A receipt printer is a printing device that can print business receipts and invoices. Today, every retailer has a POS counter. A perfect POS kiosk includes various hardware components, and a receipt printer is one of the most important components. Receipt printers make the task of printing receipts easier. In the past, people had to serve handwritten receipts to the buyers. Crafting such bills is a time-consuming matter.

How can you recognise a receipt printing device? The advent of the contemporary receipt printer has made bill printing easier. Ideally, such printers are smaller than other document printers. Nevertheless, receipt printers use paper rolls instead of full-size papers. In the following section, find the most crucial features of professional receipt printing devices.

Important Features to Expect from Receipt Printers

When a small retailer purchases a receipt printer, it expects a few crucial features from the product. The device must offer a seamless printing solution with minimal consumption of the inks. No business wants to make a high expense on the maintenance and repair of the printer. The following features are vital for obtaining cost-effectiveness from the receipt printers.

1. The Printing Speed

Businesses have to keep the printing speed in mind to purchase a receipt printer. A POS counter that offers fat checkout to the customers improves consumer satisfaction, retention rate, and brand value. The checkout process will be faster if the receipt printer works faster.

Can you get a faster printing device? According to the studies, a standard receipt printer can print 10 pages in a minute. So, you need to make sure that your printer provides such output. If you invest in a thermal printer, you can even obtain a printing service for 14–15 pages per minute. Thus, the efficiency of your POS counter will increase, and the customers will eventually find more satisfaction.

2. An Exceptional Print Quality

The print quality of a printer is the most crucial thing. The job of a printing device is printing papers. Thus, the quality of the printed material should be analysed closely. Print quality depends on many factors. For example, the quality of the paper is important.

However, the quality of a device’s ink is the most crucial thing. A top-quality receipt printer uses 512 dots per line. However, you can get a few devices that even feature 576 dots per line. Choosing devices offering a higher number of dots per line will help you obtain better output.

3. Spill-Proof

With many receipt printers, spilling inks is a big problem. Such problems must be avoided for two primary reasons. Firstly, it leads to the wastage of precious ink. You do not want to purchase ink frequently for the printer, as it will increase the business operational cost. Secondly, spilling ink causes a messy situation at the POS counters. Therefore, the checkout process gets halted, and customers have to wait long in the queue.

Modern receipt printing devices come with a spill-proof feature. You need to find a product that offers a spill-proof feature to the buyers. If a product does not offer a spill-proof warranty, investing in such a printer is futile.

4. Size Matters

For large retailers, the size of the printer is not a big concern. Most big retailers have adequate space to accommodate the large printers. But, small retailers do not have the space luxury. Therefore, they need to look for a device that comes with a small and compact size.

Most receipt printers are small in size, and thus they do not consume a high space on your POS counter. If you feel the counter has little space to accommodate even a small printer, you should look for the wall-mount receipt printers. Many small and portable receipt printing machines feature wall-mounting provisions.

5. Connectivity

How does the receipt printer connect to the POS software? Most products come with multiple connectivity options. Among the connectivity features, you will find serial port and USB are the most popular ones. Along with these connectivity options, you will get wireless connectivity with a few devices. Wireless connectivity is a better option for small retailers, as wireless devices save space.

You can connect POS software and receipt printing machine through wireless LAN and Bluetooth connection. Many advanced devices also feature wireless connectivity through WiFi.

Types of Receipt Printers for Small Stores

The crucial features of the receipt printers have been discussed so far in this article. Now, you need to know a few types of printers that are suitable for your POS counter. Choosing the right device will help you to obtain the features discussed above. For managing a fast and seamless POS counter, these factors are crucial.

• Impact Receipt Printer: The commonest type of receipt printer is the impact receipt printer. Introduced in the 1980s, this receipt printer has been the most popular choice for buyers for a long time. Such printers can only print black ink on white papers. However, a few printers also come with two ribbons. Thus, you can get a maximum two-colour option.
• Direct Thermal Receipt Printer: A direct thermal receipt printer is ideal for those who want to provide faster checkout service to the customers. Moreover, thermal printers require a minimal maintenance hassle. Such printers do not contain ink cartridges, and thus you do not have the hassle to replace the empty cartridges. But, thermal printers are only compatible with thermal papers, which cost more than regular papers.
• Multi-Function Receipt Printer: In most retail stores, you will notice multi-function receipt printers these days. As the name suggests, the printer can render multiple services. For example, you can print both slips and receipts using this device. Some devices additionally come with a barcode scanning feature.
• Mobile Receipt Printer: Another popular type of receipt printer is the mobile receipt printer. As the name implies, the devices render mobility. You can move it from one place to another place. Many small retailers do not have a dedicated POS counter, and thus they can use mobile receipt printers.

If you are looking for a high-quality receipt printer, you can visit the online store of PrimoPOS. The store offers many types of receipt printing devices that meet your budget and requirement.

Various Types of the Receipt Printers

There are different kinds of ‘receipt printers,’ and it required picking one based on your requirement. Going through this roundup of receipt printers would help you to choose one based on your need.

• DOT Matrix Printer: The impact / DOT matrix receipt printers use small pins for transferring and pressing the ink on the paper. These printers find application in the restaurant kitchen environments.
• Direct Thermal Printer: The printers find application in rapidly-paced environments such as grocery stores and restaurants are the thermal receipt printers. These printers find application in printing in bulk.
• Inkjet Printer: The printers that are in great use in the restaurants and boutiques are the inkjet printers. They find wide application in high-quality printing of coupons, colour logos on the receipts. Some of the things to consider while buying the inkjet printer are compatibility with the POS software, speed of the printer, cost, etc.
• Multi-Functional Printer: The multi-functional printers find use in receipt printing, slip printing, barcode scanning, and much more. One of the most sought-after multi-functional printers is ‘kiosk printers.’ They find use in printing receipts, tickets, coupons, etc.
• Wireless Printer: The mobile/wireless receipt printers find wide application in the retail, food, and the beverage industries.