TransAct Ithaca 280 Manual

iTherm®280
Programmer’s Guide
PN 28-04430
Rev K
APRIL 2011

Page intentionally left blank

28-04430 Rev K Page i
Change History
Rev E Removed reference to a non-existent Operator‘s Guide June 2005
Rev F Various updates and improvements June 2005
Rev G Added Las Vegas address Nov 2005
Rev H Added Periodic status back. Sept 2007
Rev J Pg 27, Replaced Cash Drawer Pin Assignment table Nov 2010
Rev K Page 4 Warranty 36 months was 24. Apr 2011
Federal Communications Commission Radio
Frequency Interference Statement
The iTherm®280 Printer complies with the limits for a Class A computing device in
accordance with the specifications in Part 15 of FCC rules. These regulations are
designed to minimize radio frequency interference during installation; however, there is
no guarantee that radio or television interference will not occur during any particular
installation. Interference can be determined by turning the equipment off and on while
the radio or television is on. If the printer causes interference to radio or television
reception, try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
1. Reorient the radio or television receiving antenna
2. Relocate the printer with respect to the receiver
3. Plug the printer and receiver into different circuits
If necessary, the user should consult their dealer or an experienced radio/television
technician for additional suggestions. The user may find the following booklet prepared
by the Federal Communications Commission helpful: How to Identify and Resolve
Radio/TV Interference Problems. This booklet is available from the US Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. Ask for stock number 004-000-00345-4.
Canadian Department of Communications Radio
Interference Statement
The iTherm®280 Printer does not exceed Class A limits for radio noise emissions from
digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian
Department of Communications.
Regulatory Compliance
FCC Class A
ULc
CE Mark
UL 1950
TUV

Page ii Rev K
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
© 2004, 2005 TransAct Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Revision Level K
April 2011
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, iTherm and TransAct are registered trademarks and Epic 950,
Flex-Zone, imPort, ithaColor, KITCHENjet, Momentum, QDT and TicketBurst are
trademarks of TransAct Technologies, Inc.

28-04430 Rev K Page iii
Table of Contents
Change History ................................................................................................................i
Federal Communications Commission Radio Frequency Interference Statement ............i
Canadian Department of Communications Radio Interference Statement........................i
Regulatory Compliance....................................................................................................i
Disclaimer.......................................................................................................................ii
Copyright.........................................................................................................................ii
Trademarks.....................................................................................................................ii
Table of Contents........................................................................................................... iii
Figures..........................................................................................................................viii
Tables...........................................................................................................................viii
Introducing your iTherm®280 Printer ................... 1
About your iTherm®280 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
iTherm®280 Specifications and Requirements........ 9
iTherm®280 Specifications and Requirements..............................................................11
iTherm® 280 Thermal Printer Models............................................................................11
Standard Features ........................................................................................................11
Optional Features..........................................................................................................13
General Specifications ..................................................................................................14
Printing Specifications...........................................................................................14
Character Pitch......................................................................................................14
Character Generation............................................................................................15
Physical Characteristics................................................................................................18
Dimensions............................................................................................................18
Weight...................................................................................................................18
Electrical Characteristics...............................................................................................19
Internal AC Powered .............................................................................................19
External Powered DC............................................................................................19
Thermal Print Head.......................................................................................................19
Media Specifications .....................................................................................................20
Receipt Paper........................................................................................................20
Buzzer...........................................................................................................................22
Cover Interlock..............................................................................................................22
Display Pass Through...................................................................................................22
Communications Interface.............................................................................................23
Parallel Interface....................................................................................................23
RS-232 Serial Interface .........................................................................................24

