Add a printer
Connect a receipt or kitchen printer from the till over the network, Bluetooth or USB, choose what it prints, and open a cash drawer through it.
On this page
Printers are added on the till, not in the back office, because you need to stand next to the printer to check the test slip. A printer belongs to the location: once added, every till there can print to a network printer. Verimly prints to ESC/POS thermal printers, the standard for receipt and kitchen printers.
Before you start
- You need the Manage printers permission (included in Manage devices). Without it, the till shows "You are not allowed to add printers."
- The printer must support ESC/POS. Most thermal receipt and kitchen printers do; check the printer's manual. Label printers and other printer languages aren't supported.
- Load paper and switch the printer on.
- Network printer: connect it to the same network as your tills by cable or Wi-Fi. Wireless printers are set up for Wi-Fi from their own menu or tool first. A fixed (static) IP address on the printer makes it easier to find again.
- USB or Bluetooth printer: it is driven by the one till it's attached to.
- For kitchen printers: create your prep stations under Settings › Prep stations first. See Prep stations.
Add the printer
- On the till, go to More › Settings › Connections.
- Choose Add printer (or Add, then Printer).
- Under How is the printer connected?, choose: - Search the network: scans for printers on the same network. Pick yours from Printers found. A printer that's already set up shows "already added". - Enter address manually: type the printer's IP address. Use this for static IP setups or if the search finds nothing. - Printer attached to this terminal: a printer connected to this device by USB or Bluetooth.
- Fill in the details: - Printer name: where it stands, such as "Counter printer" or "Kitchen". - Role: Receipt printer for receipts and bills, or Station printer for kitchen and bar tickets. - Station (station printer only): the prep station whose orders it prints. Without a station, it becomes the general kitchen printer for orders that have none. - Paper width: 58 mm or 80 mm, matching your paper rolls.
- Set what it does by itself: - Station printer: Print new orders automatically (on by default). Orders print here even without a preparation station screen. - Receipt printer: Print a receipt after payment. The customer receipt prints when the order closes. - Receipt printer: Cash drawer attached to this printer. See below.
- Choose Save and print test slip.
A test slip comes out straight away. "The printer the paper comes out of is the right one." If nothing prints, see The printer doesn't print.
Which till drives the printer
- A network printer can be used by every till at the location. One device sends its jobs; Connections shows it under Printed by. If that device is off, any other device at the location takes over. To make the till you're holding send the jobs, choose Print from this device.
- A USB or Bluetooth printer only prints while its till is on: "Only the … terminal can drive this printer; nothing prints while it is off."
Connect a cash drawer
A cash drawer plugs into the receipt printer, not into the tablet.
- Connect the drawer's cable to the drawer port of the receipt printer.
- On the till, open the printer under More › Settings › Connections and turn on Cash drawer attached.
Cash payments now open the drawer through this printer. Staff with the right permission can also open it without a sale.
How kitchen tickets reach the printer
Where a prep station's orders go is set per station under Settings › Prep stations, in Where do orders go?: Screen only, Printer only, Screen and printer, or a screen with the printer as a backup. With the backup option, the printer takes over when the screen goes silent. See Screens, printers or both.
Change or remove a printer
On the till, go to More › Settings › Connections and tap the printer. You can see its Role, Connection, Address, Station and Paper, switch automatic printing on or off, and choose Print test slip. To remove it, choose Delete printer: pending jobs for it are cancelled.
A network printer is found again by its MAC address even if its IP address changes. The till keeps printing at the new address; the printer's saved address and MAC only change when someone with Manage printers searches for printers, and every change is in the activity log.
Verimly only prints to network printers on your own network: an IP address that starts with 10., 172.16 to 172.31 or 192.168., on port 9100 (or 9101 to 9109). Any other address or port is refused with "Use the printer's address on this network" or "Network printers print on port 9100".
Receipts and the print queue
Every print is stored as a job first. If the printer is off or out of paper, the job waits and is retried for a while before it's marked Failed. Failed jobs show under Queue on the Connections screen, with Retry and Cancel job.
The layout of receipts, bills and tickets is set in the back office under Settings › Receipts. See Change your receipt.
Common questions
Can I add a printer in the back office?
No. Printers are connected from the till itself, so you can check the test slip on the spot. Settings › Devices reminds you of this.
Does every till need its own receipt printer?
No. Every till at the location can print to a shared network printer.
Why doesn't the till offer "Printer attached to this terminal"?
If the till shows "USB/Bluetooth is unavailable on this terminal", this device can't drive a USB or Bluetooth printer. Use a network printer instead.