Understanding and Troubleshooting Printers

Understanding and Troubleshooting Printers

Understanding and Troubleshooting Printers in the onePOS software. 

Types of Printers

Two main types of printers: Impact and Thermal. See below.

    • Impact: Uses an ink ribbon and usually a kitchen printer. 
    • Thermal: It does not use an ink ribbon; it can be a local receipt or kitchen printer. Thermal paper can turn black if it gets too hot. 
    • Label (Thermal):  No ink ribbon, usually used for ToGo boxes or Drinks. 
SNBC Printer BTP-M300 Black USB OnlyImpact Printer
Ribbon for Impact Printer

Thermal Printer

Label Printer









Printer Communication Types

There are two main types of communication for printers with onePOS: IP and Serial.
    • IP: Is connected to the local network via a static IP Address.
    • Serial: Connected to a terminal via a Serial cable or CAT5 cable with adapters to convert the communication to Serial.
    • USB: Not used or Supported by onePOS
    • Triple Interface: Some printers have more than one interface on them.  See below.


Triple Interface Printer




25 Pin Serial

Basic Printer TroubleshootingIP or Ethernet





What Drives or Controls the Printers

onePOS does NOT use Windows drivers to control the printers but one of the "onePOS Terminal applications" running on the terminals.

    • Local receipt printers are usually controlled by the terminal they are connected to.
    • Serial printers are controlled by the terminal that the cable is connected to. 
    • IP printers are usually controlled by terminal 01, "onePOS Terminal application."

See the example below:
The "TERM01-LO" Receipt Printer for Terminal 01 being controlled by "Terminal 01"
The communication type is Serial (RS232)
Buad Rate = 115200
Parity = N = None
 Data Bits = 8
Stop Bits = 1

All of this must match the settings on the printer. 

Serial Interface - Thermal Printer

















See the example below:
The "Expo" printer is being controlled by "Terminal 01"
The communication type is IP or Ethernet, and the Address is 192.168.0.121

Ethernet - Impact Printer

If you make any changes to the Hardware Device, you must relaunch the onePOS terminal application controlling that printer for the changes to take effect. In the example above, that would be Terminal 01.  

Printer Settings 


The printer settings must match the settings in the onePOS Hardware Device.  To check the printer's current settings, print a test page on the printer. 

For steps on printing the Test Page, see the KB below. 

Printer Active Ticket


If you can get a "Printer Active" then you know that the onePOS system can see and communicate with the printer.       

Restart the terminal that controls that printer and see if you get a "Printer Active Chit" from that printer.
  • Receipt printers are usually controlled by the terminal they are connected to.
  • Kitchen IP printers are usually controlled by terminal 01.

Common Issues and Solutions 

Issue Reported: No Tickets or Chits are printing from a Kitchen or Receipt printer. 

(It is important to understand: Is this all Chits? When did it stop working? Has anything recently changed?) 

Step 1: Ensure that the Printer is fully operational. I.E. Has Power with no error lights and can feed paper. 
Step 2: Restart the terminal that controls that printer and see if you get a "Printer Active Chit" from that printer.          
Printer Active Chit
If you can get a "Printer Active" then you know that the onePOS system can see and communicate with the printer.       
Step 3: Send a test Chit to ensure the printer is working.
If you are unable to get a"Printer Active" then the system can not see the printer. 

Issue Reported: The ticket printed, but it is smugged, or missing lines and hard to read. 

      Possible Issue: The thermal printhead is not making solid contact with the paper. 
      Possible Solution: Open the printer cover and make sure there are no objects or paper jammed in there blocking the printhead. 

Issue Reported: All Tickets printed completely blank. 

If Thermal:
      Possible Issue: Wrong Paper.
      Test: Take the paper, run something hard across it, and see if it leaves a black line. 
      Solution: Replace the paper with proper thermal paper. 

      Possible Issue: Paper installed upside down.
      Solution: Take out the roll of paper and flip it over.

If Impact:
      Possible Issue: No Ribbon or Bad Ribbon. 
      Possible Solution: Replace the Ribbon. 
      
      Possible Issue: Ribbon is not installed properly. 
      Possible Solution: Reinstall the Ribon.



    • Related Articles

    • Basic Printer Troubleshooting

      1. Does the Printer have power? Look for a lit LED light. If anything is lit, regardless of color, then the printer has power. If you do have power, continue to step 2. If you do not see a light, make sure the switch is flipped to the on position. If ...

    • Epson Receipt Printer Troubleshooting

      If a printer is an epson, the troubleshooting process is a bit different in some areas. Self Test: Hold the feed button (not labled feed, but is the only other button besides power button), turn power off, turn power on while still holding feed Be ...

    • Network Troubleshooting - Hardware

      Troubleshooting an internet outage in a restaurant is essential to ensure a smooth operation, as many restaurant functions rely on a stable internet connection, such as processing payments, managing orders, and providing Wi-Fi for customers. Here's a ...

    • General Chipper / EMV Reader Troubleshooting

      Here are some general EMV Reader / Credit Card Chipper troubleshooting steps not specific to any one device. - Reseat Cable (unplug / replug) - Hard / Soft reset chipper (either with power button or in some cases small reset button) - Plug cable ...

    • Auto EOD Troubleshooting

      Sometimes a location running auto End Of Day will be missing a journal or may have not reported or printed reports it was supposed to. The following are some steps you can take to troubleshoot and verify that auto EOD is setup and being used ...