Extracting Data from Old Systems Safely
Over the years, RWAP Software have been asked some odd questions, some of which lead to nothing, but others that lead to an interesting avenue to explore. The fact that we have a large customer database and manage several online
Eight Years On Since the Launch of the Retro-Printer Module
The first versions of the Retro-Printer Module were developed in 2017 with some basic code to prove the ability to capture data and convert it to a PDF. Since then the software has gone through some massive changes with additions
Assisting the Health Service to Upgrade their Systems
There has been a lot of press recently about the fact that three NHS trusts in England and Wales are still using Fax machines to send and receive inter-departmental information. Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary (December 2025), said “I’m happy
More Success with Assisting Industry Transitioning to C21 Technology
We have been busy during December assisting two different industrial companies, who were still heavily reliant on struggling dot matrix printers. Food Container Industry This customer needed reports from its injection moulding machines – some of which would produce reports
Finally, You Can Access Printer Data from Legacy Systems
There are thousands of legacy systems still in use today, which continue to be reliant on old dot matrix printers (or early inkjet printers) for producing reports. Many of these systems, such as a SCADA system, or measuring device, have
Test Report Processing
We have been asked a few times about the best method of capturing data from test equipment. JetDirect A lot of test equipment expects to print to a HP printer, which is normally fairly straightforward, however, we recently came across
Capturing Serial Printer Data From Industrial Machines
One of the oldest methods of connecting computers and other equipment, including printers is through the serial port (later known as COM ports under Windows). With an easily obtainable and low-cost USB to RS232 serial adaptor plugged into a Raspberry
Further Industrial Applications via PLC Interface
We were recently contacted by another industrial company who needed to replace an ageing printer on their multi-million pound industrial system. The system was running on a Siemens PLC S7 with a CP340-RS232C interface to send report data from the
New Variant of The Retro-Printer (Retro-Printer-C)
We are currently working with a well-respected controls engineering company to develop a new variant of the Retro-Printer Module, specifically designed for the secure industrial market. This variant, known as the Retro-Printer-C is no longer dependent on the Raspberry Pi
Anatomy of a Printer Emulator
How a New Emulator is Born We were faced with a rather interesting challenge recently when a watch enthusiast asked if we could emulate the Seiko QT-2100P printer. This printer was designed specifically for use with Seiko watch timing machines
