Cloud Receipt Printing | Troubleshooting

This guide will cover the most common troubleshooting steps and errors you may receive when attempting to use your Cloud Receipt printers. 

Access: This setup requires access to the Devices App in Canopy 2.0, navigate to your instance-devices.ordernext.com to confirm this page loads. If it does not load then your user does not have the necessary permissions to complete this setup. Please contact your Account Manager or venuesupport@shift4.com for assistance.

What’s Covered: 

• This guide will cover what common things we may miss when creating a new Cloud Receipt Printing setup and what errors we may encounter throughout the existence of our setup.
  
  
• We most commonly find issues with Network Cloud Receipt Printers as there can be several more factors involved that could cause a break in communication to the device.
  
  
• Misconfigurations in your Canopy 2.0 setup.
  
  
• Explanations of where the connection between your device(s) and the printer or Print Controller could be broken due to network issues. 

What’s Not Covered: 

• In-depth troubleshooting of your Network Printer. It’s important to ensure that the Network Printer you’re using is correctly configured with a Static IP Address from your secure POS network. We recommend working with your on-site IT for printer troubleshooting or you may contact venuesupport@shift4.com for further assistance.

Quick Checks:

• If you have already verified that everything in your setup is accurate then complete the following steps to ensure all the settings you have applied have taken effect on your devices.
  
  

1. Start by verifying that the device you have chosen to be a Print Controller has the “Print Icon” in the top right-hand corner of the STV POS screen.
   
   
   
   

• If the “Print Icon” is missing then follow Step 3 below to ‘Refresh Config’ on your Print Controller.
  
  

2. If you’re still missing the “Print Icon” after refreshing the device then verify that your Device ID from ‘Debug Info’ matches the same Device ID under Configurations in Canopy 2.0. For assistance with this please follow the, "Identifying a Print Controller" section from the setup guide.
   
   
3. Finally, if you’re still not seeing the “Print Icon” populate in the STV POS App on your Print Controller then try rebooting the entire workstation and reopening the app.
   
   

• If this does not resolve the issue, then proceed with checking your setup below. 

• Verify that the slider for the ‘Receipt Printer’ is moved to the ON position under the printer configuration.
  
  
  • Follow Step 2 of the "Creating our Cloud Receipt Printer" section in the setup guide to confirm this.
    
    
  • If this does not resolve the issue, then proceed with checking your setup below. 

Checking our NEW Setup:

Error 1:

• You may receive the following error if you have the wrong Print Controller assigned to your printer. “There was an error printing the receipt.” This error indicates that the receipt request cannot reach the Print Controller that sends the print request to the printer.
  
  
  • A successful receipt sent message should appear as “Receipt print sent to printer” coming from the device that requested the receipt. This means that the print request reached the Print Controller.
    
    
• We should check the following first,

1. Since our print requests are not reaching the Print Controller we should first check that we correctly assigned our Print Controller to the printer.
   
   

• Do so by navigating to your instance-devices.ordernext.com and selecting Printers under the Devices dropdown.
  
  

2. Under your list of printers, identify the one we’re attempting to print to and verify you have set the correct Print Controller. 

3. If the incorrect Print Controller is set, correct it by selecting that printer line and picking the correct Print Controller.
   
   

• After you make adjustments to the Print Controller then make sure to ‘Refresh Config’ in the “Hamburger Menu” on the STV POS App.
  
  
• Run a print test and verify that your setup is now working. If you still have issues proceed with the next steps.
  
  

• Now if the correct Print Controller is already selected then follow the next steps to continue identifying that your setup is done correctly.

4. Make sure your Print Controller is online and has a network connection.
   
   

• If the network checks out, then make sure that your Print Controller is on the same POS VLAN as the devices trying to send print requests.
  
  
• Attempt to ‘Refresh Config’ again on the STV POS App following the above steps. 

After completing and verifying the above steps we should run a print test. If this fails then please contact venuesupport@shift4.com or proceed with further troubleshooting steps in this guide. 

Error 2: 

• You may receive the following error if you do not assign a printer to the device you’re trying to print from. “Print Failed: Communication could not be established.”
  
  
  • This is a clear indication that no printer is assigned to the device you’re trying to send print requests from.
    
    
  • To resolve this follow the section, “Assigning our Cloud Receipt Printer” of the setup guide.

Error 3: (USB Specific)

• You may receive the following error with a USB Printer setup if the device is not connected properly. “An invalid parameter was passed.”
  
  

• This error will only populate on the workstation that is set up as the Print Controller. This means that the workstation you selected to print the receipt from should have returned a “Receipt print sent to printer” success message. 

1. Begin by verifying that your USB Printer is powered on and that your cables are plugged in correctly to the Print Controlling workstation.
   
   

• Make sure you have plugged in the printer's USB A to USB 2.0 Cable correctly. You should feel a successful click of the USB A side when seating it into the printer.
  
  
• Then make sure you plug the USB 2.0 side of the cable into one of the workstation's available USB 2.0 ports. There should be an included ‘Elys Hub’ that the PAX L1400 devices ship with and have their power cable connected to.

2. After verifying your device is successfully connected run a test print. If this print fails then try plugging into a different USB port on the hub.
   
   

• If your tests continue to fail and you find yourself testing every USB port on the hub then hard reboot the workstation by removing power from the hub and then reseating the power.
  
