--- title: "Test printing with Development Mode in the BizPrint dashboard" description: "Turn on Development Mode in the BizPrint dashboard to try printing with marked test printouts, and turn it off again before you print real orders." url: https://docs.getbizprint.com/manage/development-mode/ section: "Manage" last_updated: 2026-11-12 --- # Test printing with Development Mode in the BizPrint dashboard Section: Manage > Turn on Development Mode in the BizPrint dashboard to try printing with marked test printouts, and turn it off again before you print real orders. This page shows you how to use [Development Mode](https://docs.getbizprint.com/start-here/glossary/#development-mode) in the [BizPrint dashboard](https://docs.getbizprint.com/start-here/glossary/#bizprint-dashboard) to test your setup without mixing test printouts with real ones. It is for merchants, staff and developers who print to a [station](https://docs.getbizprint.com/start-here/glossary/#station) running the [BizPrint desktop app](https://docs.getbizprint.com/start-here/glossary/#bizprint-desktop-app), whether the orders come from WooCommerce, Shopify, or your own app. ## What Development Mode does When Development Mode is on, new [print jobs](https://docs.getbizprint.com/start-here/glossary/#print-job) that print from the BizPrint desktop app are marked so nobody mistakes them for real orders: - **Web page printouts** (such as receipts and tickets): the first letter of every word is replaced with a % sign, so the text is hard to read on purpose. A banner that says **DEVELOPMENT MODE ENABLED** is added at the top and the bottom of the printout. - **PDF printouts**: a large “Development Mode” watermark is placed across each page, and the same banner is added at the top and the bottom. The marking is added when the desktop app prints the job. The printout still goes to the real [printer](https://docs.getbizprint.com/start-here/glossary/#printer), on real paper, so use it only when you want to see a test come out. This page describes printouts from the desktop app. It does not describe how the [BizPrint Android app](https://docs.getbizprint.com/start-here/glossary/#bizprint-android-app) prints. ## Turn Development Mode on 1. Sign in to the BizPrint dashboard. 2. Click **Settings** in the menu. It is the gear icon, and its name appears when you point at it. 3. Switch on **Development Mode**. 4. Click **Save**. While Development Mode is on, the dashboard shows an orange banner that says **Development Mode Active**, with a **Settings** link to turn it off. ## Check before you print an order again A WooCommerce **Test print** prints your newest real order again, and a reprint prints a job again. Before you send either one, make sure the order does not print twice by mistake: 1. Look at the printer for paper and for printouts that already came out. 2. Check the job’s status on the **Print Jobs** page in the dashboard. 3. Wait for the station to finish anything it is still printing, whatever status the job shows. 4. Go to **WooCommerce** > **Print Manager** in WordPress, if the order came from WooCommerce. 5. Click the **Support** tab. 6. Check **Queue Status** in [**Print Job Queue**](https://docs.getbizprint.com/start-here/glossary/#print-job-queue). 7. Wait for any pending or processing jobs to finish. ## Test a printout 1. Do the checks in [Check before you print an order again](https://docs.getbizprint.com/manage/development-mode/#check-before-you-print-an-order-again), if you will use **Test print** or reprint a job. 2. Turn on Development Mode. 3. Send a print job the way you normally would, for example with a new test order, or follow [Send a test print from a BizPrint printer location in WooCommerce](https://docs.getbizprint.com/print/test-print/). 4. Look at the printout. Marked text and the **DEVELOPMENT MODE ENABLED** banner (or the watermark on a PDF) show that the test worked. 5. Check the job’s status on the **Print Jobs** page, as described in [View print jobs and their status in the BizPrint dashboard](https://docs.getbizprint.com/manage/print-jobs/). ## Turn Development Mode off before real orders Development Mode applies to every new print job on your account, not only the ones you want to test. Customers’ receipts and kitchen tickets are marked too while it is on, so turn it off when you finish testing. 1. Sign in to the BizPrint dashboard. 2. Click **Settings** in the menu, or click the **Settings** link in the **Development Mode Active** banner. 3. Switch off **Development Mode**. 4. Click **Save**. 5. Confirm that the **Development Mode Active** banner is gone. 6. Send one real or test order. 7. Check that the printout is normal, with no % signs, banner or watermark. A job keeps the marking it was created with. If you reprint a job that was created while Development Mode was on, the reprint is still marked, even after you turn the setting off. Before you reprint, do the checks in [Check before you print an order again](https://docs.getbizprint.com/manage/development-mode/#check-before-you-print-an-order-again). For more about reprinting, see [Reprint a print job from the BizPrint dashboard](https://docs.getbizprint.com/print/reprint-a-job/). ## If real printouts still look marked If real printouts show % signs, a banner or a watermark, Development Mode is probably still on. See [BizPrint printouts show % signs or a “Development Mode” watermark](https://docs.getbizprint.com/troubleshooting/development-mode-printouts/). ## Related pages - [BizPrint printouts show % signs or a “Development Mode” watermark](https://docs.getbizprint.com/troubleshooting/development-mode-printouts/) - [Send a test print from a BizPrint printer location in WooCommerce](https://docs.getbizprint.com/print/test-print/) - [Verify your first BizPrint printout from WooCommerce](https://docs.getbizprint.com/set-up/verify-first-printout/) - [BizPrint glossary](https://docs.getbizprint.com/start-here/glossary/) Need help? Contact BizPrint support at .