Page iv Rev K
USB Interface........................................................................................................24
Ethernet 10-Base-T adapter ..................................................................................25
802.11b Wireless Interface....................................................................................25
Cash Drawer .........................................................................................................26
Interface Description..............................................................................................26
Cash Drawer Pin Assignments..............................................................................26
Vertical Wall Mount Kit Option.......................................................................................28
Setup Procedures ..............................................29
Verifying the Configuration............................................................................................31
Verify the Communications Interface Card.............................................................31
Changing Interface Cards......................................................................................31
Removing the Old Interface Card ..........................................................................31
Cash Drawer Configuration ...................................................................................32
Configuring the Cash Drawer Interface..................................................................32
Installing Cables............................................................................................................33
Connecting power..................................................................................................33
Connecting Communications Cables.....................................................................34
Verify the Firmware Configuration .........................................................................35
Installing Paper .............................................................................................................35
Installing Windows® Printer Drivers................................................................................36
Printer Driver Installation for WIN95, 98, Me..........................................................36
Printer Driver Installation for NT4.0, 2000..............................................................36
OPOS drivers Installation Instructions ...................................................................37
To Install the USB drivers......................................................................................37
How to Operate the iTherm®280 Printer ..............39
How to Operate the iTherm®280 Printer.......................................................................41
*Button.........................................................................................................................41
FEED Button.................................................................................................................41
Indicator Lights (LED)....................................................................................................42
Power Indicator (LED) ...........................................................................................42
Error Indicator (LED) .............................................................................................42
Paper Indicator (LED)............................................................................................42
Fault Indicators..............................................................................................................42
Testing the Printer Overview.........................................................................................44
Using Self-Test, Configuration, and Hex Dump Mode............................................44
Hex-dump Mode....................................................................................................46
Level 0 Diagnostics ...............................................................................................47
Boot Loader Mode.................................................................................................47
Configuring Your iTherm®280 Printer ..................49
Configuration Mode Overview.......................................................................................51
Most Frequent Configuration Incompatibilities .......................................................51
How to Change Configuration Settings..........................................................................51
Entering into Configuration Mode ..........................................................................51
Using Configuration Mode.............................................................................................52
Remote Configuration ...................................................................................................55
Setting up for Color Paper.............................................................................................55
Custom Color ........................................................................................................55
Programming Codes...........................................57
Control Codes Overview ...............................................................................................59

28-04430 Rev K Page v
Nomenclature................................................................................................................59
Standard Emulation...............................................................................................60
IPCL Codes...........................................................................................................60
EPOS Emulation....................................................................................................60
Axiohm..................................................................................................................60
Ithaca®Microline Emulation...................................................................................60
Application Development...............................................................................................60
Ithaca Control Codes and Commands...........................................................................61
PcOS Printer Control Codes..................................................................................61
Quick PcOS Reference Chart................................................................................62
Quick PcOS Reference Chart (Alphabetic)............................................................69
Low Level Paper Motion Control............................................................................74
Horizontal Motion Control......................................................................................75
Vertical Motion Control ..........................................................................................77
Feed to Black Dot..................................................................................................83
Character Pitch......................................................................................................85
Character Font ......................................................................................................88
Print Rotation Commands....................................................................................105
Rotated Print Summary .......................................................................................108
iTherm®280 Page Mode .....................................................................................111
Graphic Mode......................................................................................................115
Graphics Compression........................................................................................121
User Store (Graphic Save) ..................................................................................121
User Macros........................................................................................................129
Bar Codes ...........................................................................................................131
Electronic Journal................................................................................................142
Unicode and Downloaded Fonts..........................................................................154
Unicode Encoding ...............................................................................................154
Miscellaneous Control .........................................................................................159
Remote Power Control ........................................................................................167
Documented Extended Control commands..........................................................168
Printer Status.......................................................................................................169
Inquire Commands..............................................................................................170
ESC/POSTM Codes......................................................................................................179
Differences between Epson TM T90 and iTherm®280 ........................................179
Supported TM-T88 Commands...................................................................................181
Undocumented TM-T88 Commands ...........................................................................184
Supported TM-T90 Commands...................................................................................185
TM-T88 / TM-T90 and ESC/POSTM Command Descriptions........................................190
Print and Feed Commands..........................................................................................190
Line Spacing Commands ............................................................................................192
Character Commands.................................................................................................192
Panel Button Commands ............................................................................................201
Paper Sensor Commands...........................................................................................202
Print Position Commands............................................................................................204
Bit-Image Commands..................................................................................................208
Status Commands.......................................................................................................209
Printing Paper Command............................................................................................215
Page Mode..................................................................................................................216
Bar Code Commands..................................................................................................219
Mechanism Control Commands ..................................................................................222

