Dascom T2280+ User Manual

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Quick Start Guide Printer Network and Tutorial and WebPanel

Introduction

It is assumed you have the following:

• A working knowledge of your network system and related utilities.

• Access to the supervisor or administrator account as a network administrator.

Supported Environments

The built-in network interface supports the following platforms and protocols:

• Microsoft® Windows® NT 4.0, 2000, XP, Server 2003

• Linux – Red Hat®, SuSE®

• Unix® – Sun Solaris®, HP-UX®, IBM AIX®

• TCP/IP, HTTP, LPR/LPD

Network Interface and Cabling

The printer requires:

• Ethernet 10Base-TX or 100Base-TX interface.

• Category 5e or 6 Ethernet cable with RJ-45 socket connectors.

Connecting the Printer

Connect the Ethernet cable to the network interface port RJ-45 connector on the rear center of the printer.

Network Interface Status

There are two status lights (LEDs) next to the RJ-45 connector on the rear panel.

• Right green light (Link Status) is solid: This shows the printer is connected to the network.

• Right green light is blinking: Shows network activity.

• Left yellow light (Duplex Status) is solid: Shows network interface is in full duplex mode.

Note: Unless the link status light is green, the printer will not be able to connect to the network.

Network IP Configuration

The network interface of the printer requires an IP address.

There are several ways to assign an IP address to the printer:

• DHCP (A Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol server assigned IP address.)

• Static (An IP address obtained from your network administrator added to the printer

manually.)

• BOOTP (Bootstrap Protocol server assigned IP address.)

Assigning the IP Address

If the printer menu is locked, please see the User Guide.

1. Automatic DHCP IP address assignment:

• Press <Setup>, then <Menu>.

• Press <Next> until the I/O selection appears. Select <I/O>.

• Press <Next> until the ETH-INT selection appears. Select <ETH-INT>.

• Press <Next> until the IP Get M selection appears. Select <IP Get M> Select <DHCP>

• Verify that your printer was assigned an IP address by printing the “Current Settings”

configuration page or in the operator panel menu.

Note: At power-up, the printer network interface broadcasts a DHCP request for an IP address. If a DHCP server is present, the request will be processed, and an IP address will be returned to the printer network interface. Upon receipt of the IP address, the printer accepts and uses this new IP address (and subnet mask, and default gateway, if any).

Once an IP address has been assigned, the printer network interface will no longer broadcast DHCP requests. The printer will broadcast a DHCP request each time you turn on the printer.

The DHCP server may grant a temporary IP address, called a temporary lease or temporary reservation, which expires later, or may grant a permanent or unlimited time lease or reservation, which does not expire.

Devices such as the printer that are granted a temporary lease will be notified before the lease expires and asked if they would like to extend the lease. The printer network interface will continue extending its lease indefinitely (unless prohibited by your DHCP server configuration), and thus maintain a consistent IP address.

If the printer is not turned on or is not connected to the network when the DHCP server is sending requests to extend the lease, the lease will not be extended. The DHCP server will cancel the lease and may assign the IP address to another device. Therefore, it is highly recommended to explicitly specify the printer lease as permanent or unlimited in your DHCP server configuration.

2. Static assignment using the operator panel:

• Press <Setup>, then <Menu>.

• Press <Next> until the I/O selection appears. Select <I/O>.

• Press <Next> until the ETH-INT selection appears. Select <ETH-INT>, then<IP Addr>

• Enter the value for Octet 1by pressing <OCTET 1>. Use the forward and backward

arrows to increment/decrement the number. When finished with each entry press <Set> which will set the currently displayed value. To exit out without changing the value press <Exit>. Enter the Octet 2 value in the same way, pressing <OCTET 2>. To get to Octet 3 and Octet 4, select <Next> and then select <OCTET 3> and <OCTET 4>.

• Enter the default Gateway and Subnet mask in the same way. <Gateway> is available from the screen you are returned to. Press <Next> to select <Subnet>.

• Enter the IP address get method under the selection <IP Get M>. Select <Static>.

3. BOOTP IP address assignment:

• Press <Setup>, then <Menu>.

