Experiencing difficulty with your Dines-supplied printer? Check this article for guides on how to fix common (and less common) issues.
Printing: Tips & Troubleshooting
Printers are very convenient when running a busy restaurant, cafe or pop-up venue. They print orders to the kitchen, receipts for Front of House, and other must-haves to keep everything organised and free of chaos.
The one thing printers lack, however, is a set of vocal cords to tell you what’s wrong when something isn’t working. Instead, they have various flashing lights, some of which aren’t immediately obvious.
That’s where this guide comes in handy. If you are experiencing an issue with your mC-Print3 (or any Star Micronics Thermal 80mm Printer), our Tips & Troubleshooting guide for your printer should solve the issue! In the article that follows, we will go into common issues and rarer glitches, and point you in the right direction for solving them all.
Please Note: If you require help with the initial setup of your printer, you can check our Printer Configuration article here.
Table of Contents
Initial Diagnosis of Issue
It is initially helpful to figure out the root cause of an issue, before then moving on to diagnosing the specific problem.
On the mC-Printer3, there are two status LEDs (three on the Bluetooth model), which serve as indicators for different components. Most problems will be indicated by one of these three LEDs, therefore it is important to know what each LED represents.
B) Bluetooth LED
C) Network LED
When all three LEDs are solid, that means they are all working without issue. However, you may come across various flashing lights that indicate an issue with the printer. We will go into these below, starting with the most basic and quick fixes.
Initial Checks
Below are a few initial troubleshooting steps to check with your printer, which could swiftly resolve the issue and keep any downtime to a minimum.
Is the Printer On?
It may seem like the most basic step, but when things are going like a hurricane during a busy period, it can be easy to miss the simple stuff! You can check whether your printer is on or off by looking at the Power LED, which is furthest to the left on your mC-Print3.
If the Power LED is unlit, this means that your printer is currently off.
If the Power LED is static blue, your printer is currently powered on.
Providing that you notice the Power LED being unlit, the first checks to undertake would be trying to power the printer on. If there is still no luck, please check the printer’s power connection, and try a different power cable if possible.
Is there Enough Paper?
Low till roll is another common issue with printing that is helpful to check. The mC-Print3 provides two warnings to alert you of paper shortages.
When the Power LED blinks red for a split second, and then returns to solid blue, this is to warn you that you are low on paper.
When the Power LED is blinking red consistently, and not returning to solid blue, you are completely out of paper.
In either situation, it is prudent to have a backup roll of printer paper ready to switch in, to prevent any service delays.
Is the Cover Closed?
Your printer will not print if you have accidentally left it’s cover/lid open after changing paper. This is a common instance where the cover has not been closed properly, and is indicated by the LED below.
A solid red light on the Power LED indicates that the printer’s cover is open.
To fix this error, simply ensure that the printer’s cover is definitely closed before attempting to print again.
Is Your iOS Device Properly Connected?
If you are connecting to your printer via an iPad or iPhone, and are experiencing issues, please double-check that the iOS device is actually charging. If it isn’t charging, something is wrong with the connection between the iPad/iPhone and the printer.
Typically, this indicates that the cable has either come loose, or is experiencing a minor malfunction, possibly due to a fault in the cable itself. In either case, simply unplug the cable from both ends and plug it back in, making sure that both ends are properly connected to the relevant device. Failing that, please find an alternative cable, which should solve the issue once and for all.
Is Your Paper Facing The Correct Way?
Finally, a common issue is all lights showing static green, but the printer is printing blank tickets. This is very common, and very easy to fix. It simply means that you have put the paper into the printer the wrong way around!
Check the guide below to see exactly how till roll should be inserted into your printer.
Note: Once you have inserted the paper in the correct way, make sure to “sandwich” the paper by pulling a short length out through the gap where printed tickets come from.
Less Common Issues
We will now dive into errors that are less common on the mC-Print3, but may still occur. This section will be split into three categories; Power LED errors, Bluetooth LED errors and Network LED errors.