Page vi Rev K
Miscellaneous Commands ..........................................................................................223
Macro Function Commands ........................................................................................229
User-defined Images and Graphics Commands..........................................................230
Ithaca®Specific iTherm®280 Commands....................................................................235
Panel Button Commands.....................................................................................235
Paper Out/Low Sensor Commands.....................................................................235
iTherm®Citizen Emulation...........................................................................................237
iTherm®Star Emulation...............................................................................................237
iTherm®Axiohm Emulation..........................................................................................237
iTherm®280 Color Graphics..............................239
Printing Graphics.........................................................................................................241
Character Graphics .............................................................................................241
APA Graphics......................................................................................................244
iTherm®280 Universal Color Graphics........................................................................247
Print File Graphics...............................................................................................248
Store Graphics in the printer:...............................................................................249
How universal graphics is done...........................................................................250
How to use IPCL commands in text strings..........................................................250
Cautions..............................................................................................................251
Universal Color Command Descriptions..............................................................252
iTherm®280 Coupon-Cut-Logo Feature......................................................................254
Unicode..........................................................255
Unicode –A Software Font Solution............................................................................257
About Unicode.............................................................................................................258
Memory...............................................................................................................258
TransAct‘s implementation of Unicode in the iTherm®280..........................................258
iTherm®280 Extended Printer Control................261
Communications..............................................269
Protocol and Print Buffers ...........................................................................................271
USB ............................................................................................................................274
USB Support .......................................................................................................274
TCP/IP ........................................................................................................................275
Print Server Features Standard Ethernet Connection..........................................275
Supported Protocols............................................................................................275
User Interface/Configuration................................................................................275
Other...................................................................................................................275
Parallel Port ................................................................................................................276
Parallel Port Protocol...........................................................................................276
Printer Buffer Size ...............................................................................................277
Parallel Port Inquire and IEEE 1284 ....................................................................277
Parallel Port Plug and Play..................................................................................279
Serial Port...................................................................................................................281
Serial Port Protocol..............................................................................................281
Print Buffer Flow..................................................................................................283
Printer Buffer Size ...............................................................................................285
Serial Mode Plug and Play ..................................................................................285
Using DSR...........................................................................................................285
Serial Device Identification ..................................................................................286
Serial Port Inquire................................................................................................287

28-04430 Rev K Page vii
Display Pass Through.................................................................................................288
Remote Power Control................................................................................................288
Remote Printer Reset..................................................................................................289
Reset in Serial Mode ...........................................................................................289
Reset in Parallel Mode.........................................................................................289
Miscellaneous Communication Features.....................................................................290
Power-cycle Recovery.........................................................................................290
Data Pass-through...............................................................................................290
Multi-drop Configuration ......................................................................................290
Off-line Active......................................................................................................291
Recovery from Mechanical Errors ...............................................................................292
Programmer‘s Notes ...................................................................................................293
Appendix A: Code Page Definition Table.....................................................................295
Appendix B - ASCII Code Table..................................................................................297
Appendix C: Ordering Supplies ...................................................................................299
Index .............................................................301

