Q.  What is firmware?

A.  Firmware is the operating system of the printer (referred to as an OS) which is comparable to the Windows or DOS software that is the operating system of your desktop computer.

The term "firmware" implies that the printer's operating system is loaded onto read-only memory (ROM) chips or non-volatile (random access memory (RAM) chips built into your printer, therefore making it more "firm" than software.

Q.  What is an emulation?

A.  This term means that one printer can function like another printer made by a different manufacturer and has the same features (and limitations) as the original.

A printer that offers more features than the model it emulates is termed an enhanced emulation.

Q.  I need to connect my printer to a PC on LPT1 with a parallel cable but what type do you recommend?

A.  This can vary depending on which model of Lipi printer you have.  As a general rule you should use a good quality parallel (sometimes also called centronics) cable no longer than 2 meters in length.  Some of our models do allow for a slightly longer length (please see printer user/operator manual).  The reason for this is that the data coming along the parallel cable can lose it’s signal strength the further it has to travel.  This can result in the printer not responding, missing data or data being corrupted.  However, we believe there are some cables on the market that can reduce this to a minimum.

We also recommend use of an IEEE1284 cable for the printers with bi-directional interfaces.   If you are unsure on which type of interface you have on your printer you can refer to the manual but it would do no harm to use the IEEE cable on a standard uni-directional interfaced printer.

Q. I am using word and do not appear to be able to select the correct paper source even when I select it at print time in the printer driver.

A. It is word which decides where the paper should feed from. This is done from File /Page Setup/Paper Source.

This is shown below.

Q. I am looking for a DOS Printer Driver. I have looked on your Web Site, but you do not seem to have any listed. Where can I find a Printer Driver that I can use with my Lipi Printer from DOS ?

A. Within most DOS based Applications the software manufacturer provides Generic Emulation based Printer Drivers. These would in most cases correspond with Emulations Supported by Tally Printers. A list of the Supported Emulations can be found in the Operator's Manuals for the Tally Printer Range. After the relevant Generic Printer Driver has been identified, it can then be used with the Printer.

Q. My printer will not print from my computer using the serial interface. Can you help?

A. There are many reasons for this. Here are some of the common problems.

• Have you selected the serial interface within the printers menu ?

• Have you setup the serial parameters to be the same as the systems parameters ?

• Have you checked that the data cable pin out is correct for the host and the printer ?

• Have you connected the data cable to the correct port on the host computer, this being the 'Com1: 0r Com2: Port' ?

• Please Note that Com1: can some times be used for the Mouse, if this is the case on your Computer then you will need to use the Com2: port, refer to your Computers operators Manual.

• Have you setup the host computer to output from the serial port, 'Com1: or Com2: ' ?

• If you are using Xon/Xoff protocol on a 'Line Printer' make sure that DTR is set to Power.

Q. Can I use both the serial interface and the parallel interface on my printer at the same time?

A.   On some of our printer's sharing the parallel and the serial interfaces is possible.

Q.  My dot matrix printer is printing slowly now I have connected it to Windows 95/98.  Is there anything that can be done to improve it's speed?

A.  There are many factors that can cause a printer to print slowly from an Operating System, Application.  However, there is a small setting in the Lipi Windows 95/98 drivers that may improve the printer's performance.  The Lipi Drivers have a default printing matrix set to 360 x 360 dpi (dot per inch) resolution.  This resolution value can be reduced easily to 180 x 180 without creating print quality reductions.  This 180 x180 resolution will increase the printing speed of each character.

Within Windows select Start, Settings and Printers.  Select the Tally Matrix Driver Properties and select the Graphics Heading.  Resolution is at the top of this page so select the pull down menu and select 180 x 180 resolution and OK to finish.

Q. The menu is locked on my matrix printer and I do not know how to unlock the menu?

This relates to the following models T2155, T2170, MT360 , MTxxx.

A. Unlocking the Menu:

.        Turn off the printer's power.

·        While holding the SETUP key, turn the power on.

·        Continue holding the SETUP key until ONLINE is displayed.

The menu is now unlocked until the printer is turned off.

If you wish the menu to remain unlocked after power is cycled:

·        Turn on the printer's power while holding the SETUP key as described above.

·        Press the SETUP key.

·        Press the key under MENU on the display.

·        Press the key under NEXT repeatedly until MENLOCK is displayed.

·        Press the key under the < or > display until MENLOCK=OFF is displayed.

·        Press the key under SET on the display.

·        Press the ONLINE key to exit the menu mode.

Q.  What is the difference between the Standard driver and the Text driver?

A.  Standard drivers are capable of printing: graphics, True Type fonts as graphics and printer-resident fonts.

Text drivers print only printer-resident fonts.

Q.  How do I create a custom paper size in Windows NT 4.0?

A.  To create a new paper size on a Windows NT 4.0 system, or to add a custom paper size, user MUST add paper size in Windows NT itself-not in an application.

1. Make sure all application (program) windows are minimized.

2. On Taskbar (usually at very bottom of screen), select START, or on Keyboard, press WINDOW key (between CTRL and ALT)

3. When START menu pops up, select SETTINGS (click SETTINGS with left mouse button).

4. When SETTINGS menu pops out, select PRINTER.

5. When PRINTER control panel dialog appears, select FILE on menu.

6. When FILE menu pops down, select SERVER PROPERTIES.

7. Select (check) box CREATE A NEW FORM.

8. Type new paper size name at FORM DESCRIPTION FOR.

9. Change WIDTH and HEIGHT sizes to desired measurement (normally in inches, depending on operating system language setting).

