Slips & printing
Setting up a printer
Add a thermal printer over network, USB or serial, and confirm it works.
This guide covers adding and configuring a printer in detail. For a gentle overview of printing, start with Printing & thermal printers; for which printers work, see Compatible printers.
Add a printer#
- Open Settings → Printer and turn on Enable printing.
- Click Add Printer. A new printer is created and set as your primary.
- Give it a Name (e.g. Main POS).
- Choose the Model from the list — this sets the command language and paper width (see Compatible printers). If your exact model isn't listed, pick the closest one from the same brand.
- Choose a Connection type and fill in its details, below.
Connection types#
Todebaran connects three ways. Each has a Detect button to find printers automatically, and you can always enter the details by hand.
Network (Wi-Fi / Ethernet)#
The most common setup for a shared printer.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| IP address | The printer's address on your network, e.g. 192.168.1.100 |
| Port | Usually 9100 (raw / JetDirect) |
Detect uses Bonjour (mDNS) to find printers that advertise themselves. If yours doesn't appear, enter the IP by hand — see Setting up a network printer for how to find it and keep it stable.
USB#
For a printer plugged straight into your Mac.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Vendor ID | e.g. 0x04b8 (Epson) — hex or decimal |
| Product ID | e.g. 0x0202 — hex or decimal |
Press Detect to list connected USB printers and pick yours — it fills in the IDs for you. If you leave the IDs blank, Todebaran uses the first USB printer it finds.
Serial#
For older or specialist printers on a serial port.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Port path | e.g. /dev/ttyS0 (macOS/Linux) or COM1 (Windows) |
| Baud rate | 9600 by default; also 2400–115200 |
Detect lists available serial ports. Todebaran remembers the port by its identity where it can, so it keeps working even if the path changes.
Bluetooth printers
There's no dedicated Bluetooth connection. A Bluetooth printer that presents
itself to macOS as a serial port can still work — pair it in System Settings,
then add it as a Serial printer using its /dev/… path.
Confirm it works#
- Press Check status (the status dot). Green means the printer is reachable; red means it can't be reached.
- Press Test to print a test line — it prints "Test Print Successful!" and cuts.
What “ready” really means
The status check only confirms Todebaran can reach the printer over the network, USB or serial port. It does not check paper, the cover, or whether the printer is truly online — so a green light with no printout usually means it's out of paper or the cover is open.
Multiple printers#
You can add as many printers as you like — a kitchen printer and a counter printer, say.
- Set one as the primary (the radio button on each row). New print jobs start on it, and you can switch per job in the print panel.
- Drag rows to reorder them.
- Delete a printer with the row's action; if you delete the primary, the next printer in the list becomes primary.
Next: a full walkthrough for the trickiest case, Setting up a network printer.