Printer Locations

The first steps to setting up your printing

Rebecca avatar
Written by Rebecca
Updated over a week ago

In this article:

About

Your printer locations define where each order docket prints. Each product prints where its printer location is set.

On the backend, go to Print Settings > Printer Locations to view your printer locations.

e.g. You might have one printer in the kitchen, and one at the coffee station. You want food orders to go to the kitchen, and drink orders to print at the coffee station.

There are four steps to setting up printer locations:

  1. Creating printer locations

  2. Updating printing templates

  3. Assigning printer locations to products

  4. Setting printer locations on the POS (iPad)

See also:

How to create Printer Locations

  1. By default, you will start off with a POS Printer Location, called POS Counter.
    Your POS counter printer location is where your bills and receipts are to be printed. If you only have 1 printer, you might also print dockets from this printer. If this is you, you're done with this section! Skip down to Setting printer locations on the POS (iPad).

  2. If you have more than one printer, you will need to create multiple printer locations. In this case, you must assign a printer location to every product, or your order dockets will not print.
    3. Click New Printer Location
    4. Enter the Name of your first additional printer, i.e. the one that is not the POS Counter (e.g. "Kitchen")
    5. (OPTIONAL) Select the Next Printer Location. This is your backup printer, in case this one goes offline.
    6. Click the wand button to the right of the printer location to assign a printer location to all of your products.

If you only have two printers (e.g. "POS Counter" and "Kitchen"), you can skip to Setting printer locations on the POS. If you have more printers, continue to the next step.

7. Click New Printer Location.
8. Name your Printer Location.
9. Select the Next Printer Location. Do not click the wand button unless you wish to overwrite the existing printer locations.

10. Repeat for any other printer locations.
Next, you'll need to update your printing templates.

How to update Printing Templates

  1. Go to Print Settings > Printing Templates

A new Order Docket will have been created for every new Printer Location that you have made. As you can see, these will have the POS Counter printer location by default.

3. Click the pencil button to edit this printing template

4. Change the Printer Location so it matches the printer location included in the subject.

5. Save.

6. Remember that whenever you update your printing templates, you'll need to Sync Receipt Templates on the POS.

Next, you'll need to assign your printer locations to products.

How to assign Printer Locations to products

  1. Go to Products > Products 

  2. Tick all the items that you wish to assign to that printer location.

  3. Click Settings


4. Enter the Printer Location in the first field
5. Click Add.

6. When you Close the window, you'll see that the Printer Locations have appeared next to the product.

7. Repeat for your other products and other printers until all your products have a printer location.

Finally, you'll need to set printer locations on Abacus POS (iPad).

How to set printer locations on the POS (iPad)

Printer locations must be set in the application itself to correspond to the physical printers connected. Use the Master POS to set up all your printing.

  1. Press the Printer icon to expand the printers menu.

2. All the printers on your current network will appear. If you can't see all your printers, press Refresh.

3.  Slide the switch next to a printer. This means that you have authorised the connection.

4. Slide the vertical ellipsis to the left to show the Settings button.

5. Press Settings.
6. Prompt a Test Print (press Print). The printer you have selected will print out "TEST". This is how you know what printer you're configuring your locations for.

If your test print printed out at the POS, this is your POS printer.
If it printed in the kitchen, this is your kitchen printer.

6. If this is your POS printer, tick Set Printer As Default. If it did not print out at the POS, skip this step.

Note: Your POS Printer (default printer) will be the backup printer to which other print tasks will be redirected if they fail at other printers. If you set any other printer as your default printer, failed print tasks will go to your POS Printer, and then your default printer.

7. Tick the Printer Location for the printer (POS Counter).

8. Press the Name of the printer. You will be able to enter a new name for it. We suggest you name it the Printer Location.

9. Tap the < Back button. 

9. Repeat for all your other printers, making sure that if it's your POS Printer, you Set Printer As Default. Do not set other printers as default.

10. You should end up with a list of printers with names corresponding to your Printer Locations.

Did this answer your question?