10. Select SAVE FORM button.

11. Select OK button.

12. Close PRINTER control panel dialog.

New paper size will be available inside any application, ready to use as needed.

Note: It is not usually necessary to close any programs, however if following modification does not become immediately visible to your application or to Windows NT, close and relaunch it.

To select new paper size within an application:

1. Open selected application.

2. Select FILE on menu.

3. When FILE menu pops down, select PAGE SETUP.

4. Select PAPER SIZE tab, if necessary.

5. In PAPER SIZE, tab, scroll PAPER SIZE list box to name of new paper size.

6. Select (highlight) new paper size.

7. Select, if necessary, Whole Document from Apply To list box.

8. Select OK button.

Q. I have recently upgraded my Operating System to Microsoft Windows 2000 Server. I have located the appropriate Printer Driver for the Printer, but I cannot find a Custom Paper Size selection from the Device Options Menu of the Printer Driver. This Custom Paper Size was in the printer driver in Windows 95/98 so I need to know how to create a Custom Paper Size as my form is of a non standard size. 

A.  When using Windows 2000 Operating System you need to create a Custom Paper Size from the Server Properties Menu. 

This can be achieved by following the instruction below:- 

You must have Supervisor Rights on Microsoft Windows 2000 (Minimum) to enable you to Create the Custom Form Size and see the Server Properties selection. 
Select Start 
Select the Settings 
Select the Printers 
Select File Menu from within the Printers Menu 
Select Server Properties from the File Menu 
Select Create New Form Tick Box. 
Enter a Form Name and/or Description 
Enter Measurements of Form using the Paper Size & Printer Area Settings as required. 
Name and Select the Save Form Option. 
Once the instructions detailed above have been followed you will be able to select the newly created Form Size from within the Printer Driver.


(Windows 2000 is a Registered Trade Mark of Microsoft Corporation)

Q.  What does bad escape sequence mean?

A.  Computers send data to printers in a digital format. This data is generally in eight (8) bit words. The printer must look at the data and determine what character to print.

Most prints use the ASCII code format to determine what character to print. This means the printer will compare the bit pattern it received to the values in an ASCII code table to determine what character to print.

For example, if the computer sends the printer a digital bit pattern that can be represented by the hexadecimal value of 41, the printer will look the hex value of 41 up in an ASCII table and find the it represents the capital letter A.

Some characters in the ASCII table represent special control characters: the hex value of 0D, for example, represents a CR/LF (carriage return/line feed).

Most printers give these ASCII escape characters special meaning. Thus, if such a character was encountered within the data for producing document text, a Bad Escape Sequence error would be displayed.

Q. Why does my printer print so slowly?

A.  A number of things affect the speed of your printer: font style, characters per inch (CPI) settings, lines per inch (LPI) settings, and graphics mode. Each affects how many dots per inch the printer must print and how close together the dots must be placed.

Printers run fastest in low quality draft mode because the printer does not use as many dots per character and the dots do not have to be placed with as high precision. Near letter quality fonts and graphics modes require the printer to precisely place a large number of dots on the paper to achieve the desired print quality. This slows down the printing process.

Printer specifications list print speeds for various font styles. However, there are so many combinations that not all print conditions can be tested and shown on the specification. Therefore the only way to know how fast a specific application will print is to test that application with a specific printer.

Q.  Where do I find the current printer configuration?

A.  Take the printer offline.

1. Press the MODE key. 

2. Use the up or down ARROW key to scroll until CONFIG is displayed.

3. Press the FORMS/1 key.

4. Press one of the ARROW keys as needed until PRINTER is displayed.

5. Press the CPI/2 key.

6. Press one of the ARROW keys as needed until REPORT is displayed.

7. Press the LPI/3 key.

8. Press one of the ARROW keys as needed until CONFIGS is displayed.

9. Press the ENTER key.

A configuration report will print out.

Q.  How do I set my Line printer back to Factory Defaults?

A.  Note: Print a Configuration Report before you load Defaults.

To print Configuration Report: 

1. Make sure paper and ribbon are installed before beginning procedure.

2. Take printer OFFLINE

3. Press MODE key.

4. Press DOWN arrow to Config.

5. Press FORMS/1 key.

6. Press DOWN arrow to Printer.

7. Press CPI/2 key.

8. Press DOWN arrow to Report.

9. Press LPI/3 key.

10. Press DOWN arrow to Config.

11. Press ENTER. Configuration Report will print.

Take printer Off line 

1. Press the MODE button and press the DOWN button to select CONFIG.

2. Press the FORMS/1 button and press the DOWN button to select Printer.

3. Press the CPI/2 button and press the DOWN button to select Load.

4. Press the LPI/3 button and press the DOWN button to select Default.

5. Press the Enter button and the Defaults will be loaded.

Q.  How do I make my Line printer automatically power up to Online?

A.  Take printer Off line 

1. Press MODE key and use DOWN key to CONFIG.

2. Press FORMS/1 key, should already be on Printer.

3. Press CPI/2 key, should already be on Powerup.

4. Press LPI/3 key, use DOWN key to Online.

5. Press ENTER.

Save change to Powerup.

1. Press MODE key and press the DOWN key to CONFIG.

2. Press Forms/1 key, should be on Printer.

3. Press CPI/2 key, press the DOWN key to Save.

4. Press LPI/3 key, press the DOWN key to Powerup.

5. Press ENTER.