Restaurant technology is evolving extremely quickly. Gone are the days of taking orders by hand on a paper tablet and punching entries into a legacy point of sale (POS) system. Clunky POS terminals have been replaced by sleek tablet-based POS systems, complete with integrated sales, menu, and loyalty information.
As the hospitality industry leverages all of the benefits that mobile point of sale (mPOS) has to offer, one thing is more important than ever: connectivity. In today’s blog post, we will explore how a tethered Ethernet connection between a restaurant POS tablet and a receipt printer can benefit restaurants in three major ways.
1. Steady Network Connection
A tethered connection – or a direct connection from the POS tablet to a restaurant’s Ethernet network – is very important because it means one thing: reliable connectivity!
A steady network connection is an absolute gamechanger when it comes to any restaurant and retail business, as Wi-Fi signals tend be weak and unstable in physical brick-and-mortar locations. Why is this? According to Infovista,
“Wi-Fi signals are notoriously sensitive to the surrounding environment… Construction materials, nearby sources of interference, even the products on the shelves can attenuate Wi-Fi signals.”
When you choose a POS system that includes a dependable tethered connection that runs from the receipt printer through to the POS tablet, you eliminate the need to worry about Wi-Fi signals all together. Using this setup can also provide an added bonus: By selecting a receipt printer that provides both Ethernet connection and power to the tablet, restaurants can experience a true “two-birds-one-stone” situation in terms of streamlining their POS and boosting its reliability and functionality.
2. Prevent Downtime
When it comes to any business, and especially restaurants, time is money. Processing transactions and turning tables quickly means more profit for the business and happier customers who are more likely to return to the restaurant. When running a business smoothly is a top priority, one thing can be very dangerous: downtime.
If a restaurant relies on an unstable Wi-Fi network to process transactions and close tabs, downtime can unfortunately become a regular occurrence. Choosing a POS system with a receipt printer that provides both wired Ethernet access and power to the tablet means that restaurants can mitigate the risk of network downtime and keep business flowing smoothly because they are avoiding network disconnection, as well as the possibility of the tablet running out of charge.
Two of the most important things to patrons are a restaurant’s food and its service. Ensure you are providing smooth, timely, and high quality service by implementing tethered connections at the POS.
3. Space and Cost Savings
Just like avoiding downtime is critical to a restaurant’s operations, reducing expenses and creating a clean, cohesive aesthetic is also important. A tethered connection between the receipt printer and the POS tablet can help you do both of those things.
With a tethered connection between the receipt printer and the tablet, Ethernet connection and power are routed through one cable, so you have fewer cables and adapters to purchase and manage. This not only saves money but also provides a tidier, clutter-free look at the POS which is a place where you have the opportunity to make a positive impression on many customers, especially those that are simply popping in to quickly pick up their online ordering order.
Looking to modernize your restaurant and take advantage of online ordering?
Download our free eBook, “Is Your Restaurant Ready for the Growing Online Ordering Trend?” now!
SteadyLAN® for Tethered Connections in Restaurant POS
If you are interested in the benefits that a tethered connection between the receipt printer and restaurant POS tablet can offer, look no further than Star Micronics’ SteadyLAN®!
Star’s unique SteadyLAN® technology (patent pending) makes unstable Wi-Fi signals a thing of the past! SteadyLAN, available on certain mC-Print models and designed for iOS, Android, and Windows devices provides direct cabled control of the printer and attached peripherals, as well as Ethernet provision to the tablet, from the wired Ethernet port of the printer.
For locations where Wi-Fi connectivity is not possible or unreliable, this new technology is a world-first, providing the stability of a cabled LAN connection for tablet POS systems. By connecting the SteadyLAN-compatible printer to the Internet via wired LAN and connecting the printer and a tablet with a Lightning-USB or USB-C® cable, the device can use the Internet without Wi-Fi communication. At the same time, the tablet can communicate with the printer via USB or LAN and can be charged from the printer.
To more about SteadyLAN, click here or watch the below video:
Which Printers Include SteadyLAN?
SteadyLAN is available on certain models of both the mC-Print2 and the mC-Print3.
mC-Print2
2” thermal receipt printer
Easy setup
Guillotine auto-cutter
Bluetooth, USB, Lightning, LAN, CloudPRNT
Cloud ready
SteadyLAN™technology available on model: mCP21LB
mC-Print3
3” thermal receipt printer
Simple user experience
Easy to integrate through common SDK
Bluetooth, USB, Lightning, LAN, CloudPRNT
IPX2 splash-proof design
SteadyLAN™ technology available on models: mCP31L and mCP31LB