established your ssh connection, set your local browser URL to localhost:6310.

The link which allows ViewTouch to access the capabilities of CUPS (the Common UNIX Printing System) is the Name for a printer.

A printer can be given multiple roles or tasks in ViewTouch by simply giving the printer more than one Name! For example, a printer can be used as both a receipt printer and as a kitchen printer if it has two Names: receipt and kitchen. CUPS manages the printer's physical properties and the printer interfaces. ViewTouch manages the type of PoS task which the printer is assigned to do.

Cash Drawers (1 or 2) are connected to 6-pin RG-11 ports on Bixolon printers. Bixolon printers typically have interfaces for RG-11 cash drawer ports, RJ_45 (ethernet) ports, WiFi, USB and BlueTooth. The most commonly used Bixolon printer for receipts ships with a default DHCP address.

Bixolon printers will divulge their IP address when a pin is entered into the pin hole adjacent to the Ethernet Interface on the rear of the printer IF the printer is connected to the network.

Bixolon printers can be configured to any fixed ethernet or WiFi IP address. Instructions for doing this are at the link mentioned above. This can also be done using the Bixolon Net Configuration Tool, which runs on a Windows PC. The Net Configuration Tool can also be downloaded from http://www.bixolon.com/html/en/download/download_category.xhtml?ca_id=114&large_cd=0012&small_cd=0008.

Call me (Gene) at 541-515-5913 if you need help.