Ithaca Epic 950 Use and care manual

Epic 950TM
OEM Integration Manual
P/N 95-05245
Rev G
Feb. 2007

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95-05245 Rev GPage i
Change History
Rev A Initial release July 2004
Rev B Add index, table of page numbers, new commands March 2005
Rev C Add additional communications interface descriptions March 2006
Rev D Added internal/external bezelsto bezel mounting section May 2006
Rev E Pg 22 –95-06003L was 95-06003 May 2006
Rev F Revised ticket specification information Sept 2006
Rev G Pg 13 updated max operating temp values Feb 2007

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Important:
Before installing any equipment be sure to consult the specifications in this manual.
Failure to do so may cause integration problems. Portions of this integration manual may
be changed without prior notice.
Note:
Losses that can be attributed to improper installation and working procedures are not the
responsibility of TransAct Technologies Inc. No part of this manual may be used to
recreate any part of the Epic 950TM Printer. This manual is to be used for integration
purposes only. If this manual contains any questionable information or mistakes please
contact TransAct for assistance.
Disclaimer
NOTICE TO ALL PERSONS RECEIVING THIS DOCUMENT:
The information in this document is subject to change without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of
TransAct Technologies, Inc. ("TransAct"). This document is the property of and contains
information that is both confidential and proprietary to TransAct. Recipient shall not
disclose any portion of this document to any third party.
TRANSACT DOES NOT ASSUME ANY LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES INCURRED,
DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, FROM ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS OR
DISCREPANCIES IN THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENT.
TransAct cannot guarantee that changes in software and equipment made by other
manufacturers, and referred to in this publication, do not affect the applicability of
information in this publication.
Copyright
© 2007 TransAct Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Revision Level G
February 2007
Printed in USA
Trademarks
Some of the product names mentioned herein are used for identification purposes only
and may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
BANKjet, 50Plus, Insta-Load, Ithaca, "Made to Order. Built to Last", Magnetec, PcOS,
POSjet, PowerPocket and TransAct are registered trademarks and Epic 950, Flex-Zone,
imPort, ithaColor, iTherm, KITCHENjet, Momentum, QDT and TicketBurst are
trademarks of TransAct Technologies, Inc.

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Table of Contents
Change History..........................................................................................i
Disclaimer................................................................................................ii
Copyright.................................................................................................ii
Trademarks..............................................................................................ii
Table of Contents......................................................................................iii
Figures ...................................................................................................vi
Tables ....................................................................................................vi
Introducing Your Epic 950 Printer.........................1
About Your Epic 950 Printer.........................................................................3
Who Should Read This Guide?.....................................................................4
What Is Included in This Guide?....................................................................4
Warranty Options ......................................................................................4
Technical and Sales Support........................................................................5
On-line Technical Support........................................................................5
Telephone Technical Support....................................................................5
Return Materials Authorization and Return Policies........................................6
Service Programs...................................................................................6
Sales Support........................................................................................6
Contact Information................................................................................7
Epic 950 Specifications and Requirements .............9
Epic 950 Specifications and Requirements.....................................................11
Standard Features.................................................................................11
Optional Features..................................................................................12
Dimensions..........................................................................................13
Interface..............................................................................................13
Printer................................................................................................13
Printer Environmental Conditions..............................................................13
Power Requirements..............................................................................13
Test Standards.....................................................................................14
Mechanism Characteristics......................................................................14
Printing Specifications ............................................................................15
Ticket Specifications..............................................................................15
Design Envelope: Ticket Clearance...........................................................16
Black Dot Position and Presentation Scheme...............................................17
Ticket Stack Orientation..........................................................................18
Mounting Requirements.................................... 19
Mounting Requirements.............................................................................21
Outer Chassis to Final Product.................................................................21
Custom Bezel Specifications and Recommendations.....................................22
Epic 950 Printer Sensors................................... 25
Printer Sensors........................................................................................27
Cover Open Switch................................................................................27
Ticket Low Sensor.................................................................................27
Ticket Burst Sensor...............................................................................27
Top-of-Form/Ticket Out Sensor................................................................28

