Printing and hardware

This guide covers Bluetooth printers, printer profiles, Android web printing, cash drawers, barcode scanners, and safe troubleshooting.

Before configuring a printer¶

• Turn on the printer and load paper correctly.
• Pair a Bluetooth printer in the Android device settings first.
• Keep the printer close to the POS device during setup.
• Confirm no other phone or tablet is holding the printer connection.
• Use an ESC/POS-compatible thermal printer when possible.

Select a Bluetooth printer¶

1. Pair the printer in the device's Bluetooth settings.
2. Open QuickTill Printer Settings.
3. Select the Bluetooth printing method.
4. Review Paired Bluetooth printers.
5. Select the required printer.
6. Add or save it under Selected Printers.
7. Select Make Primary when it should receive normal receipts.
8. Select Test.

A printer being paired at operating-system level does not automatically make it the selected QuickTill printer.

Printer profiles¶

A selected-printer profile can define:

• Printer role, such as receipt or invoice output.
• Paper width.
• Primary-printer status.
• Automatic reconnection.
• Whether the Bluetooth connection stays open.
• ESC/POS capability.
• Connected cash drawer.

Use one primary printer for each role unless the business intentionally routes different documents to different printers.

Connection behaviour¶

Reconnect automatically allows QuickTill to recover a dropped connection before a job.

Keep Bluetooth connection open reduces repeated connection delay during busy selling, but some low-cost printers or Android devices behave better when the connection is reopened. If repeated prints fail after the first receipt, turn this option off and test again.

The print queue can automatically retry failed jobs. Review Recent print jobs before manually sending the same receipt many times.

Safe response to a printing failure¶

1. Confirm whether the sale completed.
2. Do not take payment again.
3. Check paper, power, and printer error lights.
4. Confirm QuickTill still shows the correct selected printer.
5. Run Test from Printer Settings.
6. Review recent failed print jobs.
7. Reconnect or power-cycle the printer if necessary.
8. Reprint the completed receipt.

Bluetooth troubleshooting¶

Printer does not appear¶

• Pair it in Android Bluetooth settings.
• Grant Nearby Devices or Bluetooth permissions to QuickTill.
• Turn Bluetooth off and on.
• Restart the printer.
• Confirm the printer is not connected to another device.
• Reopen Printer Settings and refresh the paired list.

Connection error¶

• Move the device closer to the printer.
• Forget and pair the printer again if its Bluetooth identity changed.
• Confirm the profile points to the newly paired device.
• Try disabling Keep Bluetooth connection open.
• Close other printing apps that may own the connection.

First receipt prints, later receipts fail¶

• Disable the persistent-connection option.
• Enable automatic reconnection.
• Check whether the printer sleeps between jobs.
• Test with a stable power supply.

Garbled or incomplete receipt¶

• Select the correct paper width.
• Confirm ESC/POS compatibility.
• Test a smaller receipt without images.
• Check for low power, damaged paper, or a weak Bluetooth link.

Duplicate receipts¶

• Stop pressing print repeatedly.
• Review the job history.
• Disable automatic retry temporarily while investigating.
• Reprint only when the earlier job is confirmed failed.

Android web and RawBT printing¶

When QuickTill runs in a browser on Android, silent printing can use RawBT.

1. Install RawBT from the Play Store if the app reports RawBT Not Installed.
2. Pair and configure the printer in RawBT.
3. Return to QuickTill Printer Settings.
4. Select the RawBT or web silent-printing method.
5. Enable silent printing mode.
6. Run a test.

Browser printing may ask for confirmation unless a supported silent-print route is configured.

Receipt and invoice options¶

Depending on the selected printing method, QuickTill can provide settings to:

• Print an invoice after payment.
• Print a customer copy.
• Print a merchant copy.
• Open the cash drawer after a receipt.

Enable only the copies required by the business to prevent paper waste and duplicate-looking records.

Cash drawer¶

1. Connect the drawer to the compatible receipt printer.
2. Mark the printer profile as having a cash drawer.
3. Enable the drawer-after-receipt option where appropriate.
4. Run a controlled test.

The drawer must be compatible with the printer's kick port and command set.

Barcode scanner¶

Most USB and Bluetooth scanners act like a keyboard.

1. Connect or pair the scanner.
2. Place the cursor in a plain text field.
3. Scan a barcode and confirm the full value appears once.
4. Open POS and scan a known product.
5. Configure the scanner's Enter suffix if QuickTill requires submission after a scan.

If a scan is not recognised, compare the scanned value with the product's saved barcode and verify keyboard layout settings.

Scale barcode hardware¶

Scale printers must produce labels that match the configured prefix, product-code position, weight or price position, and decimal rules. Test several known weights before live use. See the separate Scale Barcodes guide.

Hardware checklist¶

• [ ] Device permissions are granted.
• [ ] Printer is paired at operating-system level.
• [ ] Correct printer is selected in QuickTill.
• [ ] Primary role and paper width are correct.
• [ ] Test print succeeds repeatedly.
• [ ] Retry behaviour does not create duplicates.
• [ ] Scanner sends the exact saved barcode.
• [ ] Cash drawer opens only when intended.