Circulation Terminal Printing

Windows has an issue printing to normal (Letter-sized printers) printers when it has an a typical printer connected and set as its default printer, such as a receipt printer. This is a frequent problem for library circulations because Voyager requires that the receipt printer be its default printer.

When an individual tries to print to a laser printer they will either get a print job that takes up the center 3 inches of the paper and looks like a receipt or they will get an error message on the printer saying to "Load Custom Paper" or something similar. This error message is completely accurate in that the printer is anticipating a job the size of a receipt 3" wide, but it doesn't have the paper to accommodate it.

This is a problem at the system level and is not something the Library rectify because Voyager doesn't allow a printer to be set as default in the Preference (as of version 6.5.3). So, the Library IT provides following two concessions:

  1. To print from Firefox -- Library IT WNS will need to visit the workstation and configure Firefox to point to the particular printer. Library IT WNS has done this on a majority of circ terminals. When individuals want to print from the circ terminal, they must use Firefox. IE won't work.
  2. To print screenshots -- HardCopy is the application of choice and earned that spot by specifically countering this very printing problem. HardCopy must be configured to print to a specific printer. (How to configure Hardcopy?) This was setup from the beginning on the image of the circ machines and should still be the case unless things have changed in the unit since the circ setup time.

The full write-up on the issue is available at: Windows and Non-letter Sized Printers as Default