The receipt printer
A receipt printer exists because some buyers want paper, and because a queue moves faster when nobody is waiting for an email to arrive.
A receipt printer is a small thermal printer at the counter that prints proof of a sale. Used as a ticket printer it prints the admission itself, with the code the entrance will scan. Thermal printing needs no ink, which is why the running cost is a roll of paper.
Paper still has a job
An older visitor at a counter does not want to give an email address, wait for a message and then find it again at the door. Paper hands them the whole transaction in one movement, and it does not run out of battery in the queue.
Paper is also the fallback when something else fails. If the network drops or a phone dies, a printed ticket is still a ticket, and a printed receipt is still evidence of what somebody paid.
Choosing the hardware
Thermal printers are cheap, fast and silent, and the paper fades in sunlight over months, which does not matter for a ticket used tonight. The width matters more than the brand: the narrow rolls are fine for receipts, the wider ones are easier to read as tickets.
Connection is the practical question. A printer on the network can be shared by several devices, while a printer on a cable is tied to the one machine it is plugged into. For a desk with two volunteers, that difference decides the layout.
Printing with Passavo
The till can print a receipt for a sale and a ticket with its own code, both on an ordinary thermal printer. The ticket printed at the desk scans at the entrance exactly like one sent by email.
Printing is optional per sale, so somebody who would rather have the ticket by email simply gets it that way and the queue does not slow down while a roll is being changed.
Also searched for as
- ticket printer
- thermal printer
- till roll printer
- printed receipt
Common questions
Do we have to buy a printer?
No. Tickets by email work for most events. A printer earns its place at a desk with a steady queue or an audience that prefers paper.
Which printers work?
Ordinary thermal receipt printers that your device can already print to. Nothing specific to us is required, which keeps the second-hand market open to you.