Is it possible to network the USB receipt printer?

[KennedysCoffee]

This is probably a long shot.

Has anyone successfully made the USB printer wifi/network enabled?

Currently it is connected via usb to the Square Stand. Annoyingly it looses its connection on a daily basis (presumably overnight due to inactivity) and the USB has be unplugged and plugged back in. That bit I can live with, the issue at hand is, when staff take orders using their Square POS App the food orders print to the ethernet printer in the kitchen but drinks orders don't print to the USB printer at front of house.

I have tried plugging the usb printer into the wifi router and trying to utilise the built in print server function with no luck. I'm wondering if the next option is to try and use a network/wifi print server that has a USB connection such as this... https://www.trendnet.com/support/support-detail.asp?prod=140_TEW-MFP1

Failing that I am going to have to plump for the more expensive printer.

Many thanks in advance.

[tranguyen]

Hey @KennedysCoffee, thanks for sharing this! 

It might be worth contacting the printer manufacturer directly to see if there's a sure way to convert the USB receipt printer to a WiFi/Ethernet printer. If you have a Star Micronics printer, you can contact them here. 

Sounds like there might be some issues with the hub connectivity as well as you need to unplug and replug the USB printer every day. You can also request a replacement for the Hub from our website. 

When staffs take orders using their Square Point of Sale app, are they saving it as open tickets? If so, another way to print out drink tickets is to open the tickets from the Stand and manually hit print on the Square Point of Sale app. You can configure the printer station to make sure it'd only print our drink items and not food items as well. 

[Sam_400º]

What printer are you using? You might be able to swap out the interface for an Ethernet one & save a few quid over a full replacement.

when a printer uses USB then it’ll only talk to the device it’s connected to, so unfortunately no option to add it to the wider network. 

[KennedysCoffee]

It's this one.

https://squareup.com/shop/hardware/gb/en/products/receipt-printer-usb-gb

Now a £160 brick as I need to buy the ethernet one!

[tranguyen]

Sorry I couldn't help more in regards to this @KennedysCoffee! However, if you have purchased this recently, you might be able to return this to us. You can fill out the return form by signing in to the Square Shop > My Account > Order Status > Start a Return.

[KennedysCoffee]

Afraid not, it was ordered on 25th Feb.

It was bought as part of the stand package as it is more cost effective.

Thanks anyway

[Sam_400º]

This would do the trick for you @KennedysCoffee  (although it looks like it could do with a clean!) 

I know it's still an extra cost - but these printers are pretty much like tanks so I'd not worry too much about picking one up 2nd hand. 

[KennedysCoffee]

Hi @tranguyen I have received the replacement hub after you mentioned that Square will repalce faulty parts. However, the problem remains. I wonder if it is the printer as the card reader is working fine with no problems, and the iPad charges etc so I doubt it is the stand.

Is there any way I can return the printer and upgrade the replacement to the network printer if I paid the difference?

Many thanks

[tranguyen]

Thanks for letting me know @KennedysCoffee! It does sound like there could be an issue with the printer itself if the reader is connecting fine through the USB hub.

There is a 30-day return policy on all hardware purchased directly from Square. You can complete the return form here. 

You can also contact our Support team directly for additional troubleshooting steps; the team will also be able to help with determining if there's something faulty with the printer and how we can help replace it as well.