Buying a thermal printer: an 8-point POS checklist
The printer is the visible face of a POS system. With the right model tickets come out instantly; with the wrong one Turkish characters break, the drawer won't open or tickets get cut halfway. And you usually find out after you've bought it.
This post is a buying checklist: open the spec sheet of the printer you've been quoted and tick the items one by one. If you want more on why these features matter, see our thermal printer guide.
Look for these on the spec sheet before buying.
1. Paper width: if it isn't 80 mm, don't buy it
58 mm printers are for small retail receipts. In a restaurant or café, item, note and table don't fit on 58 mm paper. ari adisyon's ticket layout is written for 80 mm with 42 characters per line; 58 mm models are not supported.
2. ESC/POS: don't trust the word "compatible"
Tickets are sent to the printer as ESC/POS commands. "ESC/POS compatible" on the box isn't enough; some models ship in a different mode. The Star TSP100/TSP143 series ships in Star Line Mode, and some Bixolon models in a different emulation — they have to be switched to ESC/POS with the device's utility. Ask the seller: "Is it ESC/POS out of the box?"
3. Turkish characters: the WPC1254 code page
To print ç, ğ, ı, ö, ş, ü and their capitals correctly, the printer must support the WPC1254 (Windows-1254, Turkish) code page. Print the printer's own self-test page and look for a `WPC1254 (Turkish)` line. It's built into Epson's common models and usually present on POS-80 clones, though its position can vary.
4. Auto-cutter
Without an auto-cutter every ticket is torn by hand. At peak time that costs time and gets tickets mixed up.
5. Connection: choose to suit your setup
Which connection? It depends on your setup.
In a cloud setup the printer agent runs on the computer the printer is attached to; the printer can be USB or Ethernet. In an on-premise setup the server connects to the printer directly over the network, so an Ethernet (RJ45) port is required. If there's no computer in the kitchen, an Ethernet printer can go anywhere a network cable reaches.
6. A drawer port on the till printer
The cash drawer plugs into the till printer's RJ11 drawer port, not into a computer. USB drawer adapters don't work with this setup. The drawer's voltage (12V or 24V) must match the printer's drawer output and use standard pin-2 wiring. Plug the drawer into the drawer port, not the network port — both are RJ sockets and easy to confuse.
7. Durability for the kitchen
Kitchens are hot, steamy and greasy. Choose a closed, dust-protected model with easy roll changes (lift the lid, drop the roll in). Keep it away from steam from the stove and the dishwasher.
8. How many printers will you buy?
One printer can print kitchen, bar and till tickets separately. If kitchen and till are in different places, two printers; if the bar is separate, three is the usual setup. In a busy kitchen you can also assign two printers to one station; the ticket prints on both as copies.
The first 10 minutes after it arrives
- Print the printer's self-test page; look for ESC/POS and WPC1254.
- For a network printer, give it a fixed IP on your router (DHCP reservation).
- Add the printer in the POS and choose which tickets it prints.
- Print a test ticket and check the Turkish line.
- On the till printer, plug in the drawer and tick "Cash drawer connected".
Out of the box and into service in five steps.
Frequently asked questions
The test ticket says "T?rk Kahvesi". What now?
Set the printer's code page to WPC1254 (Turkish) in its settings and print the test ticket again.
How do I know if a printer has dropped out?
On-premise, the status strip at the top of the screen checks printers at regular intervals. In the cloud, the printer agent's window shows a green or red status.
Conclusion
Checking eight points before buying a thermal printer means a trouble-free setup day. For the models we've tested and setup steps, see our hardware page; for connection types, kitchen printer connection types.