Bluetooth receipt printers
A small Bluetooth printer and a phone or tablet make a complete till that fits in a bag. SeroPOS on Android and iOS pairs with Bluetooth receipt printers, so you can print where there is no counter, outlet or network cable.
Bluetooth printers in SeroPOS
Android and iOS
Bluetooth printing works in SeroPOS on Android and iOS phones and tablets.
Found by auto-detect
Auto-Detect Printers includes Bluetooth in its scan, alongside USB and the Wi-Fi network.
58 or 80 mm paper
Set the paper width to match the printer. Most portable printers use 58 mm rolls.
Test before saving
Send a test page from the printer screen to confirm the pairing and format are right.
No network needed
The till talks to the printer directly, so it prints at a market stall with no Wi-Fi.
Receipts and tickets
A Bluetooth printer can be your receipt printer, or be mapped as a kitchen ticket printer.
Where a Bluetooth printer makes sense
Food trucks, farmers' markets, pop-ups, patios and delivery at the door all have the same problem: no counter to bolt a printer to and often no reliable network. A portable Bluetooth receipt printer runs on its own battery, clips to a belt or sits on a shelf, and talks straight to the phone or tablet running SeroPOS.
Because the connection is direct, there is nothing to set up on a router and nothing to break if the venue's Wi-Fi is overloaded. Sales taken without internet are stored on the device and sent to the server when it reconnects, so the printer and the till keep working through a weekend at a busy outdoor market.
Pairing and adding the printer
Switch the printer on and pair it with your phone or tablet from the device's Bluetooth settings, as you would a speaker. Then open SeroPOS, go to Add/Edit Printer in the side drawer and tap Add printer. Choose Bluetooth, pick the printer from the list, give it a name and set the paper width.
Tap Test Printer. If the page prints, save the printer and star it as the default if it will print your receipts. If you are not sure which device in the list is the printer, use Auto-detect instead: it scans Bluetooth, USB and the network together and shows each printer it can reach with an Add Printer button.
- Pair the printer in your device's Bluetooth settings
- Open Add/Edit Printer in SeroPOS
- Choose Bluetooth and select the printer
- Set paper width, Test Printer, Save
Paper, format and battery
Most portable printers take 58 mm rolls, and a few take 80 mm. Set the matching width in SeroPOS so the receipt lays out correctly. Choose ESC-POS as the format for the large majority of thermal printers; edit the printer later if you need the StarPRNT profile instead. A test page after any change tells you at once whether the setting is right.
Keep a spare charged battery or a power bank in the kit. A Bluetooth printer that has gone to sleep or run flat is the usual reason a receipt does not come out. Waking it and tapping print again normally fixes it. Keep spare rolls handy too, since 58 mm rolls are short and run out quickly on a busy day.
Limits worth knowing
Bluetooth pairs one printer with one device at a time. If two staff each carry a phone, each needs its own printer. For a fixed counter where several tills share a printer, a network printer is a better fit, and SeroPOS can use both at once: Bluetooth on the patio phone, network at the bar.
Range is limited, usually a few metres with a clear line between device and printer, and metal walls or a full fridge in between will cut it. Keep the printer close to whoever is ringing sales. If you also need a cash drawer, connect it to a counter printer, since drawers are opened through the default printer's drawer port.
Frequently asked questions
Does SeroPOS work with Bluetooth printers on iPad and iPhone?
Yes. SeroPOS on iOS supports Bluetooth receipt printers, as well as network printers on the same Wi-Fi. Pair the printer in iOS Bluetooth settings first, then add it in Add/Edit Printer, choose Bluetooth and send a test page before saving it.
Can I use a Bluetooth printer on an Android phone?
Yes. Pair the printer in Android Bluetooth settings, then add it in SeroPOS under Add/Edit Printer as a Bluetooth printer. Auto-detect also scans for Bluetooth printers. The phone layout of SeroPOS works with it, which suits food trucks, markets and selling at the door.
Do I need Wi-Fi to print over Bluetooth?
No. The phone or tablet sends to the printer directly over Bluetooth. You can keep selling and printing with no internet; sales are stored on the device and uploaded when the connection returns. A few screens, such as the Daily Sales Report, need internet to open.
Can two phones share one Bluetooth printer?
Not at the same time. Bluetooth pairs a printer with one device at a time, so each phone or tablet that prints needs its own printer. If several tills need one shared printer, use a network printer, which every till on the same network can reach.
What paper size do portable printers use?
Most portable Bluetooth receipt printers use 58 mm rolls, and some use 80 mm. Set the paper width on the printer in SeroPOS to match, then send a test page. If text is cut off at the edge, the width setting is usually the cause.