Network Printer Configuration Guide

This article will cover the basics of how to configure a network printer for Point of Rental.


Topics in this article include
 

• Printer Requirements
• Steps for Configuration

Printer Requirements

You must have the following:
 

• Laser Printer

• Network Capable

Your printer must meet these printer requirements before you follow this guide. These instructions assume you have already physically set up the printer, i.e. unboxed the printer, powered it on, and ran a network cable from the printer to your network.
 

Note: Windows Session or Redirected Printing: While it is possible to print using this method, it is not recommended and is NOT supported by Point of Rental.

Steps for Configuration
 

1.  Obtain the IP Address of the Network Printer.

When a network printer is attached to a network it should automatically receive an IP address. Each printer has a different way of printing the IP address. Some require you to press a button on the printer while others have an LCD menu you can cycle through to print the IP address. For example, the Dell 2350dn laser printers have an LCD screen where you use the left and right arrow buttons on the printer to browse to Menu > Network Ports > Network Menu > Network Setup > Reports > Print Setup Page. 

2. Set the IP Address to a Static IP Address.

By default, the IP address automatically assigned to the network printer will expire and it will change causing the printing to stop. You must first find an unused local IP address. Check with your network administrator if you need help. To assign the printer a static address, open Internet Explorer, insert the IP address you printed out in the address bar, and press enter. You will be taken to the web page of your network printer. You have to edit the IP Address (TCP/IP) settings to have a static IP address and specify which one to use. Make sure to save your settings. Test by entering the new static IP address you just assigned the printer into Internet Explorer and making sure the network printer web page comes up. If not repeat the configuration by browsing back to the original IP address.

3. Log in to the Point of Rental Server as an Administrative Account.

You must log into the Point of Rental server as an administrative account in order to install or re-configure printers.

4. Install the Network Printer on the Point of Rental server.

This section covers Windows 7 through Windows 10 as well as Windows Server 2008 R2 and up.
 

Open Control Panel > Devices and Printers. Click the ‘Add a printer’ button at the top of the window.  You will create a new local printer and specify the TCP/IP address of the new printer. The printer install wizard will attempt to find the correct printer driver to install. If it does not find the appropriate driver you can click the Windows Update button to see if it downloads. If not you will need to go to the printer manufacturer’s website and download the appropriate printer driver and install it.

When the driver is installed you can *name the printer and test print.
 

*Naming Rules:
 

• All printers must have unique names that cannot start with the same name as another printer. (incorrect: Counter1 and Counter1Back – correct Counter1Front and Counter1Back).

• If you include the word External in a printer name, the program will push the print job out to an external process allowing the user to continue working - eliminating the need to wait for the program to finish printing before the user can move on. There are some limitations and parts of the program that cannot use the External print feature.

This section covers Windows 10 through Windows 11

In Windows 11 you will have to add the printer through the Windows Settings. Open your Windows Settings and click on Bluetooth & Devices and then Printer and Scanners. Once there, click on Add Device and when the option comes up, click on Add Manually.

You will create a new local printer and specify the TCP/IP address of the new printer. The printer install wizard will attempt to find the correct printer driver to install. If it does not find the appropriate driver you can click the Windows Update button to see if it downloads it. If not you will need to go to the printer manufacturer’s website and download the appropriate printer driver and install it. When the driver is installed you can name the printer and test print.


 

5. Configure Multiple Printer Trays.

If the printer has more than one tray and a mix of plain and contract paper will be used, then each printer tray should be configured as a separate printer, set to print to the appropriate tray.

Keep the printer names short and meaningful, i.e. “Store 1 Dell 2360dn Tray 1”.

After creating the printers, open their properties and set each one to print to the appropriate tray, i.e. Tray 1, Tray 2, etc. Once the printer Properties are open, you can browse to Advanced > Printing Defaults to do this.

Once the printers are created, you select the appropriate listing for the different POR print jobs. This is done in the Counter System using the “tools->print setup” menu in the upper left corner of the screen. You will then select the printer tray name that you created above (nnnn tray 1 or nnnn Tray 2).

6. Update the Point of Rental Printer selections for each User.

Open Point of Rental and then open the Counter System. Click Tools in the upper-left-hand corner of the screen and click Print Setup. Assign the new printer to the appropriate print type, i.e. Laser Contract Printer, Report Printer, etc.