POS printer Center

Point of Sale Systems or POS systems are modern day replacements for the obsolete cash register. And to stay instep with today’s fast moving business marketplace, these systems offer a wide array of features for the simplification of transactions. POS printers or Point of Sale Printers are part of these systems, and play an important role in enabling quick and efficient transactions. For both the customer and the business establishment, the savings in time are unmatched.

Choosing the POS printer

Like every product purchase that you make, selecting a POS printer shouldn’t be impulsive. Do your groundwork before picking a printer that appeals to you. The activities that you ideally carry out before purchasing include gathering information online, reading reviews, and checking out the credentials of the manufacturer. And the next step would be to match your requirements with the features of the printer. For instance, smaller businesses would look for compact options, while bigger businesses would go for a POS printer that leads the way in performance. You might also want to consider portability as a key requirement. Some POS printers are built for high-volume transactions, while others focus primarily on the size and portability aspect.

After you have mapped your needs to the feature range of the POS printer, check if the functionality supports your daily needs. For example, you might want the printer to validate checks, or read barcodes. This will, again, depend on the final application. You might be shopping for a POS printer that would find its way into the stock room or the billing counter. The functionality desired is different for both scenarios. Hence, look for a POS printer that could support both needs.

Color pos printer?

If your primary purpose is to print transaction receipts, it would make little sense for you to get a color POS printer. At the same time, you might argue that a color printer can make a better impression with a customer if you print company logos on the receipt. Well, it is an individual choice at the end of the day. With a color POS printer, you can also print vouchers, coupons and also customized promotional material for the special occasion. It is obvious that color POS printers cost more than a regular one. So plan your investment well, and if you really see a lot of sense in investing in a color printer, go for one!

The variants

There are several variants of POS printers available in the market. Although broadly classified into two categories – thermal printers and impact printers – you can also choose from less common options like the inkjet printer.

Thermal receipt printers are high performance POS printers. They are silent in operation, and print about 15 lines per second. A thermal printer doesn’t use a cartridge, so the long-term costs are lesser than other alternatives. The technology applied in this case is quite simple too. A thermal POS printer uses heat to print images on a heat-sensitive paper. Since the number of parts is also less, maintaining a thermal receipt printer is hassle-free. Over a period of time, the operating costs of a thermal printer nearly equal to that of a dot matrix printer. This is one of the reasons why it is preferred to the other common POS printer – the impact type.

In the case of an impact POS printer, two-ply paper can be used for printing. They are durable, but include more number of consumables, viz. the cartridge, ribbon and paper. Typically, impact POS printers are less expensive, but the long-term cost benefits swing the balance in favor of thermal printers.

The third type, which is not quite common, is the inkjet POS printer. These printers are mostly used in high-end printing jobs, such as hi-res color printing, coupons, barcodes, vouchers, etc. These printers come with a wide range of features, but owing to their expensive nature, small businesses opt for either of the above two options. The consumables in an inkjet printer include the cartridge and the paper, and hence the maintenance is more or less the same as an impact printer.

Pos printer – a distinct advantage

A POS printer offers several advantages over the old cash register. And the convenience while conducting a transaction is unmatched. This is one of the reasons why you should consider investing in a POS printer for your business.