The solution for the best receipt printers rests heavily on your specific problems, issues, and requirements for your mobile printer and your business. Primarily, you will need to look at the functionalities that you need your printer to have, be it printing at a rapid rate or of an exceptionally high quality. Your receipt printer should work for you and your business. What works for your competitor may cause you more problems than you had to begin with. POS, label and mobile printing technology has swiftly advanced and is now widely accepted as part of everyday life. Ensuring that you select the best one for you is vital, and Bixolon is more than happy to guide you in the right direction.
Purpose
Why do you need your printer? How is your printer going to fit in with your procedure of greeting a customer or client, to finalising the process and waving them goodbye? Of course, this is all dependent on the connection that you have with your consumer and their journey. In a retail environment, it will most likely be at the till point, where they are exchanging their money for products or goods. Take a clothes shop for example. It is a relatively relaxing and enjoyable experience for most people. A receipt will often be an afterthought and thrown in the bag. Conversely, a ticketing system at a busy venue would require mobility. Prompt and unproblematic printing and cutting abilities for ease of use are required.
The whereabouts of your printing device will play a large factor in selection. Those which are to be utilised in a hospitality environment, perhaps printing food orders in a kitchen, will have to be waterproof. Companies in the aviation industry will need to ensure that they can access a working device thousands of feet in the air without any disturbances or interruptions, be it to the device itself or the operating flight.
Performance
What do you need your printer to do? Does it need to be prompt, or is it essential that your receipt or ticket is of a high enough quality to be retained for further use? The performance of your printer is going to play a large role in your clients’ feelings about your business, and all types of printing methods should be considered.
An impact printer, or dot-matrix printer, provides reliable print-outs using an ink ribbon and a print head, which is coated in tiny pins. As these hit the paper, dots are formed closely together creating the shape or letters inputted. As well as being highly reliable, the dot matrix printing device offers low maintenance costs and simple upkeep.
The thermal printing method, be it direct thermal or thermal transfer printing are the most common among the best printing devices on the market, proving to be affordable, reliable and produce receipts of a high quality. Within the printer, thermal printheads apply heat to the paper. Thermal transfer uses a ribbon which results in durable printouts, whereas direct transfer does not use a ribbon, which results in lower maintenance costs. The quality of receipts produced from both types of thermal printers is second to none, allowing you to rely on high-quality, long lasting receipts or tickets which correspond to your business.
Connectivity
Understanding your cable interfaces and connections before you purchase your printing device is vital. Serial, parallel or USB connections will most likely be able to connect with your POS or computer, but it is best to check beforehand. Consider the appearance and practicality of your printer too. Will the printer be visible to customers? If so, you will want to minimise on cables and ensure that your POS area is pleasant and uncluttered. For mobile printers, you will need to consider your signal strength and speed to ensure that it can cope with the demand of running a wireless printer.
Examining all these factors will help you find the best receipt printers for your business.
