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Device-Ticket Printer

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A thermal ticket printer is configured up by selecting Ticket Printer as the device type and entering the information below.

NOTE: NEVER install any software printer drivers for any ticket printer.

Theatre Manager does not use them and installing the printer drivers may affect the ability to print tickets and other reports.

Theatre Manager supports several commercial ticket printers. They must have the FGL language installed in them and one of ethernet, serial, or parallel ports. (USB is currently not supported).

  • For ticket printer sharing, you must use ethernet.
  • For remote ticket printing under terminal services, parallel is recommended
  • For remote ticket printing over a VPN, ethernet is suggested

This preference is used to setup a ticket printer that can be associated with a workstation - meaning you can set difference preferences for each machine you use.

Refer to ticket face setup if you want to print different events to different printers or ticket stock.

Parts of the Ticket Printers Tab

Ticket Printer Configuration

Printer Type Tickets can be printed to any one of the following printers (as long as it has FGL language support in it): Choose the default ticket printer the employee will print to. You may need to set up the IP address for the printer on the actual printer itself.

Note that there are some differences in the ports, handshakes and FGL capabilities in each printer so it is important to select the right one.

Port Name The port the primary ticket printer is attached to. Note that there are choices here that affect other fields on the screen. You can select:
  • IP Address if the printer has an ethernet port (most common)
  • Parallel, if the printer has a parallel port (windows only)
  • Serial if the printer has a serial port. Normally windows only. See note below or MacOS
    OSX supports ethernet printers since the Mac does not have any serial ports. Some venues have reported using the Tripplite 19HS with 32 bit TM for very old serial Practical Automation printers. (apparently, they have 64 bit drivers for Catalina and up)
The selection of the printer port (above) affects what is shown on the IP Address/Port below.
IP Address IP address of printer if using ethernet printer. The field is not displayed for Serial or LPT printers.
If you have a Practical Automation ethernet printer, you can find the IP address by printing the system status report

  • Power off the printer
  • Power up the printer while simultaneously pressing the F0 switch on the front continuously
  • Wait till a ticket is printed with a bunch of information. Part of that will be the IP address and subnet mask
  • You may need to Power off and On the printer again before you begin printing tickets
Port Parameters This field will appear for serial printers. Enter the baud rate and handshake information. Typically it is 9600,n,8,1,X, meaning:
  • 9600 - for 9600 baud. This must match your physical printer otherwise nothing will happen. 9600 is the most common value.
  • n - n mean no parity. this is also a typical value
  • 8 - means 8 data bits. This is a typical value. Sometimes 7 is used.
  • 1 - means 1 stop bit. This is typical.
  • X - means Xon/Xoff protocol.
IP Port Number IP port of printer if using ethernet printer . The field is not displayed for LPT or serial printers.

  • Practical Automation printers ship with the default port 10001 (which can be changed).
  • Boca Lemur printers ship with the default port 9100 (which cannot be changed)
  • Microcom printers ship with the default port 9100 (which can be changed).
Print Delay Allows for a printer buffer to clear before printing the next ticket. This delay is hardware specific. If tickets are being printed on top of one another, tickets are not printed correctly, or if tickets are skipped during the printing process the print delay should be increased.
Ticket Cutting Options If printer supports ticket cutting, there are three options to choose from: Cut each ticket, Cut after last tickets for patron, or Do not cut tickets