At Restaurant & Bar Tech Live 2021 (9 – 10 November 2021, ExCel, London), international POS printer manufacturer Star Micronics will be demonstrating its latest innovative cloud and tablet POS printing solutions for desktop, mobile and kiosk hospitality applications on Stand G70.
Without doubt, the pandemic has forced many venues to face unprecedented challenges and adopt new practices in order to stay afloat in a turbulent landscape. Technology has been a key enabler and, as a peripheral manufacturer, Star has observed a huge technological shift when it comes to delivery, takeaway and dine-in. With this trend continuing, innovative POS technology has an increasingly important role to play in meeting higher customer expectations as well as demand for greater levels of convenience and choice.
Having provided printing solutions into the hospitality sector for over 40 years, Star is renowned for reliable receipt, food label and kitchen order printing. Its CloudPRNT™ technology is available across a range of thermal receipt and label printers as well as matrix kitchen printers, providing the largest range of multi-platform remote cloud receipt and online ordering printers available today.
The technology benefits hospitality by enabling online orders to be sent directly to the printer from a local or remote server, eliminating the need for an additional tablet. The ordering service can not only communicate directly with the printer to create print jobs but also receive the status of the printer, for example if it is offline or the cover is open. Moreover, Star CloudPRNT enabled printers are able to receive orders from multiple channels including POS, tablet, web and cloud which results in an efficient ordering and transaction process for any hospitality business.
Star’s mC-Print™ series with built-in CloudPRNT functionality offers a feature-rich, front-feed compact printing solution that also benefits from Star’s unique SteadyLAN™ technology to deliver data, tablet charging and network connectivity to iPads as well as to USB-C models of Windows and Android devices via a direct Lightning or USB-C cable between the tablet and printer, without the need for WiFi. Such technology ensures reliable network connectivity, especially in a challenging kitchen environment.
As stricter requirements for pre-packaged food labelling take effect, Star can support businesses with a complete labelling solution thanks to partnerships with a wide range of leading hospitality and labelling software providers. With a range of die cut and linerless repositionable label printing solutions for food safety and food preparation, Star’s products are USB, LAN or Bluetooth enabled for use with a range of tablets and handheld devices. They also include CloudPRNT functionality for connection to centrally held allergy labelling software and online databases of product ingredients for printers in multiple locations to directly print label updates as needed, which could prove a significant cost saving for larger chains.
CloudPRNT is relatively simple to set up using a host server and Star’s intelligent printers. However, for those who prefer a fully managed service with no maintenance, Star has recently introduced StarPrinter.online which is a dedicated service for retail and hospitality business owners to manage their printer estate with zero to minimal set up time, and cost. This allows printing directly from an ordering website via API or via email with no integration needed; order emails can be forwarded directly to the chef’s printer for preparation.
“The pandemic has created a turbulent landscape that has forced hospitality businesses of all sizes to assess the role POS technology plays in facilitating change and providing new opportunities”, states Simon Martin, Director & General Manager, Star Micronics EMEA. “With an in-depth understanding of the challenges faced, Star excels in its ability to offer innovative futureproof printing solutions that allow businesses to adapt and thrive moving forward.”
