TransAct Technologies ITHERM 280 - Manual (Page 47)

Setup Procedures iTherm ® 280 Programmer’s Guide
28-07764 Rev C Page 45
Getting Started – Questions to Ask
Most driver software for TransAct Technologies printers fall into one of three main
categories:
•
They support or emulate a specific type of communications port – for example, a
USB port driver, or a driver to emulate a serial port via an Ethernet interface.
•
They support the industry standard OPOS (OLE Point of Sale) interface for point of
sale printer applications.
•
They support a direct printer interface, such as the Windows printer API or low-level
printer commands.
The questions below can help clarify which types of drivers may be appropriate for your
printer. The following section then examines each of the most common types of driver
software in detail.
Do you want to use USB and simulate a
communication port?
The TransAct Virtual Serial (TVS) USB Driver allows your application to think that it is
communicating with a serial port, but is actually using the USB link to communicate with
the printer. This driver should be downloaded and installed when requested as part of
the Windows Plug and Play process, or may be preinstalled.
Some of TransAct Technologies printers support a composite USB interface. This
interface allows a Windows print driver to be installed to a windows USB printer port as
well as supporting a virtual serial port. In some cases the printer USB port is
configurable, and either the windows printer port or the virtual serial port may be
disabled. If you will be using OPOS, you should disable the Windows printer interface.
If you are going to use only the Windows printer API, you can but do not need to disable
the virtual serial interface.
Do you want to use an Ethernet interface and simulate
a communication port?
The TransAct Ethernet Virtual Serial (VSerial) Driver allows your application to think that
it is communicating with a serial port, but is actually using the Ethernet link to
communicate with the printer. This driver should be downloaded and installed when
required. There is currently no reliable Windows Plug and Play protocol for Ethernet
devices.