William Phelps is quick to identify the one kiosk component that's most likely to break down.
"Think about it," said Phelps. "Most components are solid state, whereas a printer still has a lot of moving components because it's trying to move paper. So if anything is going to break down at a kiosk, it's typically going to be the printer."
Roughly one-third of kiosk-related service calls involve the printer, said Phelps, who is the business development manager for Vernon Hills, Ill.-based Zebra Technologies Corp., a printer manufacturer. And he claims he knows why. He says it's because the printer is the one component kiosk deployers are most likely to scrimp on.
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What questions should a deployer ask before purchasing a kiosk printer?
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- What size of paper will it be using?
- What is the thickness of the paper?
- What will be the length of the typical printout?
- How often will the roll need to be replenished?
- Can the printer be remotely monitored?
- Does it have a presenter?
- What is the kiosk printer's jam rate?
- What is the kiosk printer's life span?
- How fast is the kiosk printer?
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Christopher Naasz, marketing director for Star Micronics America Inc., agrees with his assessment, adding that most deployers plunge into a project without knowing the criteria of a good kiosk printer.
"If you want a kiosk printer to do the job correctly, there are a lot of options you need to think about," he said.
The presenter
One component that experts tend to agree is a must-have on any kiosk printer is the presenter.
In the early days of printer manufacturing, the user would tear the receipt by hand. This became cumbersome as hurried users would often fail to tear the receipt completely, or leave an uneven cut. More often than not, this would result in printer jams.
Those types of "print and tear off" models are still available on the cheap, says Phelps, but he says it's a mistake for kiosk deployers to use them. Instead, he points to printers using Zebra's "looping presenter" as a means of curbing jam rates.
When a user sends a job to the kiosk printer, Phelps says a set of nip rollers clamps on to the front edge of the receipt. As the receipt continues to print, the clamped edge causes it to create a loop inside the device. At the end of the print job, a device called the guillotine cutter slices through the paper, and the rollers present 1-1/2 inches of the receipt to the user. If he tugs on the receipt, a pull detector recognizes the movement and spits the receipt out faster than the customer can pull, eliminating any pressure he might feel on the other end.
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The APU-9000-C series kiosk printer from Seiko Instruments. The specific model featured here is the 3 inch print width APU-9347-C, with looping presenter.
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"The goal of that is basically to make sure that we fully print and cut the receipt before the customer has an opportunity to pull on it," Phelps said.
Naasz, who says his company's printers have a jam rate of roughly one in 10,000 printouts, stresses that a looping presenter is practically a necessity for any kiosk printer, despite the fact that the device usually accounts for 25 percent of the printer's cost.
"If you want your kiosk to be well designed, you must have a presenter," he said.
Roll size
Another factor that's important for deployers to consider is the maximum paper roll size the printer can handle. Larger rolls last longer and require fewer service calls to restock the paper, which translates into lower costs, according to Phelps, who says his company builds a kiosk printer that fits a 10-inch diameter paper roll that holds 2,200 feet of receipt paper.
Adam Ortlieb, director of marketing for Seiko Instruments USA Inc., says the size of the paper roll used should vary depending on the nature of the deployment. The receipt printer for a through-the-wall ATM would be a fitting location for a 10 inch diameter roll, he says, because of the ATM's high traffic volume and the difficulties involved in restocking the printer. On the other hand, he says the printer in an ordering kiosk at a quick-service restaurant would require a smaller roll.
"Real estate requirements play an important factor," he said. "Every square inch of that facility is mapped out, so you can't necessarily have a bulkier design."
Also of significance is the length of the receipt the device is printing. Phelps said a price checking kiosk might typically print a receipt no longer than 2 inches, while a loyalty coupon printer at a self-checkout unit in a grocery store might print receipts of up to 3 feet at a time. The printer should be equipped to handle a roll sized to fit the requirements.
Speed
Is speed a factor when it comes to purchasing a kiosk printer? Some experts say it's not as important as it once was. Naasz says the industry standard for print speeds for today's kiosk printers is about 200 mm (7.87 inches) per second.
Ortlieb says he's seen units that print as fast as 10 inches (about 250 mm) per second.
The 250 mm appears to be a barrier printer manufacturers can't seem to crack, at least for now, according to Naasz.
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Zebra Technologies' TTP2000 series kiosk printer.
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"Only a few paper types can handle those types of speeds – above 250mm per second," he said. "It becomes a challenge now to find the right paper. What you're going to find, if you take standard paper, is that you're going to have a kind of faded receipt. It's never dark enough."
It may be a moot issue. Ortlieb says consumers aren't necessarily clambering for high-speed receipt printers, although he does note a couple of examples in which they may be appropriate. One is at ATMs in neighborhoods where the user may feel uncomfortable and have longer perceived wait times. The other is at airport kiosks that are printing out multiple documents, such as receipts and boarding passes. He says travelers in a hurry might grab their receipt but forget the boarding pass if the printer is too slow.
"If the documents are really flying out of that system, then you avoid that problem," he said.
Paper thickness
The type of paper being used in the printer can also be a deciding factor when choosing a printer, says Phelps. The most common paper size used in kiosk printers is 80mm, for standard receipts. The second most common is 8-1/2 inch, which is typically used for gift registries, maps, airline boarding passes and job applications.
Paper thickness can be even more important, says Naasz. He says paper thickness typically ranges from 2.53 mil to 6 mil (or roughly 60-150 micrometers). Printers handling paper on the higher end of this scale often can't use a looped presenter, because the thickness of the paper hinders its ability to be looped.
"But the biggest issue with the thickness of the paper is the cutter," he said. "The thicker the paper, the less times the cutter will last."
Naasz says deployers using paper thicker than 6 mil will have to get a customized printer.
Timing is everything
Most importantly, printer manufacturers say the worst thing a deployer can do is wait until the last minute before choosing the printer.
"It's often looked at as a peripheral, so they just stick a printer in there," Ortlieb said. "The longer you wait to look at printer options, the narrower your parameters are. You might have mechanical design limitations or integration issues."
The deployer who waits until the last minute to choose a printer may soon discover that the printer doesn't fit, doesn't have the functionality necessary for the application or just doesn't mesh stylistically with the kiosk. The answer, according to Ortlieb, is to consider the printer up-front in the design process.
"The earlier the better," he said.
