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Cash Drawer Issues

  1. RASWIN communicates to any attached cash drawers through the receipt printer. The printer contains circuitry to respond to a drawer-open command and a connector to send this signal to the drawer.

    You set the type of printer you have via the Main Menu➔Maintenance➔Special Functions menu option.

    A drop-down list of the supported printer types will appear on this screen and you must select the printer type you have installed in order for the program to know which codes to send to the printer to cause the drawer to open.
  2. Each user is assigned to cash drawer #1 or #2 via the cashiers table. Most of the printers supported by RASWIN can handle two physical drawers (#1 and #2) so that different cashiers can share the same terminal and have individual drawers controlled based on who is logged in. In cases where only one drawer is connected, ALL cashiers must be assigned to drawer #1 if they are to be linked to an operating drawer.

    It is possible to have a cashier assigned to drawer #2, even if there is only one drawer attached. In such cases, (e.g, a cashier is assigned to any drawer other than 1, even though there is no such drawer attached) the one attached drawer will not open.
  3. There is a cable that connects the receipt printer to the cash drawer. In most cases this is a cable that looks like a standard telephone cable, but IT IS NOT. You can't use such a cable to connect the printer to the drawer because a valid drawer cable is WIRED DIFFERENTLY. Depending on the type of printer setup you have Quadrant will supply the proper drawer cable. Most of these cables are marked 'TO CASH DRAWER' on one end . This connects to the DRAWER, not the printer. The other end, (which may or may not be marked 'TO PRINTER') connects to the appropriate connector on the printer. For most printers this connection is labeled DK (for 'drawer kickout').
  4. Make sure your network is not capturing the printer port to which the receipt printer is connected. In such cases, all printer output will be redirected to a network printer and will not get to the local parallel printer port connected to the printer. Your login scripts, if any, must NOT capture the local printer port at any time.
  5. For most printer types, we supply a special Epson printer driver. For parallel printers, the purpose for this driver is to cause any Windows 'plug and play' messages to be stopped when WINDOWS starts. The RASWIN application does not actually print to the printer via the printer driver. For USB printers, the driver is used and requires an Epson-supplied driver.

    See Setting up your printer for more details.
  6. Each printer type (e.g, TMH6000, TMH5000, etc.) has specific codes that determine what signal to send to the printer to cause the cash drawer to open. These will normally be set automatically by the RASWIN program and should require no manual adjustments except in the most unusual circumstances. An example of these settings is shown below (for the EPSON TMH5000/TMH6000).

    You should never change these codes unless directed to do so by Quadrant support.
  7. One last thing to check is your drawer switch, which most drawers have on the front panel. Usually there are three positions : LOCKED, ON-LINE, and MANUALLY OPEN

    Make sure your drawer key is in the middle position (ON-LINE).
  8. Under normal conditions if all the above is installed properly the drawer will open automatically at the right time during receipting (e.g., if cash is tendered or change is due). It should also open on demand if the F10 (open drawer) option is pressed from the main menu screen.
  9. If it does not open then, you will need to carefully assess what link in the chain is not working. This could be your software settings, the printer, the drawer cable, or the drawer itself.

    If you are lucky enough to have a second unit installed that is working properly, you can simply swap components until you find the one that is defective or not installed properly. The easiest way to do this is to simply move the entire printer/cable/drawer setup from the machine that is working to the one that is not and see if the problem persists. If it does then there is something wrong with the computer or setup. If the system now works properly, then you know the issue is with the printer or drawer or cable.

    Depending on which component is determined to be the source, you can then further check settings and your computer or start swapping just the printer, just the cable, or just the drawer to find which component is malfunctioning.

    It should not take long to isolate the problem if you follow these steps.