Microcom 485TC Troubleshooting

The Microcom 485TC printer is a thermal printer designed for printing tickets, labels, and tags. In this article, you will find troubleshooting steps that can help you with issues that you may run across with your Microcom 485TC printer. If you do not find the information you are looking for in this article, please use the orange "Help" button on the bottom right corner of the page to use our Chat, email us at support@saffire.com, or call 512-430-1123.

Troubleshooting First Steps

• When approaching a troubleshooting situation, try to think about what you do know. Was it working before? If so, what changed? Perhaps the system was moved to a new location, or a new user has logged in. Thinking about what you do know can help you to figure out what the best questions are to ask.
• Is your system sufficiently powered? Sometimes when devices are set up at remote locations, there may not be sufficient power for everything to work optimally. This may result in behavior that looks like an equipment issue, but is really just because a printer motor is just a little bit under powered. Bear in mind that powering devices off of long extension cords or overtasking a single breaker with extension cords can have unexpected results. Even inside a building, trying to power too many machines off of one breaker can cause things to behave poorly. Talk to your IT team about whether everything is getting sufficient power.
• Have you tried turning it off and on again? Sometimes this is enough to get things moving as intended. We particularly recommend turning the printer off, unplugging all cables, powering down your system, and waiting a minute or two to let everything cycle down. Then plug everything back in, reboot your system, and try another test print. If this doesn't work, move on by finding the particular issue you are facing below.
• Recalibrate the printer by holding down the Feed button while powering on the device. This will reset the paper alignment sensors.
• Check for duplicate printer instances. Sometimes when a printer is not being detected it is due to there being a previous installation of the printer driver that is being seen instead. To check for this, open Settings > Bluetooth and Devices > Printers and Scanners. Remove all instances of other Microcom printers, then reinstall the printer drivers. See our Driver Installation Guide for further details.
• Reinstall printer drivers. If none of the suggestions work, you may be able to get things working again by reinstalling the printer driver. We recommend removing the currently installed printer driver through the driver installation wizard, rebooting your system, and reinstalling the driver. For detailed instructions, see Microcom 485TC Driver Installation.

Printer Undetected or Unresponsive

• Is the printer plugged into the same USB port as when the drivers were installed? Making sure the printer stays plugged into the same USB port ensures your system is able to find it correctly. If you are connecting to a SaffireTix laptop or PC and were provided a USB hub, plug the printer into the port farthest from the hub cable (Make sure the USB hub is plugged into the port on your laptop or PC that is marked as the USB hub port as well):

  

  
  
  
• Check for duplicate printer instances. Sometimes when a printer is not being detected it is due to there being a previous installation of the printer driver that is being seen instead. To check for this, open Settings > Bluetooth and Devices > Printers and Scanners. Remove all instances of other Microcom printers, then reinstall the printer drivers.
• Reinstall printer drivers. If none of the suggestions work, you may be able to get things working again by reinstalling the printer driver. We recommend removing the currently installed printer driver through the driver installation wizard, rebooting your system, and reinstalling the driver. For detailed instructions, see Microcom 485TC Driver Installation.

Clearing Jammed Tickets

1. Power off the printer and unplug it from the power source.

2. Open the top panel by unscrewing the thumb screws at the back. Lift the lid and tilt the whole face forward to access the print head.

   

3. Pinch the two black tabs together to open the print head access port.

   

4. Remove jammed tickets. While you have the printer open, gently clean the print head using a lint-free cloth or cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol. Be sure to remove any buildup or debris from the thermal elements.

   

5. Allow the print head to air dry for a few minutes.

6. Using a cotton swab dipped in alcohol, gently clean the sensors, found at the front of the printer.

   

7. Closing the printer head access port by pressing firmly on the two green dots indicated on the device.
8. Power the printer back on and run a test print.

Printer Cuts Tickets in the Wrong Spot

There are several things that might cause a ticket to be cut in the wrong place:

• Incorrectly loaded ticket stock: Follow instructions on the Microcom 485TC User Guide.
• A dirty roller can cause the tickets to slip as the motor advances, or an obstruction in the print feed area can block the sensor. Clean your printer with instructions on the Microcom 485TC User Guide.
• An obstruction between the printer and the stack of ticket stock can cause tension on the paper and improper feeding/cutting. Be sure that stock is stacked neatly and untangled.
• Tickets cutting in the wrong place or jamming can be a result of having the wrong printer driver installed. Be sure that the driver you have installed is the 485TC W 300 dpi (the W stands for With Cutter). Though the W is not present on the front of the device, all 485TC printers with a touchscreen on the front have the cutter and require the driver for the 485TC W 300 dpi. If you have installed the driver for the 485TC 300 dpi despite having a printer with a cutter, you will need to uninstall this driver and install the correct one. For detailed instructions, visit the 485TC Driver Installation article.

