Troubleshoot a Kitchen Printer

Follow these troubleshooting steps if your kitchen printer is not printing.

  1. Determine whether the printer is powered by checking if any of its indicator lights are lit.
    • If yes: Go to Step 2.
    • If no: Attempt any or all of the following until printer indicators light up:
      1. Ensure the printer's charging cable is securely plugged into an outlet.
      2. Verify that the outlet and/or the surge protector have power. 
        > Note: If the outlet does not have power, check the circuit breaker.
      3. Plug the printer into a known working outlet. 
      4. Replace the printer's charging cable with a known working cable.
        ⇒ Result: If new charging cables are needed, refer to Order Replacement Hardware or order parts directly at parts.getunion.com.
  2. Determine whether the printer is actively connected to the network by counting the cables plugged into the back of the printer.
    • If the printer has a wireless dongle connection: Stop troubleshooting and contact Support.
    • If there is one cable: A cable is missing; at least one ethernet cable and one power cable should be plugged in to the back of the device. Check your surroundings for a missing cable.
    • If there are three cables:
      1. Verify that the cash drawer cable is connected firmly to this port.
      2. Continue to Step 3.
    • If there are two or three cables: Verify that the ethernet cable is connected firmly to this port (left) and the uplink light (right) is lit.
       
      • If the uplink light is lit: Continue to Step 3.
      • If the uplink light is not lit: Skip to Step 5.
  3. If connections are correct, press the paper feed button to confirm that the printer has paper.
    • If no paper feeds through:
      1. Attempt to load new paper.
      2. Ensure that the printer has nothing jamming the paper feed, such as small pieces of paper, dirty, large pieces of lint, etc.
      3. Verify that the printer has adequate ink and that it has not dried up.
        ⇒ Result: If there is paper supplied and no jam exists but the printer will not feed paper, stop troubleshooting and contact Support.
    • If paper feeds through, continue to Step 4.
  4. Turn off the printer, wait until all indicator lights shut off, then turn the printer back on.
    ⇒ Result: Within five minutes of repowering, a small slip of paper with the device's IP address should print.
    • If an IP address (192.168.192.168) is printed: Continue to Step 5.
    • If an IP address (10.30.30.XX) is printed: Skip to Step 6.
    • If paper feeds through but no IP address is printed: Perform a test print at another location by temporarily connecting this printer to a functional printer's ethernet cable and power supply. 
      ⇒ Result: Within five minutes of repowering, a small slip of paper with the device's IP address should print.
      • If no IP prints within five minutes: This means the printer is broken and will need to be replaced. Refer to Order Replacement Hardware or order parts directly at parts.getunion.com.
      • If an IP address (10.30.30.XX) is printed: Stop troubleshooting. Your printer is functional, but its previous location has a bad ethernet connection. Consider replacing the ethernet cable with a new Cat5 cable or reaching out to your local wiring company.
      • If an IP address (192.168.192.168) is printed: Stop troubleshooting and contact Support.
  5. Check for bad WiFi connections at the POS terminal that prints to this printer.
    1. On the POS terminal, close the Union POS app.
    2. Open the iPad Settings. 
    3. On the left-side menu, select "WiFi". 
    4. On the top-right of the WiFi screen, select "Edit" to review networks. 
    5. Determine if any non-Union WiFi networks are listed:
      • If non-Union WiFi networks are present: Select the red minus icon and choose "Delete". Repeat for all non-Union WiFi networks. 
      • If no other networks are present: Select "Done" or "Cancel".
    6. Continue to Step 6.
  6. Make sure the printer is communicating with the Union POS app by utilizing the Printer Discovery function in iPad Settings.
    1. If necessary, close the Union POS app and open the iPad Settings on the POS terminal.
    2. On the left side, scroll down and select "Union".
    3. Toggle on "Enable Printer Discovery".
    4. Close the Settings and reopen the Union POS app.
      ⇒ Result: A new "Printer Discovery" window will popup on launch.
    5. Confirm that the printer is listed as "Reachable".
      • If it is Reachable:
        1. Select "Dismiss" at the bottom of the popup.
        2. Clock back in.
        3. Run a test print.
        4. If unsuccessful, stop troubleshooting and contact Support.
      • If it is not Reachable: Stop troubleshooting and contact Support.