Ticket Print Quality

[dailey]

I'm having an issue with the print quality of one of my printers. There are faded spots and voids in the numbers, text and barcode, and cleaning has no effect. It's to the point the machine will not accept the ticket but will accept tickets from other machines. I've ordered a replacement printer, however I have a question. What is actually being read on the ticket as far as TITO acceptance? Is it the barcode? What printed data is critical? I'm just wondering what part of the ticket print I should be scrutinizing most for quality.

[off-track]

The machine only reads the bar code.  The text printed is just for the benefit of the person reading it.

[dailey]

That makes sense. I have one printer that prints faded text but clean bold barcode and is accepted by all machines. The printer giving me fits has voids and defects in the barcode, even faded or missing bars. I guess it's just getting old as cleaning the print head doesn't help.

[off-track]

The paper itself could be old and yielding poor results.  Try switching packs from another machine and see if it prints any better.

[Stayouttadabunker]

What model is the printer? 

[dailey]

The printer is a FutureLogic Gen2.  I tested three different paper lots which all perform well on other printers, just not this one.

[off-track]

I realize that you said that you've already ordered a new new printer.  But, FWIW it can take several complete cleaning procedures to get all the crud out of the print head assembly.  Thermal print heads are pretty much bulletproof.  There's a (relatively annoying) video on YT of a former slot tech cleaning a Gen II at least four times using over a dozen Q-tips (and more stuff) to get finally get a reasonably clear ticket out.

[dailey]

When I cleaned the printer head, I did it out of the machine under a bright light and magnifying glass. The print head looked pretty clean already and there was no crud on it. Rubbing a Q-tip moistened with isopropyl didn't seem to remove anything or soil the Q-tip at all. I'll clean it again anyway, and I have new paper ordered that I will try. All of my current paper is pretty old. If this doesn't solve the problem, I have another printer in shipment now.

I had another thought. Do printers ever go bad due to aging of the MPU board? They do have some electrolytic capacitors on them.

[Stayouttadabunker]

I've taken apart the FL Gen 2 printers to change caps.
You have to be very patient working with those...the harness routing is murderous to replicate as when they came out of the factory...they must of had those Oriental girls stuffing them in there. They are so easy to pinch with the plastics as you retighten the back together.
Take one apart if after cleaning they do not print better, you'll see what I mean.
It's better to take a picture first before dismantling.

I wish I kept my notes because they had the cap values, but yeah...changing out the caps worked for a couple of flaky printers.
AT one time, I had a bunch of spare boards...they do go bad and that's expected due to the age of those things...lol 

[dailey]

I know what you mean. I once took apart a gen 2 printer and I will never do it again. It's difficult and the wiring is a nightmare. Some things simply aren't worth the effort. Especially with the low cost of used printers.

I once thought about replacing the printer head, as SuzoHapp lists them for $59.95, but that's almost the price of a used printer. Besides, SuzoHapp will probably charge $100.00 for shipping.