• Press <Next> until the I/O selection appears. Select <I/O>.

• Press <Next> until the ETH-INT selection appears. Select <ETH-INT>.

• Press <Next> until the IP Get M selection appears. Select <IP Get M> Select <BOOTP>

• Obtain the Ethernet MAC address by printing the “Current Settings” configuration page.

Turn off printer.

• Configure your BOOTP server with desired IP address and MAC address.

• Turn on printer.

• Verify that the printer network interface received an IP address by printing the “Current

Settings” configuration page or in the operator panel menu.

WebPanel

Introduction

WebPanel is an intuitive browser interface that allows you to remotely manage your network attached printer. From WebPanel, you can do virtually everything you can do from the printer's control panel.

In addition, WebPanel provides full access to all of the Before using WebPanel, you must configure your printer with an IP address, using one of the three methods discussed in the Assigning the IP Address section above.

Note: The screenshots that are used in this document to demonstrate the functionality will vary depending on the printer model.

Web Browser

WebPanel is accessed from the printer through a web browser, either Netscape Navigator/Communicator version 4.0 through 8.1, or Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.0 through 7.0. The browser needs to be configured with cache and history empty, and the browser set up to check for new pages every time, to insure that connections to WebPanel will produce the latest data.

WebPanel does not work through a proxy server. Therefore, the web browser must be setup to NOT use the Proxy Server for local IP addresses. The following steps will set up the browser to bypass the proxy server if one is set up.

TallyCom networking features.

• Under Internet Explorer, select Tools->Internet Options->Connections->LAN Settings to get to the Proxy Server settings. Then check the "Bypass Proxy Server for Local Addresses" box, or add the specific print server IP address to the "Exceptions" list.

• In Netscape, select Edit->Preferences->Advanced->Proxies to get to the Proxy Server settings. Then add the local LAN domain, or the specific print server IP address, to the "Exceptions" list.

Disclaimer: Dascom WebPanel runs in conjunction with third party software, notably web browsers, which are designed to run independently of the Dascom software. Dascom cannot control the third party output or how it behaves from release to release. The above browser versions have been tested with WebPanel and while there is full functionality, there will undoubtedly be visual differences and anomalies between products and versions with which Dascom has no control.

Access to WebPanel

Once an IP address has been set up, you can access WebPanel by typing the printer's IP address into your browser address box (for example: http://10.0.2.125

The current status of your printer is displayed on the right hand side of the screen. This is refreshed every 20 seconds, whenever you refresh the page or click Printer Status. The left side allows you to query the printer, configure it and access network options.

Printer Status

Selecting this option refreshes the status display. Displayed on this page are:

• Processing state

• Loaded menu

• Error state

• Firmware level

• Serial number

• Asset number

• Panel lock status

Options to change the online/offline state, network configuration and the virtual control panel for your printer are all accessed from this page.

Printer Configuration

Selecting this option allows you to configure specific parameters in the printer. When one of these menu options is selected, a new page will load showing the options which can be viewed or modified.

Example 1

Changing a dropdown menu option. In this example, we are modifying the selected font to a different font. Select “Font”. A new page appears.

Select the Font dropdown menu and choose the new font. Select “Send”.

Note:

Changes are not applied until “Send” is selected. To reset the changed value to the prior value, select “Refresh” instead of “Send”. To return to the prior page without applying the change, select “Back”.

Example 2

Changing an entered value menu option. In this example, we are modifying the selected form length to a different form length. Select “Forms”. A new page appears:

Select the Form Length field by highlighting the contents of the box and enter the new form length. The acceptable parameters are listed to the right of the field. Select “Send”.

Note:

Changes are not applied until “Send” is selected. If the entered value is out of range of the acceptable parameters, the previous value will be reinstated. To reset the changed value to the prior value, select “Refresh” instead of “Send”. To return to the prior page without applying the change, select “Back”.

Printer Actions

Selecting the Printer Actions link will produce a page with a list of actions that can be performed on the printer.

Load Configuration

Loads the settings stored in a menu into the printer as the current settings. When the Load Configuration link is selected, the following page will be displayed:

Select a menu and confirm your selection by selecting the Send button.

