Why are Receipt Printers and their Consumables Important?

Author: Ved Krishna Dwivedi Date Posted: 2nd Aug 2022

In any retail or hospitality business, receipt printers play a significant role in completing a transaction. As the name suggests, these devices are used to print payment receipts for customers that contain purchase-related information like date and time of purchase, product name and number, price, and more. These receipts act as proof of transaction and maintain transparency with the customers. At the same time, these slips are beneficial for customers should they wish to exchange/return a purchased product. Albeit e-invoices or digital receipts are quite popular in recent times, physical receipts are still preferred by most customers; hence, most businesses these days provide both digital and physical receipts.

Earlier, receipts were usually handwritten. However, with the advent of printing technology and receipt printers, the process of issuing receipts became not only convenient but also accurate, affordable, and cannot be doctored. Receipt printers (for example, the Epson Thermal Printer) are an essential hardware component of a point of sale (POS) system, therefore, picking the right device is going to be a wise long-term investment.

To understand why receipt printers and their consumables are important, let us discuss them in detail.

Let’s begin!

What is a Receipt Printer?

Retail business is both rewarding and challenging, especially if you are a new retail business owner. Other than having a carefully and systematically laid out business model, you need to be equipped with state-of-the-art tools and technology that would make running your retail business smooth and seamless. Point of sale (POS) systems are an impactful solution to manage your business operations.

Receipt printers, as the name implies, are electronic devices that are used specifically to print receipts and are one of the vital points of sale (POS) system hardware components, for example, Epson TMT88VI Thermal Direct Receipt Printer. Receipt printers can provide quick and accurate printing with low downtime and can support the seamless functioning of the point of sale (POS) system. Make sure you pick a reliable and fast receipt printer to avoid the scope of making your customers wait in long queues.

Reports show that “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 2028 with a CAGR of 9.8% during the review period”.

While hunting for a receipt printer, make sure you pick a device that offers legible printing 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. Also, there are receipt printers that can print multiple copies of a single receipt simultaneously.

What are the Types of Receipt Printers?

Different printers work on different printing technology, therefore, their ability to withstand different environmental conditions varies. There are two prominent types of receipt printers- thermal receipt printers and dot-matrix/impact receipt printers. Usually, receipt printers come as a part of the point of sale (POS) bundle; however, if you are looking to purchase a device separately, make sure it can be integrated with the other point of sale (POS) hardware components.

Dot Matrix/Impact Receipt Printers: These are the oldest and most popular types of printers available in the market and work on technology like that of typewriters. Although these printers are not preferred for commercial usage because of their low-resolution prints, they are still used for receipt printing. The printhead of a dot matrix receipt printer is lined with a series of pins that moves back and forth on thepaper rollsto create the print by force of impact, hammering the printing ribbon against the paper. Therefore, dot matrix printers are also called impact printers. These printers can print multiple copies of a single receipt just by placing carbon paper between the paper rolls. Usually, the printheads have 9 to 24 pins, the higher the number of pins, the better the print resolution and clarity. Impact printers can print in black and red colours, depending on the colour of the ribbon, and are capable of printing graphics other than just texts and numbers, depending on the number of pins. These printers are inexpensive, and the prints do not get affected by temperature variations. Therefore, these devices are widely preferred for kitchen or outdoor uses, but, the biggest drawback of these devices is that they make a lot of noise while printing. They are also very popular in the dry-cleaning industry.

Thermal Receipt Printers: Thermal printing technology is the most popular commercial printing technology and is used in various industries. These printers work by applying a heated element to a heat-sensitive paper. This paper is chemically treated to react to heat, and the heat darkens the paper where it makes contact. When the element moves across the paper, it creates letters, numbers, and even images. Nowadays, there are technologies that create coloured prints with thermal printers. Thermal printers do not require ink ribbons or toners that make the devices cost-effective. The durability of the prints is low which is the biggest drawback of using thermal printing. Since the paper is heat-sensitive, exposure to excessive heat and light can damage the print. Also, the printing paper will darken with time, making the print unreadable.

Receipt Printer Consumables

Thermal Receipt Rolls: These paper rolls are chemically coated and change colour when exposed to heat and aid in inkless printing. These are used by thermal receipt printers. When heat is applied to the coating, it leads to the formation of texts and images.

Bond Rolls: Preferred mostly by businesses that require multiple copies of the same receipts, bond papers are high-quality printing paper made from 20% to 100% cotton rag fibre. These treated papers are versatile and stronger than paper made from wood pulp.

Carbonised Paper Rolls: Also known as self-contained paper rolls, carbonised paper rolls elimate the need of carbon paper to print multiple copies and are normally 2-3 ply (allowing for 2 or 3 copies to be printed).

Points to Remember while Purchasing a Receipt Printer

The first step to buying a receipt printer is deciding the type of printer you need for your business. Other than that, ensure that you factor in the below-mentioned pointers:

Receipt Quality: The product performance of any device is an important factor when purchasing it. Therefore, the most important factor that needs to be considered while purchasing a receipt printer is the receipt quality. Different types of printers provide different printing quality. Consider your customer base and business requirements to decide on the printer you need for your business. If you require basic receipt quality and low-quality images won’t make much of a difference, then opt for dot matrix receipt printers. But, should you require sharper and high-quality images, thermal receipt printers are the right option for you.

Connectivity and Compatibility: If you want your point of sale (POS) system to function seamlessly, you need to ensure that all the hardware components are compatible with each other and work in sync. When you purchase a receipt printer, make sure you pick a device that has multiple connectivity interfaces and general compatibility.

Dimensions: Product dimension is one of the essential factors that you should consider while purchasing a receipt printer, after all, aesthetics are unavoidable. If you own a retail store, you do not want your device to consume a lot of space on the checkout counter of your store. Therefore, check the dimensions of the device before purchasing it.

Receipt Customisation: Did you know that receipts are a great marketing tool? You can customise these receipts by adding your company’s logo, contact number, web address, and more to promote your brand/business.

Printing Speed: Make sure the receipt printer you pick 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.

Roll Speed: While purchasing a receipt printer, make sure it provides a convenient and quick roll change and all you need to do is drop a new roll into the printer and you are good to go. This would not only expedite the checkout process but also provide your customers with a convenient shopping experience.

Power Consumption: Mobile receipt printers are battery-operated and portable, but their batteries drain out in some time and need to be recharged. Traditional printers function on electricity. Therefore, while purchasing your printer, make sure the device you pick consumes less power so that the overall operation cost for your business is minimised.

Budget: The most important factor while purchasing any device is your budget. You need to pick a receipt printer that not only meets your business needs but also fits your budget. There are printers that come with low upfront costs but high maintenance costs, at the same time, the upfront costs of some printers are high, but their maintenance cost is comparatively low.

Wrapping Up,

Now that we are clear on why to own a receipt printer and how to pick the right device, we need to consider where to purchase a receipt printer from.

If you are looking for the best receipt printers in Australia, Sydney-based online supplier POS Plaza is your go-to option. A leading supplier of premium point of sale (POS) hardware, software, and accessories, we offer personalised shopping experience to our customers to help them pick the perfect product that would meet both their business needs and budget.