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Ticket Taken Sensor..............................................................................28
Chassis Open Sensor/Audible Alarm .........................................................28
Printer Status LED.................................................................................28
Electrical Connections ...................................... 31
Interface Connections................................................................................33
RS232 Serial Communications Interface PCB..............................................34
Default Communication Settings...............................................................34
USB Communications Interface PCB .........................................................35
NETPLEX Communications Interface PCB..................................................36
Universal USB/NETPLEX Communications Interface PCB..............................37
Dual Port NETPLEX Communications Interface PCB.....................................38
Dual Port RS232 Communications Interface PCB .........................................39
Bezel Lamp Connector..............................................................................40
Firmware Download Port............................................................................41
Printer Block Diagram................................................................................42
Operational Procedures .................................... 43
Racking/Unracking the Inner Chassis............................................................45
Loading Tickets into Feeding Mechanism.......................................................47
Removing Loaded Tickets..........................................................................49
Cleaning the Print Head.............................................................................51
Purchasing Cleaning Cards.....................................................................52
Printing a Self-test Ticket............................................................................53
Programming for the Epic 950 ........................... 55
Programming for the Epic 950.....................................................................57
Resetting the Printer..............................................................................57
Command Parameters...........................................................................57
Character Evaluation..............................................................................57
16-bit Character Parameters....................................................................58
Conversions.........................................................................................58
Font Statistics.......................................................................................59
Objects..................................................................................................59
Print Modes.............................................................................................59
Bitmap Graphics Mode...........................................................................59
Portrait Printing Mode.............................................................................60
Landscape Printing Mode........................................................................60
General Notes......................................................................................61
Text Objects.........................................................................................62
Bar Code Objects..................................................................................63
Graphic Objects....................................................................................64
Line Objects.........................................................................................64
The POR.INI File......................................................................................65
POR.INI File Parameter Definitions ...........................................................66
DIP Switch Settings ..................................................................................68
Flash Memory and Firmware Download Port...................................................70
Firmware Memory Features.....................................................................70
Non-Firmware Memory Features...............................................................71
Smart Suite Features ................................................................................72
Command Reference........................................ 73
BEL –Audio Alert..................................................................................76

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HT –Horizontal Tab...............................................................................77
LF –Line Feed.....................................................................................78
FF –Form Feed....................................................................................79
CR –Carriage Return.............................................................................80
SO –Set Font to Double-wide..................................................................81
DC4 –Cancel Double-wide Mode .............................................................82
ENQ –Request Combined Printer Status....................................................83
20h –FFh –Printable Characters..............................................................84
ESC ENQ 1 –Return Version Information...................................................85
ESC BEL –Configure Audio Alert .............................................................86
ESC SP –Set Right-Side Character Spacing...............................................87
ESC ! –Select Print Mode(s)...................................................................88
ESC $ –Set Absolute Horizontal Position in page mode.................................89
ESC * –Reset to Defaults.......................................................................90
ESC @ –Reset to Power-up Condition......................................................91
ESCB –Print Bitmap (BMP) Image...........................................................92
ESC E –Form Feed...............................................................................93
ESC F –Select Fonts.............................................................................94
ESC G –Turn Double-strike Mode On/Off...................................................95
ESC J –Feed n Sublines........................................................................96
ESC M –Set Font to 12 cpi .....................................................................97
ESC P –Set Font to 16 cpi......................................................................98
ESC S –Set Font to 20 cpi......................................................................99
ESC T –Set Font to7 cpi......................................................................100
ESC U –Set Font to 10 cpi....................................................................101
ESC V –Return Firmware Revision.........................................................102
ESC W –Wrap Data............................................................................103
ESC X –Set Horizontal Starting Position..................................................104
ESC Y –Set Vertical Starting Position......................................................105
ESC c –Select Color...........................................................................106
ESC t –Set Print Direction in Page Mode .................................................107
GS DC2 –Set Font to Double-high..........................................................108
GS DC3 –Cancel Double-high Font ........................................................109
GS RS –Set Inverse Print Mode.............................................................110
GS US –Cancel Inverse Print Mode........................................................111
GS ! –Select Character Size.................................................................112
GS $ –Set Absolute Vertical Position in Page Mode....................................113
GS * –Landscape Mode Graphics..........................................................114
GS ? –CRC Verification.......................................................................115
GS 0 –Print User Defined Image............................................................116
GS 1 –Enter Download Image Mode.......................................................117
GS 3 –Image Status Handler.................................................................118
GS A –Starting Position of Bar Code.......................................................119
GS E –Set Validation Number Field........................................................120
GS F –Set Field in Page Mode..............................................................121
GS G –Print Custom Graphic ................................................................123
GS L –Set Feed Length.......................................................................124
GS S –Return Printer Status .................................................................125
GS T –Select Line Wrap/Truncate Modes.................................................126
GS V –Set Print Orientation..................................................................127
GS W –Set Bar Code Element Width......................................................128