Ticket Stock is Misaligned

Here are some troubleshooting steps that can be taken when tickets are not printing correctly or at all:

• Restart the power for the printer
• Make sure the printer is selected as the default printer within the computer settings
• Make sure the configuration settings are correct. For more information, visit our Driver Installation Guide.
• Make sure the ticket stock has been fed correctly into the printer. For more information, visit our User Guide.
• Here is how it should look when it is fed correctly:

• The roller can cause issues with the ticket stock not aligning when printing. Please remove the top of the printer and clean the roller using cotton with isopropyl alcohol.
• Paper Path Inspection: Regularly check the paper path for debris or leftover ticket fragments that could cause jams. Remove any obstructions as needed.
• Printer Calibration: If your prints are misaligned or skipping, recalibrate the printer by holding down the Feed button while powering on the device. This will reset the paper alignment sensors.

Sometimes, a ticket will get torn so that it is difficult to tell which is the correct end of the stack of tickets. If this happens, check the back of the ticket and make sure the control number is the same on the stub and ticket. The stub should be at the very end, with the logo at the opposite end.

Tickets Streaked or Smeared

If your tickets are printing with irregularities, you may need to clean the printer's print head. Follow instructions on the Microcom 485TC User Guide.

Tickets Not Printing

If the printer is installed, but tickets are not printing when trying to print a transaction order or the printer is showing as 'offline', try the following:

• Make sure the printer settings in Chrome have the correct destination. You may need to change the settings using the main Chrome icon (not the shortcut) so it can update the shortcut.

  

• When printing through Box Office, make sure the correct printer is selected in the settings.
• Make sure the cables are properly connected to the printer and laptop/computer. Be aware of any signs of severe wear/damage, as this may cause issues with establishing a proper connection.
• Even if the cables do not look damaged, it can be helpful to change the connection cables to rule out that option as what may be causing the printing issue.
• Try uninstalling, rebooting, reinstalling the driver, and then rebooting again. Make sure to reboot twice. For more information, visit our Driver Installation Guide.

QR Code Printing at the Wrong End (Printing Backward)

Ticket stock may be installed backward. To fix, turn the whole stack of stock over and feed it in from the other end. Follow instructions above or visit the Microcom 485TC User Guide.

If your stock is loaded correctly, you may need to change the rotation in print settings. Rotation should always be set to 270°.

Tickets Print with URL at Top and Bottom

If the tickets are printing correctly, but the print is small and includes your ticket URL, date, and page numbers, your Chrome settings might have the headers and footers selected to print. To check this, look at your printer settings before the ticket prints. You may need to open up the More Settings dropdown at the bottom.

If your Box Office is set to bypass the print dialogue, you won't be able to do it there. In that case, you can open a Chrome browser, and open something to print (even just right clicking an selecting print works for this). You can look at this setting, make sure it is unchecked, and if you make a change here it will update the default for the whole browser.

You should then be able to refresh the Box Office page (hit Control-F5), and try printing again to see if it is looking better.

Ticket Stock Doesn't Stay Loaded after Print

If your ticket stock is backing out of the printer after one print, there a few things you can check on.

• Will the tickets start to advance correctly if you hold them in place after the first print? Sometimes this is enough to get things moving smoothly again.
• Is the correct driver installed? Sometimes this issue can indicate that the driver was installed for the 485T instead of the 485TC. Remove the incorrect driver and reinstall the correct one.
• Is the roller and sensor clean? A dirty sensor can cause the printer to advance the wrong amount after each print. A dirty roller can cause the tickets to slip while being advanced. Follow cleaning instructions on the Microcom 485TC User Guide.

• Is the dispense distance set correctly? Update the dispense distance on the printer settings. In Windows settings, select Printers, open the correct printer, and select Printer Preferences. On the Media tab, you can experiment with the setting between 0.50" and 0.60" to see if this resolves the feed issue.

  

PDF: Microcom 485T Manual