Okidata dot-matrix printer problem?


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Old 06-10-05, 09:57 AM
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Question Okidata dot-matrix printer problem?

My Chiropractor has an IBM-compatible PC with Win 2000. He is using Eclipse Practice Management Software to print statements, including impact copies. The printer is an OKIdata pin-feed ML 320 Turbo/D impact(dot matrix), set for IBM(Proprinter?) emulation.

Problem: The capital "U" has a closed top giving it the appearance of a capital "O". Example = "UNITED HEALTHCARE" looks like "ONITED HEALTHCARE". He was told by the Eclipse software people that this was a common hardware problem of the type of Okidata printer he is using. I might agree with this since Eclipse appears to be overriding the Windows soft fonts and selecting an Okidata built-in font from the printer ROM. The following is a quote from ECLIPSE Printing Fundamentals.
"Non-GDI Printing
Pre-printed multi part forms are best suited to dot matrix printers. However, printing through the Windows GDI to a dot matrix printer results in tediously slow output. In order to generate printouts at top speed of the printer, ECLIPSE native drivers can be used in conjunction with the Windows device driver to provide fast output in standard text mode."

Is the problem related to the Eclipse native driver (OKI390)
Should the IBM emulation be turned off unless using the IBMPROXL driver?
Would EPSON emulation and an EPSON driver work better?

If anyone has any idea of where these fonts ane coming from, I also have a
Windows-related speed problem with a Panasonic dot matrix printer.
 
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Old 06-10-05, 10:52 AM
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You might try the other emulations to see how they perform. I would look for more help from the program vendor. These high dollar programs ought to be flexible enough to sport a driver for a production printer such as this one.
 
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Old 06-13-05, 05:06 PM
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I'm not familier with the Eclipse Practice Management, but I have worked with quite a few medical Apps. Is this a Non-windows based, or an older App.
(dos or older windows, etc) ?

A couple of question about your configuration. I assume your connected directly to the PC using parrallel cable(lpt1).

And is the application sending the print jobs through the windows printer/queue ? or is it printing directly to the printer itself from the App. Older non-windows, and some older windows programs have thier own print drivers. I've seen this alot with medical Apps.

If it's using the windows printer/queue, you can see if under printer properties, it has the option to "Print directly to printer". I don't remember if the Oki 390's had this option in the windows driver or not. I've used this to clear up some odd printing issues with older Apps, on windows. This only applys if the App is sending the print job through the Windows queue.
 
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Old 06-13-05, 05:16 PM
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Also, like you mentioned, you could try another emulation The Epson-FX series is a good generic I've used before, or you could also try "Generic/text only" if available.

I dont think this would be the issue, but have you run a test pattern from the printer to be sure you dont have a bad printhead or something ? From how you've discribed it, I don't really think that would be the issue, but you could quickley rule it out.

Is it every time you print an "u", or just in certain areas of the form ?
 
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Old 06-13-05, 05:22 PM
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For the speed issue -

For the panasonic print speed issue, you can also try the "print directly to printer" option under properties if it's a windows printer. and also, check your print quality settings on the printer itself. Higher quality will slow it down dramatically. Try setting it to draft quality.

It's been a while since I've delt with these kind of issues, since I'm not working in Healthcare IT anymore, but this sounds like stuff I used to run into all the time.
 
 

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