Replace a printer on the same BizPrint station

This page shows you how to swap one printer for another on a station you already use, for example when a receipt printer breaks. It is for merchants and staff who print with the BizPrint desktop app or the BizPrint Android app, and it covers the extra step for stores that use the BizPrint plugin for WooCommerce.

Why the new printer needs to be selected again

BizPrint sends each print job to one particular printer. When you add a new printer to your station, BizPrint lists it as a new printer, even if it is the same type as the old one. Your WooCommerce printer locations still point to the old printer until you select the new one.

Before you start

• Write down which printer locations use the old printer, if your orders come from WooCommerce. You can see them in WordPress, under WooCommerce > Print Manager, on the Printers tab. The list shows the printers of each printer location.

Check before you restart or reconnect the station

On a desktop station, adding a printer means restarting the desktop app, so the station reconnects. The BizPrint Android app reports a new printer while it stays connected, so these checks matter there only if the app was not connected. When a station reconnects, BizPrint can send it print jobs that are still pending, and they print automatically. This happens when Archive offline print jobs is off. Before you restart or reconnect, check the printer for printouts, check job statuses in the BizPrint dashboard, and do not reprint anything that is still pending. See Choose what happens to BizPrint print jobs when a station is offline.

Do these checks first, so that nothing prints twice:

1. Look at the old printer for paper and for printouts that already came out.
2. Check the status of recent jobs on the old printer’s Print Jobs page in the BizPrint dashboard. See View print jobs and their status in the BizPrint 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 your orders come from WooCommerce.
5. Click the Support tab.
6. Check Queue Status in Print Job Queue.
7. Wait for any pending or processing jobs to finish.

Step 1: Add the new printer to the station

On a desktop station (Windows, Mac or Linux)

The BizPrint desktop app uses the printers installed on the computer.

1. Connect the new printer to the computer.
2. Install it in the computer’s printer settings, with its driver.
3. Print a test page from the computer’s printer settings, to check that it works.
4. Do the checks in Check before you restart or reconnect the station.
5. Open the menu of the BizPrint icon in the system tray (the menu bar on a Mac).
6. Click Exit to quit the BizPrint desktop app.
7. Open the BizPrint desktop app again. When it connects, it reports the new printer to BizPrint.

For more help, see Add a printer to the BizPrint desktop app.

On an Android station

The BizPrint Android app prints to the printers you add in the app, over Wi-Fi or a network, Bluetooth or USB, or to the built-in printer of a Sunmi device. While the app is connected, it reports a new printer to BizPrint by itself.

1. Connect the new printer to the Android device, or to the same Wi-Fi network as the device.
2. Open the BizPrint Android app.
3. Tap Add printer on the main screen. The app searches for printers.
4. Tap the new printer in the list.
5. Type a name in Printer name. This is the printer’s name in BizPrint.
6. Tap Continue. The app checks the printer and prints a test page, which is not an order. If Android asks to pair the printer or to allow USB access, allow it.
7. Look at the printer.
8. Tap Yes under Did it print?. If nothing printed, tap No and follow the steps on screen.
9. Check that the top of the main screen shows Connected.

If the new printer is not in the list, add it by hand instead:

1. Tap one of the options under Don’t see your printer?, for example Enter IP address.
2. Type a name in Name. This is the printer’s name in BizPrint.
3. Check the connection selected under How is it connected?.
4. Fill in the other fields for the printer, such as IP address, Paired printer or Printer language.
5. Tap Add printer. The printer’s settings page opens.
6. Tap Test print. The test page is not an order.
7. Look at the printer.

For the details of each option, see Add a printer to the BizPrint Android app.

To remove the old printer from the app, if you no longer use it:

1. Tap the old printer under Printers on the main screen.
2. Open the menu at the top of the printer’s page.
3. Tap Delete printer.
4. Tap Delete in the Delete this printer? message. The printer is removed from this station for every device.

A printer you delete and add again in the Android app becomes a new printer in BizPrint, so select it again in your printer locations.

For the full steps, see Add a printer to the BizPrint Android app.

Step 2: Check the new printer in the dashboard

1. Sign in to the BizPrint dashboard.
2. Click Stations in the menu.
3. Click your station in the My Stations list.
4. Check that the new printer appears in the Printers list.

The old printer may still be in the list. Its past print jobs stay there, so you can still look them up. A reprint from the dashboard goes to the printer the job was first sent to, so reprinting one of the old printer’s jobs does not print it on the new printer.

On a desktop station, BizPrint knows each printer by its name on the computer. If you gave the new printer exactly the same name as the old one, BizPrint treats it as the same printer, and your printer locations already use it. Check them anyway in Step 3: Select the new printer in every printer location.

If the new printer does not appear, see A printer does not appear in BizPrint.

Step 3: Select the new printer in every printer location

If your orders come from WooCommerce, do this for each printer location that used the old printer:

1. Go to WooCommerce > Print Manager in WordPress.
2. Open the Printers tab.
3. Click the name of the printer location in the Description column.
4. Hold down Ctrl (Command on a Mac) and click the new printer in the Printers box. Holding the key keeps your other selected printers selected. Each printer is shown with its station’s name and its status, for example online or offline.
5. Keep holding Ctrl (Command on a Mac) and click the old printer to unselect it.
6. Click Save Changes.

Repeat these steps for every printer location on your list. A printer location that still points only to the old printer will not print.

If you print with Shopify or your own app, select the new printer there too, wherever you chose the old one.

Step 4: Test the new printer

Test print prints your newest real order again. Your station may also have received jobs that were waiting while the app restarted or reconnected. Before you test, make sure nothing prints twice:

1. Look at the printer for paper and for printouts that already came out.
2. Check the status of recent jobs on the printer’s Print Jobs page in the BizPrint 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.
5. Click the Support tab.
6. Check Queue Status in Print Job Queue.
7. Wait for any pending or processing jobs to finish.

Then run the test:

1. Open the printer location again on the Printers tab of Print Manager.
2. Click Test print. This button appears only after the printer location is saved, and only when your store has at least one order to print as a sample.
3. Check the printout at the new printer.

You can also test each printer location from Send a test print from a BizPrint printer location in WooCommerce.

Related pages

• Manage stations and their printers in the BizPrint dashboard
• Create a printer location in the BizPrint plugin for WooCommerce
• A printer does not appear in BizPrint

Need help? Contact BizPrint support at https://getbizprint.com/support/.