TillableHelp centreSign in

Printer not responding — checklist

When a kitchen printer won't fire, work down this list — power, IP, network, port, device.

First, check how the printer is connected — the two kinds fail for different reasons. Open Store settings → Printers: a cable printer's row reads Cable · on <till name>.

If it's connected by cable to a till

  1. Plugged in, powered on, paper in? The cable runs from the printer to that one till — check both ends.
  2. Is that till on and awake? Only the till named on the printer's row can print to it. If that till is off, jobs wait until it's back — they aren't lost.
  3. Picked on the till itself? On that till: Settings → Receipt printer — the cable printer must be selected there. This is the step people miss; registering it in the portal is only half the job.
  4. Right till named? If the row says "Cable · not plugged into a till — edit to fix", open the printer and choose the till it's actually plugged into.
  5. Till up to date? Cable kitchen tickets need a recent till app version. If everything above is right and tickets still don't print, check for an app update on the till.

If it's on the network

Work down this list in order. Most silent-printer cases are one of these five.

  1. Powered on and online? Check the printer has power, paper, and no error light. Print its self-test slip (hold FEED on power-on) to confirm it's alive and to re-read its IP.
  2. IP address matches? The IP address in Printers must match the address on the self-test slip / printer config page. Networks reassign addresses, so an IP that worked last month can change — re-check it. See Find a kitchen printer's IP address.
  3. Same Wi-Fi? The printer must be on the same venue network as everything else. A printer on a guest network or a different access point won't be reachable.
  4. Right port? Leave it at 9100 unless you deliberately changed the printer's port. A wrong port is a common cause of silence.
  5. A device assigned, and switched on? Print jobs reach the printer through one of your devices on the venue Wi-Fi — nothing prints unless a device has this printer set as its receipt printer under Devices, and that device is on and online.

It prints, but the receipt is garbled

That's a different fault from silence — the printer is reachable, it just doesn't understand what we're sending. Check Printer type in Printers: Star TSP100IV for Star hardware, Generic ESC/POS (80mm) for a non-Star 80mm printer. The wrong one prints junk characters or cuts in the wrong place. See Register a kitchen printer.

You can't find the printer in the list

If you run more than one site, Printers has a Location filter at the top of the list. With a site picked, you only see that venue's printers — so a printer that looks missing may just be filtered out. Set it back to All locations to see everything, including printers not assigned to a site.

Still nothing?

Also confirm on the station side:

  • You clicked Save after changing the station. The printer fields apply on Save, not as you pick them — if the top bar still says "Unsaved changes", nothing you picked has reached the station yet.
  • Both a printer and a Printed ticket layout are set on the station (a printer station won't fire otherwise). See Set up printer stations.
  • The items you expect are routed to this station in Menu routing.

If it still won't respond after all of the above, contact support with the printer's model and the IP from its self-test slip.

Related