Mini Printer Problem

[dpcons]

The mini thermal printer purchased Mar 8, 2015 Order #730366-0057135141 and/or the downloaded Software Library are not working correctly. See attachment showing output using supplied software. No inverse, No UPC A. The software is running on a Duemilanove board (Arduino 1.6). The software compiles and downloads fine. I have made NO modifications to the software. Board is connected as shown in your web page. I've also included a picture of the power-up print test, as well as close-ups of the board and connections.

Additionally, sometimes the panel led remains on. At which time the feed button fails to function. If I rerun the app, the printer resets and the led becomes intermittent again and the feed starts to function again...for awhile.

[pburgess]

Inverse printing and certain barcode types seem to only be present in certain versions of the printer firmware; it's been noted before, so apparently this latest batch doesn't support those specific features (or they've been moved to different command #s that haven't been tracked down).

The button thing though...that's odd and not normal. Have you identified any common factor in the interim that seems to trigger it? Temperature, something your code's doing, or other? If not, something's amiss and we'll replace the printer.

[adafruit_support_mike]

What are you using for a power supply?

[dpcons]

I'm using the power supply which came with the printer. Although I've tried a 5V bench supply with plenty of current handling. It's disturbing that the printer that's been sold to me is not performing to the advertised specs. If various firmware versions perform differently, that should have been noted in a disclaimer somewhere in the ad. After the last post, I searched the forum and have discovered several peculiarities(failures?) with this printer and they are STILL being sold. Who's responsibility is it to track down these issues with the manufacturer? Anyone? It seems like it's more an attempt to dump non-functional units on the unsuspecting public. Is Lady Ada aware of these issues?

[pburgess]

Since the printer's misbehaving even in the presence of ample power, I'd say it's defective, and we can replace it if you'd like...

As for the other things though: well, I'll explain in a moment, but first: if you'd simply prefer a refund, we can do that as well.

This is one of a few products that we carry that are surplus "ends" from production runs for much larger customers (e.g. cash register companies) who have clout with the manufacturer to request firmware tweaks for their runs. The good news for all of us is affordable hardware for the hobbyist market. The downside is occasional small feature changes like this (which arrive unannounced...we don't get a changelog or anything). Though the core functionality is present, there's some expectation that one may need to get hackerly...tracking down newer/different datasheets, poking at the command set, or trying workarounds like bitmap-rendering inverse text.

Anyway, if that's not your bag, I apologize and we'll provide a full refund (and since the one you have seems to be defective in addition to the features gone missing, no need to return, please just e-waste dispose it). You might be able to track down a printer with a more predictable feature set from other sources...for example, SparkFun has what looks like a similar (if not identical) thermal printer, though I have no specific experience with it and couldn't tell you if they're able to spec their own predictable firmware or if they experience the same time-to-time feature changes.