Add a printer to the BizPrint Android app

This page shows you how to add a printer to the BizPrint Android app with its Add printer screen, which searches for printers near your device. It is for merchants and staff using an Android phone, tablet or Sunmi device as their station. It also shows you how to set up a printer that your station already has, so this device can print to it.

For step-by-step help with one kind of printer, see:

Before you start

Update the BizPrint Android app from Google Play to the latest version.
Install and connect the Android app. See Install and connect the BizPrint Android app to your station.
Turn the printer on and load paper or labels.
For a network printer, connect the printer and the Android device to the same Wi-Fi or network.
For a Bluetooth printer, keep it close to the device. If it is not paired with the device yet, put it in pairing mode. Your printer’s documentation explains how.
For a USB printer, plug it into the Android device. Many phones and tablets need a USB adapter for this.

Open the Add printer screen

Open the BizPrint app.
Tap Add printer under Printers on the main screen.

The Add printer screen opens and starts searching at once. The line at the top shows Looking for printers nearby, then how many it found, for example Found 1 printer. If a printer is busy with a print job, the search waits and shows Waiting for printing to finish.

You can also add a printer from the settings: tap the BizPrint logo at the top right of the main screen, tap Settings, then tap Add printer under Printers.

What the Add printer screen shows

Printers appear in these sections, in this order:

Found: printers the search found. The line under each name tells you how it connects, for example Wi-Fi · Port 9100, Bluetooth · Not paired yet, USB · Plugged in, or This device for the Built-in printer of a Sunmi device. Office printers show Prints full pages.
Already on this phone: printers you already added. They are dimmed. Tap one to open its settings.
Other Bluetooth devices: Bluetooth devices that may not be printers. Tap Show to list them.
Other USB devices: USB devices that may not be printers. Tap Show to list them.
Don’t see your printer?: ways to add a printer by hand. See If your printer is not in the list.

If a card says the search is off

Part of the search can be blocked by a setting on your device. The app then shows a card with a button that fixes it:

Bluetooth search is off: tap Allow, then allow Nearby devices when Android asks. If you refused before, the button says Open settings instead, and you allow it in the Android settings for BizPrint.
Bluetooth is off: tap Turn on.
Location is off: tap Open settings and turn on Location. Some older Android versions need it to find Bluetooth printers.
No network: connect the device to Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Network search needs one of them.

When nothing is found, the app shows No printers found. Check that the printer is on and close by, and that a network printer is on the same Wi-Fi as the device, then tap Search again.

Add a printer from the list

After you tap Continue, some printers need one more step:

A Bluetooth printer that is not paired yet: the app shows Pairing with and the printer’s name. If Android asks for a PIN, enter the one from your printer’s documentation. The app’s tip says it is usually 0000 or 1234.
A USB printer: Android asks whether BizPrint may use the USB printer. Allow it.
A network printer that also prints full pages: the app shows This printer prints full pages. Tap Set up for full pages to use it as an office printer. See Print full pages on an office printer with the BizPrint Android app. If it is a receipt or label printer, tap Cancel, then add it with Enter IP address.

Tap your printer under Found.
Type a name your staff will recognize in Printer name, for example “Kitchen”. The app suggests the printer’s own name. BizPrint shows this name in the BizPrint dashboard and in WooCommerce.
Tap Continue.
Wait while the app shows Checking the printer. It finds out which printer language the printer uses and saves the printer.
Wait while it shows Printing a test page. The test page is not an order, so it is safe to print at any time.
Look at the line about the printer language. It says Printer language: ESC/POS (detected) or similar when the app found out the language, or Printer language: ESC/POS (most common) when it guessed.
Look at the printer.
Answer Did it print?:
- Tap Yes when the test page printed. The printer’s settings open. You can check the paper size there. See Change paper, cut and layout settings for a printer in the BizPrint Android app.
- Tap No when nothing printed, or the page is full of strange characters. The app shows The test page didn’t print. Tap Change language to choose a different printer language, or Try again to print the test page again.

The printer languages are:

ESC/POS (Epson and most receipt printers)
StarPRNT (Star printers)
ZPL (Zebra and compatibles)
TSPL (TSC and most generic label printers)

Your printer’s documentation tells you which one it uses. Some printers call this “emulation”.

Add a USB device from Other USB devices

If your USB printer is not under Found, it may be under Other USB devices.

Tap Show under Other USB devices.
Tap the device.
Read Is this a printer?. BizPrint sends the device a test page, so continue only if it is a receipt or label printer.
Tap It’s a printer.
Follow the steps in Add a printer from the list, from step 2.

Android may ask you to allow BizPrint again each time you plug the printer in. If a USB printer is waiting for permission, the main screen shows A USB printer needs permission. Tap Allow on that card, or tap Allow USB on the printer’s settings page.

If your printer is not in the list

Under Don’t see your printer?, choose how to add it by hand:

Enter IP address, for network printers. See Add a network printer to the BizPrint Android app.
Choose a paired Bluetooth printer, for printers already paired in the Android settings. See Add a Bluetooth printer to the BizPrint Android app.
Full-page printer (enter address), for office printers that support IPP, AirPrint or Mopria. See Print full pages on an office printer with the BizPrint Android app.
Android print dialog, where someone picks the printer and taps Print for each job. See Print full pages on an office printer with the BizPrint Android app.

A printer you add by hand skips the test page. Its settings open as soon as you save it. Tap Test print there to check it.

To find a Bluetooth printer that is not paired yet, turn it on, keep it close and put it in pairing mode, then tap Search again. Printers that only use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) are not supported.

Set up a station printer on this device

Your station may already have printers that were added on another device, or on this device before the app was reinstalled. The app lists them under Printers with Set up on this phone. They keep their name, so the WooCommerce printer locations that use them keep working once you set them up.

The app does not ask for a name, because the printer keeps its station name. A Bluetooth printer that is not paired yet is paired first, and a USB printer needs Android’s permission, as described in Add a printer from the list.

Tap the printer that shows Set up on this phone. The Set up printer screen opens and searches for printers.
Tap the printer under Found.
Follow the rest of the steps in Add a printer from the list, from step 4.

If the printer is not under Found, add it by hand instead:

Tap one of the options under Don’t see your printer?.
Fill in the details.
Tap Save. The printer’s settings open.
Tap Test print.

Check that it worked

Open the BizPrint app. The printer is listed under Printers on the main screen.
Click Stations in the menu of the BizPrint dashboard.
Click your station.
Check that the printer appears in its Printers list with the name you chose.

Next step

Add the printer to a printer location in WooCommerce. Follow Set up a WooCommerce printer location for an Android station with BizPrint.

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