POS Printer Troubleshooting

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Printers must be set up in Windows and able to print a “Test Page” before the POS software can print to it. Until the terminal can print a Windows Test Page, you shouldn't try to configure the printers in the POS software. Customers using Remote Desktop Services on Windows Server 2012R2 or newer can use "Redirected" printers as long as their Execu/Tech software has been updated as of July 5, 2019. We do not assist with setting up POS printers in Windows. This is the responsibility of the customer or their hardware technician. If assistance is needed, they should contact the manufacturer of the printer.

 

When POS printers stop printing or start printing to locations other than what you expect, you need to troubleshoot what's happened.

 

These are the most common reasons for printer problems:

 

POS Master Folio Problems

If the application locks up when you're closing a check, this might not be the fault of the printer. It could be your Point of Sale Master Folio. You'll have a Master Folio if you also use our Property Management Software. If you only use our Point of Sale application, you don't have a master folio and this step doesn't apply to you.

Open the POS Master Folio for this store. It should open quickly, with no warnings or errors. It should only contain transactions for the current business day. If there are transactions from previous days or there are errors or delays in opening, this will cause a problem when closing POS checks. If there is an error, you should call Execu/Tech support for assistance. If the folio balance is not $0.00 or there are transactions from previous days, you should contact Execu/Tech support to discuss options for resolving this problem. 

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Windows Test Page 

Before you do anything, you need to make sure you can print a Windows Test Page to that printer from the terminal that needs to print to it. If this is a Remote Desktop session, you need to make sure that the session can print a Windows Test Page.

After you have verified that you can print a Windows Test Page, you need to re-select the printer. POS Printer Setup

If you can't print a Windows Test Page, call your hardware technician and they will assist you.

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Printer is Off, Unplugged, Offline, Out of Paper, etc.

Make sure that the printer is on, not showing any error lights and is connected to the proper device. Your hardware technician can verify this for you.

Resolving these conditions might be enough to fix the printing problem. If not,  you need to re-select the printer. POS Printer Setup

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Power Supply Failure

While everything might look good, it's possible that the power supply is faulty and not supplying enough voltage and current to your printer, print server or network equipment and you may experience inconsistent performance. Try replacing the power supply and see if this helps. 

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Printer Name Changes and Re-installs 

If you've changed the printer name, you need to re-select the printer. POS Printer Setup

If you've re-installed the printer, even if you used the same printer name, you need to re-select the printer. POS Printer Setup

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Use of Session or Redirected Printers

Customers using Remote Desktop Services on Windows Server 2012R2 or newer can use "Redirected" printers as long as their Execu/Tech software has been updated as of July 5, 2019.

If your software is older, and you've selected 'Session' or 'Redirected' printers, it's just a matter of time before they stop working. These are temporary, non-static printers that come and go as terminals connect and disconnect from the Remote Desktop Session.

Please install the printers and re-select them. POS Printer Setup

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Printer Drivers 

When possible, use the manufacturers printer driver. After installing a new printer driver, always restart the computer. 

 

If using "Redirected" printers, you may have to use the "Generic / Text Only" driver because the "Remote Desktop Easy Print" driver, used by default in redirected printers, can fail due to special commands sent to receipt printers. The printer manufacturer may require you to install the printer using their drivers, but after it's installed and working you can change the driver to "Generic / Text Only".

After selecting the appropriate printer driver, re-select the printer. POS Printer Setup

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Odd Printer Behavior

 

If the printer isn't behaving as expected, like printing too large, not cutting, not using the correct color on multi color POS printers, etc., there are a couple things to check.

• Make sure the printer is in the correct mode. Many printers can emulate other printers brands. Our software is most compatible with Epson printers. 
  
  
• After verifying the printer mode, make sure the Execu/Tech POS Printer Setup has the correct printer mode selected. 
  If this is an Epson printer but you've set the software to use Star mode, things won't work as expected.
  
  
• Try changing the Windows Printer Driver. If you're using the manufacturer's driver, try changing it to "Generic / Text Only" or vice versa.