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USB Receipt Printer Troubleshooting: Windows
USB Receipt Printer Troubleshooting: Windows
Derek Stotz avatar
Written by Derek Stotz
Updated over a week ago

Receipts aren't printing on your Windows computer and you are using a USB printer? Follow these steps below:

1. Restart your web browser

To fully restart your web browser you will need to click the menu button on the web browser, then select exit. Simply clicking the red X on the web browser window does not always quit the browser completely and will sometimes allow issues to persist, so it is important to actually exit the browser then re-open it.

2. Restart your computer

Sometimes there can be other processes working under the hood on your computer that may interfere with communication between your computer and the printer. Restarting the computer will vary slightly from version to version.

Windows Vista / Windows 7

Click the start button in the bottom left corner of your screen and click the small arrow next to Shutdown. You can then select restart from this list.

Windows 8 / Windows 8.1 / Windows 10

From the desktop, right click on the Windows logo in the bottom left corner. Then select Restart from the Shut down or sign out menu.

3. Verify the receipt printer is being seen by Windows as online

Verify printer is online

Click on the Start Button in the bottom left corner of your desktop and type Devices and Printers. Locate your receipt printer in the printers section. If the icon for your printer is displayed in light gray then that means Windows thinks the printer is not connected. The image below shows a disconnected and connected printer.

If your printer is displaying as online, you can skip the next step and proceed to printing a test page.

Printer is offline

If your printer is displaying as offline, this means your computer is not able to communicate with your printer.

1. Unplug the USB cable from the computer and try to plug it in to a different available USB port. This will cause your computer to re-setup the drivers for the device and can sometimes help identify the printer.

2. Right click on the printer icon and select Troubleshoot. This will start the built in Windows Troubleshooter which can sometimes help identify the issue.

3. Remove and reconfigure the printer. Unplug the printer from the computer by removing the USB cable. Right click on the printer icon and select Remove. If it asks you to verify you want to remove the device, click yes. You will then follow the printers instructions to re-connect the device.

4. If the previous steps failed to get your device to show up as online, you will need to contact your printers manufacturer for further support as it is a connection issue between Windows and your receipt printer.

Printing a test page

If your printer is showing as online, we will check communication between Windows and your printer by printing a test page. To do this, right click on your printer, and select Printer Properties. On the first page it should have a button that says Print Test Page. This should print a test page to your receipt printer. If it printed sucessfully, proceed to the next step. If nothing printed, try following the previous steps under the Printer is offline section.

4. Make sure Heartland Retail Connect is running

You can find Heartland Retail Connect installation instructions and troubleshooting steps here.

5. Set the correct printer in Heartland Retail

From within Heartland Retail, navigate to the Point of Sale and click the menu button in the top left corner, then click Settings.

This will load a window that allows you to select your receipt printer. If you have a LAN/Ethernet printer, it will be displayed with an IP Address such as Star TCP (192.168.1.20). If it is a USB printer it will be displayed as the printers name such as STAR_TSP143__STR_T_001_ or Star TSP 100 Cutter.

Once you select your printer, you should see a green notification on screen notifying you of your printer change. If you do not see a notification, select the blank line at the top of the list, then select the correct one again.

Help! My receipt printer is still not working.

If you have followed all of the troubleshooting steps outlined above and you are still having an issue, please send us an email at HRetailsupport@heartland.us and we can assist you.

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