  
• Power back on your Print Controlling workstation. Run a final test. If this fails then please contact venuesupport@shift4.com for further assistance.

Error 4: (Network Specific)

• You may receive the following error with a Network Printer if the device is offline, powered off, configured incorrectly, or there are network issues present. “Failed to open the device.” 

• This error will only populate on the workstation that is set up as the Print Controller. This means that the workstation you selected to print the receipt from should have returned a “Receipt print sent to printer” success message. 

1. Begin by verifying that your printer is powered on then follow the next steps.
   
   

• For Epson printers verify that you have either a “Ethernet Connection Symbol” or “WiFi Connection Symbol” illuminated on the front of the device.
  
  

• For Star Micronics printers verify that you have a Solid Green LED light from the back of the device.
  
  

• If your printer is showing no network connection and is proving to be offline then please work with your site IT to make sure that your printer is correctly configured to the network and contains a Static IP Address. You may also contact venuesupport@shift4.com. 

2. If our printer is showing online and connected to the network then verify that we set the IP correctly in Canopy 2.0.
   
   

• Follow all the steps of "Creating our Cloud Receipt Printer" in the setup guide to verify you set up your Network Printer correctly.
  
  
• After making any changes, make sure to ‘Refresh Config’ of the Print Controller so that it receives the changes made in Canopy 2.0.

3. If your prints continue to fail and you have verified all of the above then verify what the connection status is to the printer from the STV POS App.
   
   

• Log in to your app and navigate to the “Hamburger Menu” then select ‘Debug Info’ from the list.
  
  
• Under debug select ‘Printing.’

4. Under the ‘Network Printers’ list you see all of the printers that this workstation is controlling.
   
   

• Most likely if you’re still receiving print errors then you’ll see a ‘FAILED’ status under the printer you’re trying to print to.
  
  
• This indicates that your Print Controller cannot reach the printer on the network. Several factors could lead to this occurring and the most common ones are, 
  
  
  • Example 1: The Print Controlling workstation and printer are on different connection methods. For example, the workstation may be on WLAN(WiFi) and the printer may be on LAN(Ethernet) or vice versa.
    
    

• If you are using Network Printers and have varying connection types amongst your workstations in a single stand location it’s important to make sure that you have your LAN Network and WiFi Network setup for “Bridging.”
  
  

• “Bridging” sometimes referred to as “Crosstalk” when enabled allows your POS LAN devices to successfully communicate with POS WLAN(WiFi) devices on your network.
  
  
• If this feature is not set on your network and your devices are on varying connection types you may run into issues with Print Requests sending from all devices or prints not working altogether. Work with your Network IT to have this feature enabled.
  
  

• Example 2: The Print Controlling workstation is on the entirely wrong POS Network altogether. In a Cloud Printing environment, all hardware in the setup should be on the same POS VLAN to communicate with each other successfully.
  
  
• This could mean that if your workstation is on LAN(Ethernet) the Ethernet Port it’s plugged into is configured for the wrong VLAN. Consult with your Network IT to resolve this. This would also apply to the printer if on LAN.
  
  
• It’s also possible you connected to the wrong POS WiFi on the workstation or printer, verify you’re connected to the correct one. 

If you make any adjustments throughout troubleshooting to Canopy 2.0 or the device(s) network then make sure to ‘Refresh Config’ on the Print Controller. If your print tests are still failing then please contact venuesupport@shift4.com. 

Checking our Pre-Existing Setup:

• It’s been some time since your last event and you’re going around and testing your receipt printing and nothing is sending, what should you check first?

1. First, verify that your Print Controller is powered on and has a network connection.
   
   

• If it all checks out, then reboot the workstation, reopen the STV POS App, and run a test print.
  
  

2. If your issues persist then follow the ‘Quick Checks’ section of this guide at the top to verify your Print Controller has not lost its status.
   
   

• It’s also important to verify the following,
  
  
  • Has my network changed since the devices were last used?
    
    
    • If this is the case, then you most likely need to factory reset your printer(s) and assign a new Static IP Address. Once your printer(s) have been assigned a new IP, follow the section "Creating our Cloud Receipt Printer" of the setup guide to assign a new IP.
      
      
    • If there were network changes it’s also important to verify that your devices are all on the same POS VLAN so they can correctly communicate with each other.
      
      
  • Any power outages since the devices were last used?
    
    
    • If this is the case, reboot all the affected hardware, reopen the STV POS App, and then ‘Refresh Config’ on all the devices in question.
      
      
    • In rare circumstances, during power surges or outages, the printers can sometimes factory reset themselves. In this case, you should check the IP Address of the affected printer(s) and verify that they did not change or lose their configuration.
      
      
  • Have I replaced any of my devices in the location where I am trying to print receipts?
    
    
    • If this is the case then verify if the device(s) happened to be the Print Controlling device. If that device was replaced, then we will have to assign a new Print Controller following the "Identifying a Print Controller" section of the setup guide.
      
      
    • If you replaced a non-print-controlling device and need it to print receipts then follow the section "Assigning our Cloud Receipt Printer" of the setup guide.
      
      

This concludes the troubleshooting steps of Cloud Receipt Printing.

Need Help? We’re Here for You!

For assistance with SkyTab Venue, reach out to our support team:

• 📞 Phone: 877.559.4225
• 📧 Email: venuesupport@shift4.com

Our support team is available to help with any questions or issues you may have.

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