Page viii Rev K
Figures
Figure 1 Receipt Printing, Tear off Position..................................................................21
Figure 2 Cash Drawer Pin Definitions............................................................................26
Figure 3 Cash Drawer Selection....................................................................................32
Figure 4 Power and Communications Ports ..................................................................33
Figure 5 3-pin mini DIN plug..........................................................................................34
Figure 6 Page Mode entry Orientations.......................................................................111
Figure 7 Code 39 full 128 character encoding.............................................................133
Figure 8 Expanded Function coding............................................................................135
Figure 9 Code 128 encoding values............................................................................137
Figure 10 Example of Character Graphics...................................................................241
Figure 11 Example Commands for a Sample Receipt.................................................242
Figure 12 Sample Receipt...........................................................................................243
Figure 13 Receipt with graphics ..................................................................................247
Figure 14 Typical POS System ...................................................................................271
Figure 15 Host to Printer Link......................................................................................272
Figure 16 Printer Communications Buffer Flow ...........................................................273
Figure 17 Parallel-port Data Timing.............................................................................276
Figure 18 Parallel Port ACK Timing Options................................................................277
Figure 19 Serial Port Flow Control Using DTR ............................................................281
Figure 20 XON/XOFF Serial Port Flow Control............................................................282
Tables
Table 1 Possible Character Pitches...............................................................................14
Table 2 Requested CPI and Resulting CPI....................................................................15
Table 3 Cell Size for Small, Medium and Large Fonts...................................................15
Table 4 Standard Power Input Requirements................................................................19
Table 5 Power Input Requirements with the 24-volt DC Power .....................................19
Table 6: Paper Grades-Monochrome............................................................................20
Table 7 Parallel Interface Pin-outs.................................................................................23
Table 8 Serial Interface Pin-outs ...................................................................................24
Table 9 Cash Drawer Pin Assignment...........................................................................27
Table 10 Serial interface pin out....................................................................................34
Table 11 Parallel interface pin out.................................................................................34
Table 12 Error Blink Codes ...........................................................................................43
Table 13 Character Pitch...............................................................................................86
Table 14 Inter-character Spacing ..................................................................................87
Table 15 Language Table ID‘s ......................................................................................91
Table 16 Code Page Definition Table............................................................................92
Table 17 Euro Character Substitution Matrix.................................................................93
Table 18 OCR MA-3......................................................................................................98
Table 19 Paper Sensor Commands ............................................................................163
Table 20 Paper Sensor Commands ............................................................................164
Table 21 Supported TM-T90 Commands ....................................................................183
Table 22 Undocumented TM-T90 Commands.............................................................184
Table 23 Supported EPOS Commands.......................................................................185

28-04430 Rev K Page ix
Table 24 Select Character Font Table.........................................................................193
Table 25 International Character Sets.........................................................................194
Table 26 Character Code Pages.................................................................................196
Table 27 Character Code Table ..................................................................................197
Table 28 Print Modes..................................................................................................198
Table 29 Rotation Modes ............................................................................................199
Table 30 Paper Sensor Commands ............................................................................202
Table 31 Paper Sensor Commands ............................................................................203
Table 32 Print Density Selection..................................................................................208
Table 33 Automatic Status Back (ASB) Values for <n>...............................................209
Table 34 Automatic Status Back (ASB) First Byte (Printer Information).......................210
Table 35 Automatic Status Back (ASB) Second Byte (Error Information) ....................210
Table 36 Automatic Status Back (ASB) Third Byte (Paper Sensor Information)...........211
Table 37 Automatic Status Back (ASB) Fourth Byte (Paper Sensor Information) ........211
Table 38 Paper Sensor Status (<n> = 1, 49)...............................................................211
Table 39 Drawer Kick-out Connector Status (<n> = 2, 50) ..........................................212
Table 40 Values for the Status Function, <n>..............................................................212
Table 41 Printer Status (<n> = 1)................................................................................212
Table 42 Off line Status (<n> = 2) ...............................................................................213
Table 43 Error Status (<n> = 3)...................................................................................213
Table 44 Paper Roll Sensor Status (<n> = 4)..............................................................213
Table 45 Peripheral Status (<n> = 0, 48).....................................................................214
Table 46 Paper Status.................................................................................................214
Table 47 Bar Code System Based on <m> .................................................................220
Table 48 Printing Position of HRI Characters..............................................................221
Table 49 Font for Human Readable Interpretation (HRI) Characters...........................221
Table 50 Horizontal size of the bar code .....................................................................221
Table 51 Printer ID......................................................................................................223
Table 52 Type ID (<n> = 2or 50) ................................................................................223
Table 53 Peripheral Device Bit Definitions...................................................................225
Table 54 Macro Control Bit Definitions ........................................................................229
Table 55 User-defined Bit-image Resolutions..............................................................234
Table 56 Parallel-port Timing ......................................................................................277
Table 57 Paper Ordering Information..........................................................................299
Table 58 Cables Ordering Information.........................................................................299

