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Create your print stations for cloud printing

Print stations allow you to easily manage production docket and receipt printing at ROLLER POS from one central place in Venue Manager.

Simply create print stations in Venue Manager to set where your production dockets and/or receipts (including tickets) go each and every time a transaction is made at your venue. You can even choose which stock items are sent to specific production docket printers.

For example, if an order has both coffee and burgers, you can set up a barista production printer to receive coffee docket orders, and a kitchen production printer to receive burger dockets. This ensures that each station receives only the items it needs to prepare at its location.

Requirements

Before you can create your print stations, there are some requirements you need to work through first.

  • Your venue must be using ROLLER Payments.
  • You must be using one of the supported Epson ePOS printer models.
  • You should have finished configuring your printers for cloud printing. This includes configuring your printers’ unique, static IP addresses, as you’ll need these to successfully create your print stations in Venue Manager.
Learn how to configure printers for cloud printing

Keep in mind

When you're adding a printer to create a print station in Venue Manager, here are some important things to think about:

  • What the printer does: You set if a printer prints dockets, receipts or both. Receipts includes tickets if these are enabled for the POS device. 
  • Receipt printing: Each POS device only prints receipts to one printer (1-1 relationship). If you try to connect a POS device to more than one receipt print station, you'll get an error message. 
  • Docket printing: Each POS device can print dockets to multiple printers (1-many relationship). You can also select which stock items go to each printer.
  • One centralized printer: You could use a single printer to efficiently print all dockets, receipts and tickets from all POS devices in your venue. 
  • More than one print station for the same printer: For example, you might set up a print station for both entry and cafe POS devices to print dockets to a cafe printer, and then another print station for only the cafe POS devices to print receipts to the same printer. The print stations have the same printer IP address, but different roles & connected POS devices. 
  • Backup printers: Backup printers are only for docket printers. Only one level of backup printers can be added to each print station. 

A common scenario in a cafe setting might be:

  • A cafe print station for printing receipts.
  • A production area print station for hot drink dockets.
  • Another production area print station for hot food order dockets.
  • The cafe print station configured as a backup printer for production area docket printers.

Set up your print stations

Follow the steps outlined below to create each of your print stations in Venue Manager.

  1. From Venue Manager, go to Settings > Devices.
  2. Select Add printer.
  3. Complete your printer Settings.

    Name
    Add a unique name for your print station. This name will appear on your production dockets. If a docket is printed to a back up printer then BACKUP will be appended to the printer name.
    Model
    Select your printer model from the drop-down. Currently ROLLER supports four EPSON printers, and these are listed in the drop-down. Learn more
    Printer IP address
    Enter the printer's static IP address (if you've already configured your printers), then select Test print to check the connection with the printer.

    If you haven't configured your printers yet, you can leave this field blank, continue with the setup, then enter and test this connection later. 
    Function
    Select either Receipt printer or Production docket printer (or both). 
  4. If you’ve selected Production docket printer, it's also recommended that you set up a Backup printer for dockets.

    This is an important backup in case the primary printer has problems. Printing switches to the backup automatically, so orders are still printed, and guests get what they ordered. For example, a cafe receipt printer can be the backup for a production area printer. You can only have one level of backup printing. 

    CleanShot 2024-09-24 at 08.17.13@2x.png

  5. Select the POS devices you want to connect to this print station. You can select multiple POS devices. Select Apply.

    Then, define which stock products will print on the production dockets sent from these POS devices. For example, if a guest purchases a cold drink at POS, the staff member at POS may give the guest their drink right away without the need for a docket to print the order. In this instance, you could choose all stock except cold drinks to print from the selected POS devices to the print station.

    CleanShot 2024-09-24 at 08.18.55@2x.png

  6. [Optional] If you’re using ROLLER’s mobile food & beverage checkouts, you can also select the food & beverage checkouts you want to connect to the print station. You can select multiple food & beverage checkouts. Select Apply.

    As with your POS devices, you can also define which stock products will print on the production dockets sent from these checkouts.

    CleanShot 2024-09-24 at 08.21.04@2x.png

  7. Finally, select Save.
If you set the Print station in the individual stock item product, it will automatically show up in its print station in Settings > Devices. Conversely, if you set the stock items in its print station in Settings > Devices, the print station will automatically show up in the individual stock product's Print station field. Learn more

Test the connection to the printer

Once you enter the static IP address into its print station, you can run a test print to confirm that the printer is connected. You can do this at anytime to check the connection with the printer. 

Next to the Printer IP address you've entered, select Test print. You will then receive one of the below messages.

Printer is ready
to use
Connected
Cannot connect to
printer. Check IP
address. 
Not connected. This error message means that the set up is not correct. 
Incorrect IP address
format. Please review.
Not connected. This error message means that your IP address doesn't follow the expected format

To troubleshoot error messages, refer to the guide Troubleshoot an unsuccessful test print from a print station

02_create_your_print_stations_test_print_messages.png

Once your print stations are set up, connected to the printer and ready to use, there are some other items to set up. This includes configuring your receipt and ticket templates and confirming global POS and individual POS device settings for cloud printing. Then you can enable cloud printing at POS and go live with cloud printing at your venue.

Learn more

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