Are you purchasing the Right Receipt Printer Consumables?

Receipt printers are an essential component of a point of sale (POS) system in every retail or hospitality industry. These devices help complete a transaction by printing payment slips for customers containing purchase-related information like product name, date and time of purchase, SKU, price, and more that act as proof of transaction. These slips not only help maintain transparency with the customers but also act as a warranty for the return/exchange of purchased products. Despite the popularity of e-invoices or digital receipts, physical receipts are still popular amongst most customers who do not wish to share their email addresses or contact details; hence, most businesses provide both digital and physical receipts these days.

In this blog, we have discussed the different  types of receipt printers (for example, Epson Thermal Printer) and consumables to help you choose the right tools for your business.

Before diving into the topic, let us discuss

Receipt Printers

Receipts in the earlier times were handwritten slips which could be doctored. But, after the introduction of printing technology and receipt printers, issuing receipts became easier, more accurate, and cannot be tampered with.

If you are a new business owner, rewards and challenges are a part of your daily operations. Being equipped with a systematically and carefully laid out business model coupled with state-of-the-art technology and tools would help make your business operations smooth and seamless. Among all the advanced tools, owning a point of sale (POS) system is an impactful solution to make your business operations easy.

Receipt printers (for example, Epson TM-T82III Thermal Receipt Printer Serial/USB ) are electronic devices that are used to print receipts and are one of the most essential point of sale (POS) system hardware components. These devices are designed to provide quick and accurate printing with minimal downtime and support the seamless functioning of the point of sale (POS) system. All you need to do is, pick a reliable and fast receipt printer to avoid the scope of making customers wait in long queues.

Reportedly, “the global POS receipt printer market is anticipated to rise at a considerable rate between 2022 and 2028. The market size is estimated to be worth USD 3372.5 million in 2022 and is forecast to a readjusted size of USD 5909.8 million by 2029 with a CAGR of 9.8% during the review period.”

Types of Receipt Printers

While purchasing a receipt printer, ensure that you purchase a device that offers legible print quality, high-resolution prints, and comes with at least 3-5 years of durability. There are receipt printers that support monochromatic receipts and ones that support coloured receipts. At the same time, there are printers that can print multiple copies of a simple receipt simultaneously.

Different receipt printers function on different printing technologies, hence, their printing ability to withstand different environments varies. Primarily, there are two types of receipt printers thermal receipt printers and dot matrix/impact receipt printers .Receipt printers usually come as a part of a point of sale (POS) bundle but if you are looking to purchase a device separately, make sure it can be integrated with other point of sale (POS) hardware components.

At POS Plaza, we have an extensive array of premium point of sale (POS) hardware, consumables, and accessories, all available at competitive prices. Let us look at the different types of receipt printers available at our online store.

1. Dot Matrix/Impact Receipt Printers: Among all the receipt printers, dot matrix receipt printers (such as Epson TM-U220B Dot Matrix Receipt Printer and Epson TM-U220B Ethernet Interface with Auto Cutter ) are the oldest and most popular device, developed in1925. The printing technology of impact printers is similar to classic typewriters and offers low-resolution prints, which are the key reasons why these printers aren’t used for commercial printing. The printhead of these devices comes with a series of pins that move back and forth on the paper rolls to create prints by force of impact, hammering the printing ribbon against the paper. Hence, these printers are also called impact printers. Designed to print multiple copies of a single receipt by placing carbon paper between paper rolls, these devices can print in black and red colours depending on the ribbon’s colours and can print graphics, texts, and numbers. The printheads of these printers come with 9 to 24 pins and the higher the number of pins the better the clarity and print resolution. Impact printers are inexpensive and the prints do not get affected by extreme temperatures; which is why these devices are preferred for kitchen and outdoor uses. Hence, kitchen printers are mostly impact/dot matrix receipt printers. However, the biggest drawback of these printers is that they make a lot of noise while printing.

