Recommended printer for ML1400 comms?

Hello all,

I'm working on a small project where a MicroLogix 1400 will be doing simple batch operations. After every batch, the customer wants us to send a signal to a printer (of our choice) that will print a "ticket" that shows the amount batched, along with the time. The MicroLogix would have to send all the information along with a "print" command via either Ethernet or RS232.

I've never done anything like that before- do any you guys have any recommendations on what printer to use for this, and how involved it might be? I've seen cheap RS232 printers for a few hundred dollars, but if there is a better option with Ethernet, I'd love to know!

Any advice would be appreciated!

Looking for a simple line printer? OR something that prints a label you can remove and stick to something?

I had an application somewhat similar to yours (needed hardcopy printout after batch calibration) and we had good luck using an Epson TM-U220B receipt printer.

These things are workhorses. It's dot matrix and prints in two colors, which is getting harder to find nowadays since the thermal-style receipts are getting more popular. (Avoid these--they fade over time.) I found myself checking out receipt printers whenever I would go out to eat or to the grocery store. Paper and ribbons for the Epson are very cheap.

My system had a ML1400 with a Red Lion HMI. I ended up using the Red Lion to communicate with the printer. The PLC can do it for sure, it's just cumbersome trying to do serial comms in ladder logic. You download the serial command manual for the printer, familiarize yourself with the string/serial instructions, and just start tinkering. Once you have communications established, there's a lot of trial and error involved in getting your printout to look the way you want.

They do have Ethernet versions of these but I don't see any need for that unless they have to be in a networked configuration. Just adds complexity.