Page x Rev K

28-04430 Rev K Page 1
chapter 1
Introducing your iTherm®280 Printer

Page 2 Rev K

About Your iTherm®280 Printer iTherm®280 Programmer’s Guide
28-04430 Rev K Page 3
About your iTherm®280 Printer
The Ithaca iTherm®280 printer represents the very latest technology for use for thermal
receipt printing for point-of-sale and retail environments. It builds upon the architecture of
Ithaca‘s proven thermal printers, together with a host of features specifically designed to
improve the performance of your receipt-printing applications, including:
Crisp, clear receipt printing in either one or two colors
Fast 12 inches per second print speed
Rugged spill-resistant cover
Large 4-inch paper roll capacity with drop-in loading
Protected internal power supply
Ethernet and USB interfaces
Wireless option for reduced cable clutter
Application-controllable buzzer
Configurable cash drawer functionality
The iTherm®280 also offers a wide range of programmable features, including color and
font control, APA graphics support, bar codes, and support for over 60 language
character sets. These features let 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.

About Your iTherm®280 Printer iTherm®280 Programmer’s Guide
Page 4 Rev K
Who Should Read This Guide?
This document provides information and programming specifications for operators who
will integrate the iTherm®280 printer into their kitchen operations.
What Is Included in This Guide?
This Programmer‘s Guide includes information on the features and programming
interface of the iTherm®280 printer. It provides the following information to support your
programming and implementation efforts:
Warranty and technical support information.
Specifications and functionality description.
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) 7-ITHACA.
Consult the following pages for more details about our support services.
Warranty Options
All iTherm®280 printers now come with a standard 36-month 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.

About Your iTherm®280 Printer iTherm®280 Programmer’s Guide
28-04430 Rev K Page 5
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 Ithaca link and then the Technical Support
link to find documentation for your iTherm®280 printer, including a current copy of this
Programmer‘s Guide featuring:
oCommand codes and descriptions.
oCharacter fonts.
oPrinter features.
oCommunication specifics.
Other utilities available include a font utility, a color converter and a terminal application
for communicating with your printer, as well as the following drivers and utilities:
Windows 95/98/Me Print Driver with Documentation Part No. 100-9167
Windows NT 4.0 2K and XP Print Driver with Documentation Part No. 100-9170
OPOS Drivers with Documentation Part No. 100-9732
Master Character Set Definitions Part No. 100-9785
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 8 PM Eastern
US time, excluding holidays. We can provide general information about programming for
your iTherm®280 printer, technical support, documentation, or assistance in sending a
printer for service. To obtain telephone support, call TransAct's Ithaca Facility at (607)
257-8901 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.

About Your iTherm®280 Printer iTherm®280 Programmer’s Guide
Page 6 Rev K
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.

About Your iTherm®280 Printer iTherm®280 Programmer’s Guide
28-04430 Rev K Page 7
Contact Information
TransAct Technologies Incorporated
Ithaca Facility
20 Bomax Drive
Ithaca, NY 14850 USA
TransAct Technologies
World Gaming Headquarters
& Western Regional Repair Center
6700 Paradise Road
Suite D
Las Vegas, NV 89119 USA
Telephone (877) 7-ITHACA or [phone]
Main fax [phone]
Sales fax [phone]
Technical Support fax [phone]
Web site www.transact-tech.com