Epson TM-20 Receipt Printer Troubleshooting and FAQs

Are you experiencing problems with your Epson TM-20 thermal printer? Is your Epson receipt printer not printing correctly? 

Unfortunately, refreshing your network connections doesn't always work; sometimes, you will need to try a couple of other strategies to streamline the operations of Epson printers. 

This guide discusses some of the common faults your Epson printer could run into and the best tips to troubleshoot the issues quickly. 

Common Problems With Epson TM-T20

Here are three common problems or hiccups your printer could run into: 

  • The printer is not printing receipts properly 
  • The printer is offline 
  • The printer won't connect to the cash drawer 

Next, we will explore ways you can quickly debug these issues for a smooth printing process. 

Troubleshooting Your Epson Printer Problems

The printer isn't printing receipts correctly.

The most common reason your printer won't start is due to a power issue. To troubleshoot this problem, try the following quick tips: 

  • Power Cycle: Restart your printer by turning off the power switch and then turning it back on
  • Secure your cables 
  • Ensure your paper is appropriately installed and feeds correctly
  • Reseat your cables
  • Make sure your printer is enabled on the printer setup

The following is the step-by-step process you can follow to troubleshoot the printer in question: 

 

The Complete Troubleshooting Guide: Solving Printer Issues

  1. Locate the power switch, turn it off, and then turn it back on. Simple. 
  2. You need to ensure that your AC adapter is connected correctly. Usually, your power brick can become disconnected from the power cable. Therefore, you need to ensure that your cord is connected to the power brick properly; otherwise, plugging it into the switch will be useless. 
  3. To ensure that your paper is properly installed, you have to hold your ''feed button'' down for a few seconds. Holding down the feed button should do the trick!

In this step, there are a few other cases in which the Epson TM-T20 won't function properly, including:

  1. a) The Error LED on the Espon Printer is on: 

- Your roll paper is not closed correctly

- Your paper LED is on - this means that you need to check if your paper roll is installed correctly.

  1. b) The Error LED is flashing: 

- This could be because of a paper jam; you will need to check and fix the paper jam. In some cases, the thermal head also overheats but cools down on its own and resumes function. 

- For any other issue, just follow the earlier mentioned process and restart your printer. Once you switch the printer off, wait for 10 seconds before switching it on again. 

 

  1. Make sure you installed your paper correctly.
  • Not installing the paper appropriately can halt the printing process, as the printer requires thermal paper to print 
  • Don't forget - this printer does not require ink. Hence no ink cartridges are needed. 

 

  1. One of the most critical steps in troubleshooting your printer is ensuring that the Ethernet cable is connected to the printer and the status light is green, denoting the active power status. You also need to ensure that the ethernet cable is tightly secured. 

Now that we understand the basics of troubleshooting an Epson printer let's head toward the FAQs. 

 

 FAQs: 

Q1. What is an Ethernet cable?

Ethernet cables are responsible for connecting devices to networks. They look like telephone cables but are larger and come in different colors.

 

Q2. What should I do if my printer goes offline?

Firstly, you need to reseat the ethernet cable. Secondly, ensure that both the lights of your ethernet port are green. If one of the lights is orange in color, this could mean that you have a cabling issue.

If both lights are green, and you're trying to establish a connection between your printer and a wireless terminal station, make sure that the wireless terminal has disabled the Wi‑Fi option.

 

Q3. What should I do if my printer won't connect to the cash drawer? 

There are two main things that you can do to connect to your cash drawer. First, you need to reseat all of your cables and use the reset button on your printer. You'll also need to check and set up your cash drawer through a POS system or toast Web. 

 

Q4. What type of paper does my printer use? 

The paper required for Epson printers is 3 1/8 Inch 80mm Thermal Black Image Receipt Printer Paper. If you need a different paper than thermal paper, you can look for options at Buyrolls. 

 

Q5. What type of ink cartridge does my printer use?

Epson printers don't require ink and use heat to produce prints.