Introduction to Receipt Printers
A receipt printer may sound like a straightforward piece of equipment but be warned there are many different manufacturers and models offering a wide range of features. Understanding the difference between these features can greatly increase the speed of checkout and the productivity of your registers.
Thermal Printers vs. Dot Matrix(Impact) Printers
Dot Matrix Printers are slower and louder than thermal printers although dot matrix printers are generally less expensive. A dot matrix printer works by using a number of very small pins that impact a ribbon against the paper. Thermal printers have special heat sensitive ribbons and use this to create images on the paper. Thermal printers cannot print on multi-part forms. Thermal printers are faster, quieter, and have fewer moving components than Dot Matrix printers.
If you are looking for a printer for 3'' inch receipt try either of these very popular Epson printers. The TM-T88III is a thermal printer.
Resolution and Speed
Receipt printer resolution is based on dots per inch (DPI), the higher the DPI the better the resolution. Printer's speed is often referred to inches per second (IPS), the quicker the print speed can be very important in reducing lines to your registers.
Star Micronics makes a number of very popular receipt printers. Take a look at the dot matrix TSP600 a very inexpensive thermal.
Kitchen Printing
Does your restaurant's kitchen need a printer for orders? Or do you just need a rugged and reliable printer in a kitchen or a very active area? Finding a printer that is dependable enough for this situation is important. Take a look at the Epson TM-U230 it can take the beating that is demanded of a kitchen printer.
Label Printers
If you are looking to print your own product labels or barcodes getting a label printer is a smart move. Label printers generally use direct thermal printing and/or thermal transfer printing.
What is a direct thermal printer?
A direct thermal printer requires that special "thermally coated" paper be used for printing. The thermal head has direct contact with the thermal paper, which cause the item to be printed.
What is a thermal transfer printer?
Thermal transfer printers use thermal ribbons to print. The thermal head heats up the thermal ribbon and then transfers the image on to the paper.
What's an auto-cutter
An auto cutter cuts off the receipt after being printed and is built into certain receipt printers to expedite transactions quickly. Printers that do not have an auto-cutter often have a tear bar that allow for a quick and accurate tear of the receipt.
What is a parallel interface?
A parallel interface is the type of attachment from the parallel port of the printer to the parallel port of the PC. A parallel port on a PC always is a 25 pin female port.
What is a serial interface?
A serial interface is the type of attachment that can run from a printer to a PC. Serial ports on a computer are male and have either 9 or 25 pins.
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