Receipt Printers & Print Routing
Set up network printers, route departments to specific printers, and troubleshoot printing issues
Navigate to: Dashboard → Settings → Printers
Printer management is restricted to Managers and Administrators.
Bettencourt POS supports ESC/POS thermal printers connected over your local network. Print routing lets you send different departments to different printers — for example, food orders to the kitchen printer and beverages to the bar printer, while the receipt printer handles customer receipts.
Adding a Printer
- Click New Printer
- Fill in the fields:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | A recognisable label (e.g., "Kitchen Printer", "Bar Printer", "Main Receipt") |
| Connection Type | Select Network for a network-connected printer |
| IP Address / Hostname | The printer's IP address on your local network (e.g., 192.168.1.50) |
| Paper Width | 80mm (most thermal printers) or 58mm for narrow receipt rolls |
| Auto Cut | Toggle on to automatically cut paper after each print |
| Location | The store location this printer belongs to |
- Click Save
To find your printer's IP address, print a self-test page from the printer (usually by holding the Feed button on power-up). The IP address is printed on the test sheet.
Setting Up Print Routes
Print routes define which product department prints to which printer. Without a route, all items print to whichever printer the POS uses by default.
Assigning Departments to a Printer
- Open a printer from the list
- In the Print Routes section, click Edit Routes
- Select one or more departments (e.g., "Chicken", "Fish", "Beverages")
- Click Save Routes
Each department can only be routed to one printer at a time.
Common Routing Example
| Printer | Departments Routed |
|---|---|
| Kitchen Printer | Chicken, Fish, Pastry, Specials |
| Bar Printer | Beverages, Juices |
| Main Receipt | (used for customer receipts — no department routes needed) |
Test Print
To verify a printer is reachable and printing correctly:
- Open the printer from the list
- Click Test Print
- The printer should immediately print a short test page showing the printer name, connection type, paper width, and timestamp
Troubleshooting
Printer Not Responding
- Confirm the printer is powered on and connected to the same network as the POS
- Try pinging the printer's IP address from any device on the network
- Check that the IP address entered in the POS matches what is printed on the printer's test page
- Some printers require a static IP — check your router's DHCP reservations
Garbled Output or Strange Characters
- Confirm the printer supports ESC/POS command set (most modern thermal printers do)
- Try switching the Paper Width setting to match your actual paper roll (58mm vs 80mm)
Kitchen Printer Not Printing Orders
- Confirm the relevant departments have a route assigned to the kitchen printer (Settings → Printers → open the printer → Print Routes)
- Confirm the printer's Active toggle is on
- Run a Test Print to verify the printer is reachable
QZ Tray (Browser Printing)
For environments where the POS runs in a standard web browser on a Windows machine, QZ Tray enables direct communication between the browser and USB or network printers without a print dialog.
QZ Tray must be installed on each Windows terminal that needs direct printing. Contact KareTech Solutions to arrange installation and configuration.