Setting Up the Printer & Cash Drawer
Before creating your first order, set up a receipt printer so your staff can print receipts and QR labels. This guide walks you through connecting a printer and configuring the cash drawer.
You can skip this step and come back later — the POS will still work without a printer. Receipts can always be viewed on-screen.
Open the Printer Page
From the POS, tap the hamburger menu (top-left) and select Printer. You'll see two panels:
- Left — Connection type, printer status, and test print
- Right — Print and cash drawer settings
Connect a Printer
LaundryVerse supports three connection methods:
| Method | Best for | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| USB | Wired thermal printers | Chrome/Edge on desktop |
| Bluetooth | Wireless thermal printers | Chrome on Android or desktop with Bluetooth |
| Browser | Any printer (inkjet, laser, etc.) | Any modern browser |
USB or Bluetooth
- Select USB or Bluetooth from the connection buttons
- Tap Pair Printer
- Your browser will show a permission dialog — select your printer and click Connect
- The printer is now paired and ready to use
The Printer Status section will update to show your printer name and connection type. A green dot means it's connected and ready.
USB and Bluetooth printing use Web Serial and Web Bluetooth APIs. These are only available in Chrome and Edge — they won't work in Firefox or Safari.
Browser
Select Browser to use your operating system's built-in print dialog. This works with any browser and any printer (including non-thermal printers), but you'll see the system print dialog each time.
Configure Settings
On the right panel, configure your print preferences:
Paper Width
Choose 80mm (standard) or 58mm (compact) to match your thermal printer's paper size. This affects receipt layout only — browser printing uses standard paper sizes.
Auto-Print Receipt
Turn this on to automatically print a receipt after every successful charge. When off, staff can still print manually from the payment success screen.
Cash Drawer Automation
If your printer has a connected cash drawer (RJ-11 port), LaundryVerse can open it automatically during key events. Connect the cash drawer's RJ-11 cable to the Cash Drawer Port on the back of your thermal printer:
| Event | What it does |
|---|---|
| Cash drawer on charge | Opens the drawer after processing a payment |
| Shift open | Opens the drawer when starting a shift (choose Before or After entering the starting cash amount) |
| Shift close | Opens the drawer when closing a shift (choose Before or After the cash count) |
| Pay in | Opens the drawer when recording a pay-in (e.g., adding change from the vault) |
| Pay out | Opens the drawer when recording a pay-out (e.g., expense withdrawal) |
Each event has a Before/After timing option that controls when the drawer opens relative to the action.
After making changes, tap Save Settings to persist them to this device.
Printer and cash drawer settings are saved per device. If you have multiple POS stations, configure each one separately.
Troubleshooting
Printer not detected
- Make sure the printer is powered on and connected via USB cable or Bluetooth pairing
- Try a different USB port or re-pair via Bluetooth
- Refresh the page and tap Pair Printer again — the browser will prompt you to re-select the device
Cash drawer doesn't open
- Verify the drawer's RJ-11 cable is connected to your printer's kick port
- Some printers require a specific kick pulse setting — check your printer's manual
- Test with a different event (e.g., try "Cash drawer on charge" and process a test order)
USB printer shows "Access denied" on Windows
Windows uses a built-in printer driver (usbprint) that blocks the browser from accessing the printer directly via USB. To fix this, you need to replace the driver with WinUSB using a free tool called Zadig:
- Plug in the thermal printer via USB
- Download and open Zadig
- Go to Options → List All Devices
- Select your thermal printer from the dropdown (e.g., "POS80 Printer USB")
Do not select the wrong device. Make sure you pick the thermal receipt printer — not your regular inkjet/laser printer (e.g., HP, Epson). Replacing the wrong driver will break that device.
- On the right side, use the arrows to change the target driver to WinUSB
- Click Replace Driver
After replacing, your thermal printer will no longer appear in Windows printer settings — this is expected. The browser can now access it via USB.
To revert: Open Device Manager → find the printer → right-click → Update Driver → "Search automatically for drivers."
Bluetooth printer doesn't reconnect after power cycling
This is a limitation of the Web Bluetooth API. Unlike USB, which automatically detects when a printer is turned back on, Bluetooth has no way to detect reconnection in the background.
To reconnect after turning the printer off and back on:
- Go to Printer Settings in the POS
- Tap Pair Printer — the browser will show the pairing dialog
- Select your printer and click Pair
The printer will reconnect and work normally until it's powered off again.
Browser printing shows wrong layout
- Browser printing uses your OS print settings — check that paper size and margins are set correctly
- For thermal printers, USB or Bluetooth connection gives much better results than browser printing
What's Next?
Your printer is ready. Time to create your first order:
- Create your first order — Walk through the full order flow from adding items to printing the receipt