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GS d –Feed nText Lines......................................................................129
GS h –Set Bar Code Height ..................................................................130
GS k –Print Bar Code..........................................................................131
GS l –Draw Line in Landscape Mode......................................................132
GS t –Set Characters per Line in Landscape.............................................133
GS u –Set Characters per Line in Portrait.................................................134
GS w –Set Bar Code Module Width........................................................135
GS y –Request Combined Printer Status .................................................136
GS z –Request Printer Status................................................................137
Available Commands ..............................................................................139
Appendix A: Character Codes.......................... 141
Supported Non-Printable Control Characters................................................142
Supported Printable Characters.................................................................143
Index.......................................................... 145
Figures
Figure 1. Epic 950 Printer Component Overview.................................................11
Figure 2. Epic 950 Printer: Dimensions .............................................................13
Figure 3. Maximum Mechanism Operating Angle................................................14
Figure 4. Sample Ticket Size..........................................................................15
Figure 5. Design Envelope: Ticket Clearance.....................................................16
Figure 6. Location of Black Dot/Top of Form Indicator on Back of Ticket...................17
Figure 7. Ticket Stack Orientation....................................................................18
Figure 8. Outer Chassis to Final Product...........................................................21
Figure 9. Custom Bezel Mounting and Hardware Requirements..............................22
Figure 10. Epic 950 Shown with Optional Internal Bezel Assembly..........................23
Figure 11. Epic 950 Shown with Optional External Bezel Assembly.........................23
Figure 12. Sensor Breakdown and Locations .....................................................27
Figure 13. Open/Close Position/Audible Alarm....................................................28
Figure 14. Interface PCB Location (Dual Port RS232 Shown).................................33
Figure 15. Firmware Download Port.................................................................41
Figure 16. Epic 950 Electrical Operations Diagram ..............................................42
Figure 17. Racking/Unracking the Inner Chassis.................................................45
Figure 18. Ticket Loading and Ticket Feed Mechanism.........................................47
Figure 19. Ticket Cover Shown Open for Ticket Removal......................................49
Figure 20. Cleaning the Print Head..................................................................51
Figure 21. Sample self-test ticket.....................................................................54
Figure 22. Portrait and Landscape Print Modes...................................................60
Tables
Table 1. Serial Communication PCB Pin-Outs....................................................34
Table 2. USB Communication PCB Pin-Outs......................................................35
Table 3. NETPLEX Communication PCB Pin-Outs ..............................................36
Table 4. Universal USB/NETPLEX Communication PCB Pin-Outs ..........................37

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Table 5. Dual Port NELTPLEX Communication PCB Pin-Outs...............................38
Table 6. Dual Port RS232 Communication PCB Pin-Outs......................................39
Table 7. Bezel Power Connector Pin-Outs.........................................................40
Table 8. Conversion from Dots to Inches...........................................................58
Table 9. Font Statistics..................................................................................59

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chapter 1
Introducing Your Epic 950 Printer

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Introducing Your Epic 950 Printer Epic 950 OEM Integration Manual
95-05245 Rev GPage 3
About Your Epic 950 Printer
The Ithaca Epic 950TM printer represents the very latest technology for use in gaming
ticket printing applications. It features full backward compatibility for previous users of
Ithaca Series 800 printers, together with a host of new features designed to improve the
performance of your gaming operations, including:
•TicketBurstTM, aunique buffered transport system that prints and bursts the entire
ticket internally before presenting it to the operator, solving the problem of
premature ticket removal.
•Internal separation of tickets, providing consistently perfect single tickets
accurately separated along perforation lines.
•QDTTM (Quick Disconnect Technology) lets you remove the printer without the
need to disconnect power from the unit, incorporating aone-touch hot swappable
design that lets you remove and replace your printer at the touchof a front-
mounted latch.
•Expanded status LEDs, giving you immediate visibility on printer, paper and fault
status.
•The ability to upgrade your firmware completely via download, with no hardware
modification required.
•2-color ticket printing with user-programmable images and layout, to turn your
tickets into a key part of your brand identity and marketing program.
Above all, the Epic 950 is designed for ease of programming and ease of use in your
gaming operations. While supporting the full command language and macro features of
the Series 800 printer, the Epic 950 introduces a new higher-level command interface
which lets you quickly and easily integrate more layout and printing options than ever –
while giving you the reliability, durability and uptime you have come to expect from
Ithaca printers.

