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I am a software developer, creating an EPOS application that will print to OPOS compatible receipt printers.

My client already has a significant investment in USB receipt printers and would like to avoid replacing them. However, my application is developed using Microsoft UWP, which supports OPOS but doesn't naturally support USB-attached printers. The official line is that it was designed to work with Wi-fi and Bluetooth printers and although they have recently added support for USB connection (only if running on Windows 10 Creators Update) I am having a difficult job getting this to work.

So, in case all else fails, I am looking for a plan B. I wonder whether it would be feasible to use cheap print servers to simulate network-attached printers.

Specifically, would a print server allow the OPOS driver running on the Windows computer to communicate with the printer, or does the print server introduce some new protocol layer that would be incompatible with OPOS?

Thanks for any clues you can offer.

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    I guess the only way you'll know if your application works via a network is by trial and error... can you obtain (temporarily) one of the printers from your cient -> connect/install it to a Windows machine -> Share the printer -> connect your app/client machine to the shared printer -> Print?
    – Kinnectus
    Commented Sep 18, 2017 at 15:26
  • I think testing is the only sure way. But I can say in the past I have used print servers like you are talking about and have found them to be unpredictable in their compatibility. Yes, they do seem to add some extra layer and will even specify the makes and models of printers they are compatible with usually.
    – Appleoddity
    Commented Sep 18, 2017 at 15:42
  • Thanks @Kinnectus for your suggestion. Yes, I could possibly make it work like that through trial and error, but I think I have solved my problem without the need for additional hardware, thanks to some helpful folks on StackOverflow. Nonetheless, I also appreciate the guidance you gave, even though I am thankful that I don't need to go that route.
    – Tim Coulter
    Commented Sep 19, 2017 at 15:15
  • @Appleoddity: yes, I was specifically trying to avoid the headache of the compatibility problems that you referred to. As mentioned above, it seems that I have been able to solve my problem in software, but I appreciate your input - thanks.
    – Tim Coulter
    Commented Sep 19, 2017 at 15:17

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