Problem:  A parallel receipt printer outputs garbage or random characters onto the receipt paper when connected to a new computer

Solution:  The most common cause of garbage on a parallel receipt printer is the wrong driver or multiple printer drivers on the parallel (listed as LPT in Windows) port. Please note if you are using multiple parallel printer on a computer the instructions below apply to the LPT port you where you are installing the new printer. In most cases a computer uses a single LPT port. 

Wrong printer driver: The steps below detail how to move a driver off the LPT port:

1. On a Windows computer look at Control Panel / Printers and Faxes. 
2. Right-click the printer driver and select Properties. 
3. Click the Advanced tab. 
4. Look at the Driver line and see what the name of the printer driver is. 
   1. For example: if you are using a Star printer but have an Ithaca driver listed on the port then that can cause garbage to print onto the new printer. 
5. The solution is to move the old driver off the port and install the correct printer driver on the LPT port.
   1. If you have an older printer driver listed on the same port as the new printer driver there is a way to move the old driver to another port in case you wish to use the older printer again at some time in the future. 
   2. Right-click the old printer driver and select Properties. 
   3. Click the Ports tab.  Scroll down the ports listed until you see File / Print to file port. 
   4. Check the File port and click Apply and OK.  This will move the old driver off the port so that it no longer interferes with the new printer. 
6. Follow the steps above for any other older drivers listed on the LPT port.

Multiple drivers on parallel (LPT) port:

1. On a Windows computer look at Control Panel / Printers and Faxes. 
2. Right-click the older printer driver and select Properties. 
3. Click the Ports tab and look at the highlighted port.  If the port is an LPT port please note the port number. Any ports listed as COM or USB should not affect a parallel printer.
4. If the computer has one parallel port then you should have only one driver listed on the LPT port. If you are using multiple parallel printer on a computer please note these instructions apply to the LPT port you where you are installing the new printer.
5. If you have an older printer driver listed on the same port as the new printer driver there is a way to move the old driver to another port in case you wish to use the older printer at some time in the future. 
   1. Right-click the old printer driver and select Properties. 
   2. Click the Ports tab. 
   3. Scroll down the ports listed until you see File / Print to file port. 
   4. Check the File port and click Apply and OK. 
   5. This will move the old driver off the port so that it no longer interferes with the new printer. 
   6. Follow the steps above for any other older drivers listed on the LPT port.

If there is still garbage printing on the receipt please contact technical support for assistance.