Save Configuration

You can save selected printer settings in up to 5 independent menus. When the Save Configuration like is selected, the following page will be displayed:

Select a menu. Select Send.

Retrieve Configuration From Printer

Selecting this option will save all the printer settings of all menus in a file. Uploading this file to other printers will clone the printer menu settings to the other printer. When this option is selected, the following will appear (note that the actual image will be browser specific):

The default name is “conf.cfg”, but it can be renamed. Saving the file to disk. This will allow it to be transferred to other printers using the “Send Configuration To Printer” option on the Actions web page.

Send Configuration To Printer

Selecting this option will upload a Configuration File of another printer (see “Retrieve Configuration From Printer”). The complete configuration of this source printer will be transferred to your printer. To upload the configuration file, first click “Send Configuration To Printer”. The following page will be displayed:

Us the “Browse” button to find the file to upload. Once the file is selected, click on the “Send” button. It is important to note the warning on this page. There is some delay while the file is transmitted so it is important NOT to resend or click on the “Send” button until the process is complete. If the process is successful, the printer will reboot and the following page will be displayed:

Note:

Since the printer will reboot with successful completion of this action, the user will have to reconnect to the printer through the browser.

Report

Selecting the Report link will open up a separate browser window and a report of the printer settings will appear. This functionality is the same as pressing the “Print” option on the control panel of the printer.

Reset Printer

This link does a hard reset of the printer, similar to cycling power. There is no user feedback as to success since the printer is rebooting. Since the printer will reboot with successful completion of this action, the user will have to reconnect to the printer through the browser.

Panel Lock On/Off

This link toggles the panel lock feature of the printer. This option affects the physical control panel on the printer as well as the virtual panel in WebPanel. The state of the option is displayed in the printer status page on the right of the display.

Download Firmware

Through this link it is possible to download firmware updates to the printer. When this link is selected, the follow page will appear:

After following the directions on this page, select the “Continue“ link and the following page is displayed:

Using the “Browse” button, find the firmware file to download. Once the file is selected, click on the “Send” button. It is important to note the warning on this page. There will be some delay while the file is transmitted so it is important NOT to resend or click on the “Send” button until the process is complete. If the process is successful, the printer will reboot and the following page will be displayed:

Since the printer will reboot with successful completion of this action, the user will have to reconnect to the printer through the browser.

TGNet Status

Selecting this link will replace the information in the Printer Status area with networking information on the printer.

The Name, Contact and Location information is set up from the General link within the Advanced Configuration page.

Advanced Configuration

The Advanced Configuration page allows the user to set up and modify network connectivity information as well as setting up the password, email notification and logical printers. From this page it is also possible to Logout of TGNet and restart TGNet. The Administration page looks like this:

General

The General page sets up the timers and the labels for name, contact and location of the printer.

TCP/IP

The TCP/IP Page allows the user to modify the existing TCP/IP information for the printer. After changing the particular parameters, it is necessary to restart TGNet from the Advanced Configuration page. If the IP Address is changed and the Send button selected you will disconnect from the current session and will need to reconnect at the new IP Address.

SNMP

The SNMP page allows the user to set the Community Name and the Access. The page looks like this:

Password

The Password page allows the user to set a password which would limit access to certain configuration and action links in WebPanel. The maximum number of characters for the password is 7. The default password is no password at all (“null“). However, “adm” is also acceptable as the default password to be compatible with the TallyCom IIF-4 and external TallyCom pocket NICs which use this as the default password. If this or no password at all (“null“) is set as the password, all of the web pages are accessible by everyone. If any other password is set, the first time a user accesses a password protected page, a window will open asking for verification with user and password information. Once the password has been successfully recognized, all password protected pages will be available. Once the password is recognized, a timer is set, based on the Password Timer value set in the General web page. If there is inactivity in the browser which lasts beyond the timer time, the password will have to be reentered to access the protected pages.

The password page looks like this:

User Name

The default user name is “adm” and cannot be changed.

