Point-of-Sale Printers are also known as POS printers or credit card printers or receipt printers. These printers are high speed thermal printers used at the point of sale in retail stores, banks, and restaurants. Both the customers and the stores are able to have a record of the transactions through these printers. The Point-of-Sale printers are connected to a computer through a cable interface. The printers receive the data from the POS software application installed on the computer. The device drivers of the printers interpret the data and print them.

Most of these printers come with a facility known as MICR or magnetic ink character recognition. The MICR is usually the numbers and symbols appearing at the bottom of bank checks. MICR-enabled printers would be able to read, endorse, and print checks in a single pass.

Tips in the purchase of Point-of-Sale printers

A few points have to be noted before buying POS printers. They are as follows.

• Certain point-of-sale software works only with specific printer device drivers. Hence, it is advisable to verify with the software supplier whether a particular POS printer model would be compatible with that software. Some software requires OLE for Point of Sale drivers, known as OPOS drivers for printing receipts. If you are replacing a POS printer with an OPOS printer, then you might have to verify with both the printer manufacturer and the software manufacturer whether they are compatible to each other.
• POS printers are connected to the computers through either a serial, parallel, Ethernet, or USB connections. You should be able to identify the type of connections available on the computer and select the right type of interface.
• Find out from the printer manufacturer or supplier whether the receipt cutting is manual or automatic. Most of the printers have the option of auto cutter mechanism.
• Certain printers are heat sensitive. If you wish to install the printer in a kitchen, you might need to go in for an impact printer that is not heat sensitive.
• Check the printing speed of the POS printer. If your sales volume is very large, you might require a high speed printer.
• Check whether you need to print color receipts. In that case, your POS printer must have the ability to print colors.
• If your printer had to read MICR codes, print, and endorse checks, as well as print duplicate receipts, then you have to opt for a machine with those capabilities.
• If your sales team would be carrying the printer around, then it should not be too heavy.

Types of Point-of-Sale printers

• Impact printers are ideal for heat intensive environments like kitchens and places where double color prints and duplicate receipt printing are required.

• Direct thermal printers are quiet, fast, and give high quality output. Even logos could be included in receipt printing. They are recommended in all the places where heat is not a problem.

• Inkjet POS printers normally offer double color printing (black and red). If you wish to print receipts, coupons, etc. with color logos for direct marketing with the receipts, then inkjet printers should be your ultimate choice.

• Multifunction POS printers have features like receipt printing, coupon and slip printing, check endorsement, and MICR reading. These machines are the favorites of most of the retail stores, banks, and restaurants.

• Portable or mobile POS printers use BlueTooth wireless technology or connect to a PDA-type handheld device for receiving printable data.

Select your Point-of-Sale printer after duly considering all the above points.

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