Network LED Errors
There are a few displays on the Network LED that are worth taking a note of. These indicators relate to the ethernet cable that may be connected to your trusty mC-Print3. Let’s go into those now.
A solid green light on the Network LED is there to assure you that all is well with your ethernet connection.
If the light on your Network LED is unlit, this means that the ethernet cable is not connected. Please check both ends of the ethernet cable to ensure that it is plugged in correctly. If you’re still having no luck, try connecting again with an alternate ethernet cable.
A flashing green light on the Network LED means that the printer is having trouble finding its IP address. To fix, please repeat the “Set up a Printer” steps in our Printer Configuration guide, which will tell the printer its IP address so that it can reconnect to the network.
The above will cover every error that can possibly occur with the Network LED. In summary, it's a good idea to start troubleshooting by double-checking your ethernet cable connection. If problems still persist, consider trying a different ethernet cable before exploring further solutions. Should the green light be consistently flashing, however, the Printer Configuration guide above will guide you through the right steps.
Power LED Errors
There are several Power LED errors which the printer can notify you of. Before reading through this part of the guide, take a moment to observe the colour and the number of quick flashes on the Power LED. This will help you easily identify your error using the guide below.
A single blue flash roughy every three seconds on the power LED indicates that the printer’s head is overheating. Printing will resume automatically once the printer has cooled down.
A double blue flash roughly every three seconds on the Power LED will indicate that the paper within the printer is overheating. Printing will resume automatically once the paper has cooled down.
A consistently flashing purple light means that there is an issue with the printer’s cutter. To fix this, open the printer’s cover and clear any jammed paper. Once you re- close the cover, the problem should be fixed.
A single purple flash on the Power LED indicates that the supply of power to the printer isn’t steady. First, try to turn the power source off and on. If that doesn’t work, try to plug the printer into another outlet. Should the same error occur, please get in touch with us.
A double purple flash on the Power LED means that there is an issue with the temperature sensor on the printer’s head. If this error remains after attempting to turn the printer off and on again, please get in touch with us.
A quadruple purple flash on the Power LED indicates an issue with the flash memory - i.e., the printer’s internally stored memory such as the devices it is connected to. If restarting the printer does not fix this error, please get in touch with us.
When a purple light flashes five times on the Power LED, this means there is an issue with EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), which is essentially the memory chip that memorises things like paper size preferences. If this error remains after attempting to turn the printer off and on again, please get in touch with us.
The Power LED flashing purple six times indicates an error with the SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), which responsible for storing pending print orders while the printer is busy printing other orders. If restarting the printer does not fix this error, please get in touch with us.
When the Power LED flashes seven times, this means there is an error with the printer’s firmware, which is the software that controls how the printer works. Please try to turn the printer off and on, and if the problem persists, reach out to us.
Of course, a common theme here is the classic “turn it off and on again” tactic, which allows the printer to recalibrate it’s internal components and software. When you turn the printer off, temporary glitches can be forgotten, which is then followed by the printer booting back up to commence it’s normal function. There is logic behind the cliche!
Bluetooth LED Errors
The errors for the Bluetooth LED are fairly straightforward. Either Bluetooth is connected, where you will see a solid blue light illuminating the LED, or Bluetooth is not connected, where there will be no visible light.
The printer is connected to a device via Bluetooth.
The printer is not connected to a device via Bluetooth.
If the Bluetooth logo is not illuminated, please make sure that Bluetooth is turned on and active on the device you're trying to connect to, and that the device is within close range. Bluetooth typically works within 1 to 10 meters, but the farther you are from the device, the more spotty the connection will be.
And that’s everything! Thank you for reading our article on Printing: Tips & Troubleshooting. If you have any questions at all, or if you have suggestions for a Knowledge Base article you’d like to see, please do not hesitate to reach out to our team. You can contact us via email at care@dines.co.uk, use our Live Chat service here, or message us via WhatsApp on 07822 002783.