2.Thermal Receipt Printers: Invented in the 1970s, thermal receipt printers are the most popular printing technologies that are used for commercial printing and are used in a wide range of industries. Thermal receipt printers (for example, StarTSP143III USB Thermal Receipt Printer) function on heat mechanism, by applying a heated element to a heat-sensitive paper. This paper is treated chemically to react to heat, and the heat darkens the paper when it makes contact. When the element moves across the paper, it creates letters, numbers, and graphics. Modern-day technologies that create coloured prints with thermal printers, for example, mobile receipt printers . Thermal receipt printers are fast, quiet, and compact but are unsuitable for environments with high temperatures.

There are two types of thermal printers that function using heated printheads but their method of printing and properties vary.

Direct Thermal Printer: This type of printer uses a special heat-sensitive printing material. The heated printhead reacts with the printing material to directly create designs without using inks or ribbons. Direct thermal printer creates high-quality prints but they offer durability and a limited shelf-life.

Thermal Transfer Printer: Unlike direct thermal printers, thermal transfer printers use heat-sensitive ribbons that react to a heated printhead to form the desired pattern on the printing material. The receipts are usually printed in black and have a limited lifespan.


Receipt Printer Consumables

Now that we have discussed the types of receipt printers, let us discuss the different types of receipt printer consumables to determine if we are choosing the right consumable.

1. Thermal Paper Rolls: These thermal receipt rolls are chemically coated and change colour when exposed to heat and help with inkless printing and are used by thermal receipt printers. When heat is applied to the coating, it forms texts and images.

2. Bond Paper Rolls: These types of paper rolls are mostly preferred by businesses that require printing multiple copies of the same receipt. Bond papers are high-quality printing papers that are made from 20% to 100% cotton rag fibre. Bond rolls are versatile and stronger than paper made from wood pulp.

3.Carbonised Paper Rolls: Carbonised paper rolls are also called self-contained paper rolls and they eliminate the need for carbon paper to print multiple copies which are usually 2 to 3 ply (that allows 2 or 3 copies to be printed).

In the End,

Once you have determined the type of printer you wish to purchase, you need to consider the below-mentioned pointers to pick the right device for your business.

Tips to Purchase the Right Receipt Printer

1. Print Quality: An essential factor that determines the performance of a product is its performance. Therefore, while purchasing a receipt printer, considering the receipt quality is essential as different devices offer different print quality. You need to consider your customer base and business requirements to decide on the right type of printer for your business. If low-quality images and basic receipt quality won’t affect your business, then you can opt for a dot matrix receipt printer. But, for sharper and high-quality images, a thermal receipt printer is the right choice for you.

2. Connectivity and Compatibility: For every point of sale (POS) system to function seamlessly, you need to ensure that all the hardware components are compatible with each other and are fully integrated. Hence, make sure you purchase a device that has multiple connectivity interfaces and general compatibility.

3. Dimensions: For any business, especially the ones that have a physical store, aesthetics is an important factor. As a store owner, you would not want your equipment to consume a lot of space on the checkout counter. Therefore, check the dimensions of your receipt printer before making your purchase.

4. Receipt Customisation: Receipts are a great means to promote one’s business. You can customise your receipts by adding your company’s logo, contact number, web address, and more to promote your business/brand.

5. Printing Speed: While purchasing your receipt printer, ensure that you pick the device that offers a fast printing speed so that your customers do not have to wait in queues for long. This would provide your customers with a seamless and comfortable shopping experience.

6. Roll Speed: The receipt printer you pick should provide a convenient and quick roll change. There are devices that come with easy drop and change facilities. This would expedite the checkout process and will also provide your customers with a convenient shopping experience.

7. Power Consumption: We know that mobile receipt printers are battery-operated and portable, and their batteries drain out in some time which needs to be recharged. On the other hand, there are printers that work on electricity which consumes a lot of power, increasing the overall costs of the device. Hence, make sure you purchase a device that consumes less power so that the overall operation cost for your business is minimised.

8. Budget: For any kind of purchase, considering the budget is an essential factor. You need to purchase a device that not only meets your business requirements but is also cost-effective. Certain printers come with low upfront costs but high maintenance costs whereas there are devices that are expensive but have low maintenance costs. Hence, choose the device as per your budget.

Once you have zeroed in on the device that you wish to purchase, browse through our POS Plaza website and choose from our extensive range of products and make your purchase with us.