Introducing Your Epic 950 Printer Epic 950 OEM Integration Manual
Page 4Rev G95-05245
Who Should Read This Guide?
This document provides information useful to original equipment manufacturers (OEM)
who will integrate the Epic 950 printer into their products.
What Is Included in This Guide?
This Integration Manual includes information on the mechanical, electrical and command
language requirements of the Epic 950 printer. It provides the following information to
support your integration efforts:
•Warranty and technical support information.
•Specifications and functionality description.
•Mounting requirements and mounting locations.
•Power and interface connections.
•Operational procedures.
•Programming information, including documentation of low-level and high-level
command interfaces, as well as sample scripts to guide your own implementation
efforts.
We want you to have a trouble-free implementation with your Ithaca printer. For any
issues not covered in this guide, quality technical support is available on-line at
www.transact-tech.com, or by telephone at [phone] or (877) 7ithaca –consult
the following pages for more details about our support services.
Warranty Options
All Epic 950 Printers come with a standard 24-month standard warranty covering both
parts and labor that starts upon shipment from the factory. An optional extended
warranty, covering both parts and labor for an additional 12 months, may be purchased
separately. For more information concerning the warranty options, please contact the
Sales Department at TransAct’s Ithaca facility. You are responsible for insuring any
product returned for service, and you assume the risk of loss during shipment to Ithaca
C.O.D. packages are not accepted and warranty repairs are subject to the terms and
conditions as stated on the Ithaca warranty policy.

Introducing Your Epic 950 Printer Epic 950 OEM Integration Manual
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Technical and Sales Support
Your Ithaca printer is backed by the resources of TransAct Technologies, a global
technology firm with dedicated technical support and sales assistance. Here is how we
can help you:
On-line Technical Support
Our web site at www.transact-tech.com is your on-line portal to obtaining technical
assistance with your Ithaca printer. Click on the Technical Support link to find
documentation for your Epic 950 printer, including a current copy of this OEM Integration
Manual featuring:
oCommand codes and descriptions.
oCharacter fonts.
oPrinter features.
oCommunication specifics.
oTicket specifications.
Our on-line support site also includes a convenient e-mail assistance request form,
where you can submit support requests 24 hours a day, and receive a return contact
from a TransAct support technician during regular business hours.
Telephone Technical Support
Live telephone support is available Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern
US time, excluding holidays. We can provide general information about integrating Epic
950 printers with your system, technical support, documentation, or assistance in
sending a printer for service. To obtain telephone support, call TransAct's Ithaca Facility
at [phone] and ask for Technical Support. To help us serve you faster, please
have the following information ready when you call:
•The Model Number and Serial Number of the printer.
•A list of any other peripheral devices attached to the same port as the printer.
•What application software, operating system, and network (if any) you are using.
•What happened and what you were doing when the problem occurred.
•How you tried to solve the problem.

Introducing Your Epic 950 Printer Epic 950 OEM Integration Manual
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Return Materials Authorization and Return Policies
If the technical support person determines that the printer should be serviced at our
facility, and you want to return the printer for repair, we will issue you the Returned
Materials Authorization (RMA) number that is required before returning the printer.
Repairs are warranted for 90 days from the date of repair or for the balance of the
original warranty period, whichever is greater. Please prepare the printer being returned
for repair as follows:
•Pack the printer to be returned in the original packing material.
•Packing material may be purchased from TransAct's Ithaca Facility.
•Do not return any accessories unless asked to do so by a support technician.
•Write the RMA number clearly on the outside of the box.
Service Programs
TransAct Technologies Incorporated has a full service organization to meet your printer
service and repair requirements. If your printer needs service, please contact your
service provider first. If any problems still persist, you can directly contact the Ithaca
facility’s Technical Support Department at [phone] or (877) 7ithaca for a return
authorization. International customers should contact your distributor for services.
TransAct offers the following service programs to meet your needs.
•Extended Warranty.
•Depot Repair.
•Maintenance Contract.
•Internet Support.
Sales Support
To order supplies, receive information about other Ithaca products, or obtain information
about your warranty, contact our Sales Department at the contact telephone or fax
numbers listed below. To receive information on International distribution, visit our web
site at www.transact-tech.com.

Introducing Your Epic 950 Printer Epic 950 OEM Integration Manual
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Contact Information
TransAct Technologies Incorporated
Ithaca Facility
20 Bomax Drive
Ithaca, NY 14850 USA
Telephone (877) 7ithaca or [phone]
Main fax [phone]
Sales fax [phone]
Technical Support fax [phone]
Web site www.transact-tech.com