Email Notification

With the email notification link the user will be able to set up and receive email notices for error and status conditions of the printer. Up to 4 email addresses can be set. The page looks like this:

The user must set up the SMTP Mail Server as well as one or more users. The Reply address can be left as is unless there is reason to have to mail to the Reply address. To activate the mail notification:

• Select which notifications are to be sent out.

• Click on the check box(es) on the right of the desired notification(s) for the particular

user(s).

• Confirm your settings by clicking the Send button.

There is also a test mail option which sends a test email to “User 1” and is activated by checking the box and clicking on the “Save” button.

The “Configure” link at the end of each line of notification options allows the user to set up the message information for the email as well as selecting other pertinent information to be added to the email. In addition, the timer can be set which determines when the email notification is sent out. The page looks like this:

In this example, the online message is set to “Printer is Online”, and information on Description, Location, and Printer Name will be added to the email. In this example, the event timer is set for 10 seconds after the event occurs and will be sent only once, unless the printer is rebooted or the state changes. If the timer is set to 0, no email message will be sent, regardless of whether the user box has been selected. Selecting the “Save” button will set these values.

Logical Printers

The logical printers page will add text or commands to the beginning and ending of print jobs. This is done by pre and post strings, defined in each of the logical printers. For entering binary data in these strings, the backslash character is used followed by 2 hexadecimal digits. Examples of this are \1b for an escape character, \0a for linefeed and \\ for backslash.

Selecting the Logical Printers link gives the following page which lists seven print possible logical printers plus Raw Port, which is port 9100:

When selecting on of the logical printers under the Description column, the following page is displayed:

In this example if the Enable checkbox is checked, the pre-string of “Beginning to print job” followed by a CR/LF will print at the beginning of every job sent to this LPR Queue. At the end of the print job, the message “End of job” with a formfeed will print. Unchecking the Enable checkbox will not send the pre or post strings. The LPD Queue Name is name of the print queue that comes from the host. The Description can be changed by the user and does not have to match the LPD Queue Name.

String Replacement Example Plain Text /OriginalText/NewText/

String Replacement Example Commands

/\1B[8419t/\1B[4196t/ Control codes are entered with a back slash “\”. In this example the Formlength of A4 (8419”/720) represented by “1B[8419t” is being replaced by the string “1B[4196t” (4196”/720) which results in A5. Multiple strings are separated by a semicolon “;”.

Logout of TGNet

The Logout link disconnects the browser session from the printer. Clicking on the “Home” link reestablishes the connection.

Restart TGNet

Selecting this link will reboot the printer and disconnect the current printer connection. It is used to reset certain TCP/IP variables that were set in the General and TCP/IP pages. Once TGNet has restarted, those new setting will take effect. When this link is selected, the follow page is displayed, giving the user the option to continue or not.

Technical Support

This link at the bottom of the page gives email links for support. Selecting one of these links will execute the mailer program associated with the browser to allow the user to send email for technical support.

Logout

The Logout link disconnects the browser session from the printer. Clicking on the “Home” link reestablishes the connection.

Virtual Control Panel

The Virtual Control Panel link is in the Printer Status area of the web page. This control panel is a visual representation of the actual control panel on the printer. It allows to user to remotely read and set panel information as if they were standing at the control panel. The functionality of the virtual panel is identical to the physical panel.

Before using the virtual panel, it is important to configure the browser to allow popup windows from the printer, otherwise the panel will not display. Once the browser is configured, the page will look similar to this:

The Virtual Control Panel will be the active window. This window will show the current error state and display the contents of the printer’s LCD display. Selecting the buttons on the display will behave the same as if selecting the buttons on the printer itself. The LCD information on the virtual panel refreshes every 15 seconds. The physical panel, virtual panel and Online Status in the Printer Status are all active, so there may be some synchronization delay issues if a user presses a button on the physical printer or the Online Status in the Printer Status area. The Panel Lock feature affects the virtual panel in the same way as the physical panel. The only functional difference between the physical and virtual panel is that in the virtual panel, the LF/FF option will always do a FF.

To close the virtual panel, click on the red X in the upper right of the window.

Note:

This feature needs the browser to allow pop ups.

Dascom T2280+ User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual