How to Setup Receipt & Preparation Printers

Modified on Thu, 8 May at 3:09 PM

Please note: This guide is written for Windows 10 (Build 1803). Steps may differ in different versions of Windows.

Administrative permissions may be required for installing a printer within your network.

Before HART can use any printers, they must first be installed and set up within Windows.
If your printers are already set up within Windows, please go to "Sharing the Printer". There are a few ways of connecting a printer - Networked, USB or Serial.

Please note: You will need to do this for both POS and Preparation printers.

For Networked Printers:

Ensure your printer is connected to the network and that you have the IP address or the Name of the device.
Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Devices and Printers, then click "Add a printer" in the toolbar.
If possible, select your printer from the list that displays. If you cannot find it, click "The printer that I want isn't listed".
- This will bring up another window with several options. Select "Add a printer using a TCP/IP address or hostname"
- Now, enter the IP address or hostname of the printer on your network. You can leave the port name as it is.
- Click Next, and Windows should then add your printer.
- You might get asked which Driver to use. We recommend selecting "Generic" from the left and then "Generic / Text Only" from the right.

For USB Printers:

Ensure your printer is connected to your PC via a USB cable; if it isn't, plug it in. Windows should automatically start the procedure for you.
Follow the onscreen instructions to install your printer.

For Serial Printers (Note: These types of printers will generally require IT assistance):

Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Devices and Printers, then click "Add a printer" in the toolbar.
Select "Add a local printer or network printer with manual settings"
Next, select the PORT that the printer is connected to.
Now select the Driver to use - We recommend "Generic" from the left and "Generic / Text Only" on the right.

Sharing the Printer

Once the printer is installed, follow the steps below to share it so that HART can access it:

Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound> Devices and Printers.
Right click on your receipt printer, right click, and select "Printer Properties"
Select the "Sharing" tab
Check "Share this Printer" and enter a simple name that will be seen over the network, such as "Receipt" or "KitchenMain" for a preparation printer.
Click OK.

HART TIP: Make a note of the PC name you have installed the printer on as this will be needed in the next section.

How to set up POS Receipt Printers in HART PMS

HART POS printers can perform two different kinds of actions:

Print POS receipts
Print kitchen checks/preparation sheets

POS Receipt Printers

Go to Configuration > Access > Outletstab. In the middle section of the window, right click and "Add Entry".
- Outlet: Select the Outlet you wish to link a printer to
- Receipt: This is how the printer is connected:
  - A4: This option is for full-size A4 printers. To complete the link to the outlet for these printers, you must set its usage (in the Configuration > Access > Printers tab) to "POS Receipt"
  - Parallel: Select this option if the printer is connected via the Parallel port. It would have been set up using the LPT port.
  - Serial #: If you connected your printer via Serial, find the COM port it is connected to and select the corresponding number here.
  - Network: Select this if you connected your printer via the Network or USB. If you connected via the Network, you need to do the following:
    - Go to Configuration > Access > Printers tab.
    - Find the printer and double-click the printer name; this will place the cursor in the field. You may find it easier to navigate to the start of the name using the arrow keys before entering further information.
    - Enter the network path to the printer. This must be in UNC format - \\computername\printername.
    - Select "POS Receipt" in the "Usage" field
  - Small: Select this option if the printer is small
  - POS Graphics: Select this if the printer is a report printer
    
    HART TIP: In the bottom section of the Outlets tab in 'Configuration > Access' you can define the types of receipts that each printer supports/can print.
Go to Configuration > Outlets > Configuration tab.
- In the left middle section,n you can select the way the receipts printout - Depending on your version of HART, the label could state "Checks" or it could state "Receipts", and the following options may be named differently:
  - Manual: Receipts will only print when an operator clicks the Receipt button within the POS.
  - Keep Open Receipts will print when the Save button is clicked within the POS. The order will remain open for further amendments and will only close once an operator finishes the order by payment or cancellation.
  - Close: Receipts will print when the Save button is clicked within POS. The order will automatically prompt with the Payment screen for the order to be closed directly.
    You can also set the "Close" option to "Print Receipt".
  - Order Check: An order check is produced every time the order is saved.
In the top section of the Outlet window, you can adjust how you want the POS orders/receipts to show inside the Billing Tab of reservations. The order to a room must be closed to see it on the reservations.
- By Order: Displays orders/receipts by order number.
- By Item: Displays orders/receipts by item.
- By Revenue Code: Displays orders/receipts by Revenue code.

Preparation (Kitchen) printers

Recommended: Ensure your desired printer is accessible over the network and is shared for everyone to access. (See the Sharing a printer section)

Go to Configuration > Outlets > Preparation tab.
In the middle section of the window, right click and "Add Entry". The following will link Preparation printers to HART.
- Preparation Point: Enter the full path of the printer, if it's over the network (as recommended) then this will need to be in UNC format - \\computername\printername
- Layout: You have two options:
  - Text Only: for simple printouts, no styling
  - Graphics: For more stylish printouts (Bold text, lines, colour, etc)
- Copies: The number of copies to be printed. Leave blank if you only want one copy.
- Option Font: If supported by the printer, you can select the colour of fonts here, Red or black.
Go to Configuration > Materials > Sales tab.
In the top right section of the window, select the sales group you need to link to the preparation printer(s), and then in the bottom section of the window,w right click and Add Entry to enter the following information:
- Outlet: Select the desired outlet from the dropdown menu.
- Preparation Point: Select the printer you wish to link to the outlet for the sales group.
Go to Configuration > Outlets > Configuration tab.
In the middle left section of the window, find "Kitchen" or "Kitchen Checks" depending on your version.
Here you may select how you want Kitchen Checks to print out. There are two ways:
- By Item: Kitchen checks are printed in order of items
- By Group: Kitchen checks are printed by order of the sales groups. This will group items in the same sales group together.

Receipt and Preparation Printer Configuration

Go to Configuration > Outlets. In the top section of the window, you will find a "Void Printout" column. This column lets you adjust how you want void and preparation cancellations to be printed out:

No: If you don't want any void or preparation cancellation receipts
Kitchen Only: If you only want void and preparation cancellations to print in the Kitchen
Check Only: If you only want void and preparation cancellations to print at the Outlet
Check & Kitchen: If you want void and preparation cancellations to print at both the Kitchen and the Outlet