> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.eat-now.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Receipt printing

> Print the full reservation sheet on an Epson printer the moment a table is marked as arrived or seated — how to set it up, how routing works, and what to check when nothing comes out.

When a reservation is marked **Arrived**, **Seated**, **Partially seated** or
**Seated for drinks**, EatNow prints the complete reservation sheet on a
thermal printer in your restaurant: the guest, the table, the allergies, the
internal notes, the tags and the payments.

<Tip>
  One ticket per reservation, per service. Moving a table from *Arrived* to
  *Seated* does **not** print a second ticket — the first move prints, the rest
  are ignored. Need another copy? Open the reservation, then
  **Actions → Print the ticket**.
</Tip>

***

## Before anything prints

You need an **Epson TM** printer with 80 mm paper, and at least one tablet or
phone running the EatNow app to bridge it to our servers.

<Card title="Connecting a printer" icon="printer" href="/operations/printers">
  How the chain works end to end, and how to connect a printer over the network
  or by cable. Start there if nothing is set up yet.
</Card>

Once a printer is registered and at least one device is relaying, flip the
**Printing enabled** switch at the top of **Settings → Integrations →
Printers**. Tickets start printing on the next status change.

***

## Choosing which statuses print

Under the **Triggers and routing** tab, tick the statuses that should produce a
ticket. By default: **Arrived**, **Seated**, **Partially seated** and
**Seated for drinks**.

Cancellations and no-shows are available too, unticked — some rooms want a slip
when a table falls through, most do not.

***

## Sending tickets to the right printer

Also under **Triggers and routing**: give each room its own printer. A
reservation prints on its room's printer.

A reservation with no room, or in a room with no printer assigned, falls back to
the printer marked **Default**.

***

## When nothing comes out

Open **Settings → Integrations → Printers → Print queue**. Every ticket is
listed with its status and, when it failed, what to do about it.

| What the queue says     | What it means                                                                                                              |
| ----------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Pending**             | Waiting for a device. If it stays there, no relay device is awake on the network.                                          |
| **Printing**            | A device has it and is sending it.                                                                                         |
| **Printed**             | It came out.                                                                                                               |
| **Out of paper**        | Replace the roll, then **Reprint**.                                                                                        |
| **Cover open**          | Close the cover, then **Reprint**.                                                                                         |
| **Printer unreachable** | The printer is off, on another network, or its address moved. For a USB printer: the cable came out, or its device is off. |
| **Expired**             | Nobody could print it within ten minutes. Reprint it by hand if it is still useful.                                        |

The **Relay devices** panel on the printers page lists which devices are
currently bridging, and when each was last seen. An empty panel is the answer
to most "why is nothing printing" questions.

***

## Reprinting a ticket

Open the reservation, then **Actions → Print the ticket**. It goes back out on
the room's printer. From the back office, use **Reprint** on any line of the
print queue.

Reprinting always works, even for a reservation that already printed and even
outside the trigger statuses — asking for it is the intent.

<Note>
  While printing is off, **Print the ticket** stays in the menu and takes you
  straight to the setting to switch on, instead of starting a print that cannot
  succeed.
</Note>

***

## Without a receipt printer

No thermal printer? **Actions → Export PDF** does not depend on the printer
system at all, and needs no setup:

| Format             | What it is                                  |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------- |
| **A4 format**      | The full reservation sheet on an A4 page    |
| **Receipt format** | The same 80 mm layout as the thermal ticket |

The PDF opens in a tab: print it on any office printer, or email it.