Restaurant kitchen printer skipping orders — stop missed chits fast

Joe B.

Reviewed for technical accuracy

Specialities: Toast/Square/Clover, Epson & Star printers, Windows/macOS, Networks, VLAN/QoS

Kitchen tickets not printing — causes of skipped orders & how to prevent them

Technician

Hey! When a restaurant kitchen printer skips orders it’s usually a mix of network and protocol settings. Common culprits: printer on DHCP changing IP, using WSD instead of RAW 9100 or LPR/LPD, Wi-Fi printers in a hot kitchen going to sleep, POS set to broadcast instead of direct TCP, or a tiny print buffer dropping jobs. Tell me your POS (Toast, Square, Lightspeed, Clover, Revel, Aloha/Micros) and printer model (Epson TM-T88/TM-U220, Star TSP100/TSP143, Bixolon, etc.).

Customer

We’re on Toast. The kitchen has an Epson TM-U220B (Ethernet). During dinner rush every 5–6 orders a ticket never prints. Reprint works, but some get missed.

Technician

Classic. On Toast + Epson, skipped kitchen chits are often DHCP leases changing or WSD discovery losing the path. We’ll:
• Give the printer a static IP (or DHCP reservation).
• Switch the port to RAW 9100 (TCP) or LPR with queue lp.
• Disable WSD and SNMP status if the driver is chatty.
• Increase spooler timeout and enable print directly to printer if your POS allows.
• Check the auto-cutter and paper out sensor—stalls can cause the POS to drop the next job.

Customer

It’s wired through an unmanaged switch in the kitchen. The printer sometimes shows “offline” in Toast but we can still ping it.

Technician

3-minute network fix:
1) On the printer’s config page, set Static IP (e.g., 192.168.1.50), gateway & DNS, and turn DHCP = Off.
2) In Toast’s printer settings, edit the printer → change connection to TCP/IP using that IP and Port 9100 (RAW). If LPR is required, queue name lp and turn bidirectional/SNMP off.
3) Replace any flaky patch cable; avoid daisy-chaining through POS tablets. Keep the printer on the same VLAN as POS terminals.

Customer

We also have a Star TSP143 for expo. It’s on Wi-Fi. Sometimes it sleeps and then we miss the first ticket after it wakes.

Technician

Wi-Fi kitchen printer skipping orders is usually power-save. Do this:
• In the Star utility, set Power Save: Off and enable Keep-Alive/Heartbeat in the POS if available.
• Assign a static IP and connect to the 2.4 GHz SSID with strong signal; disable client isolation.
• If possible, switch to Ethernet for kitchen devices—heat/steam can degrade Wi-Fi radios over time.

Customer

During peak times, two tickets print together and then one is missing. Could buffer settings or cutter cause it?

Technician

Yes—buffer & cutter matter.
• Set Flow Control to RTS/CTS for serial models or ensure Receive Buffer is “Large” for Ethernet units.
• Enable Auto-cut (full cut) per ticket; stuck half-cuts can block the next job.
• In the driver, choose ESC/POS or “Line mode” as Toast recommends—graphic mode spools slower and can time out.
• Increase spooler timeout to 120–180s; disable bidirectional support if status querying causes stalls.

Customer

How do we prove if orders are being dropped by the POS or by the printer?

Technician

Verification workflow:
1) Turn on Print Logs in Toast and enable Audit → Reprint last order.
2) Print the printer’s self-test/config page; confirm IP/port and check error counters (paper out, cutter jam).
3) Run a burst test of 20 tickets; if Toast shows 20 sent but only 19 printed and the printer has no errors, swap protocol (WSD → RAW 9100 or LPR) and retest.
4) If Wi-Fi, monitor RSSI; -65 dBm or better is the goal.

Customer

If we move the kitchen to a new switch or VLAN, what settings ensure reliability?

Technician

Network best practices for kitchen printers:
• Static IPs or DHCP reservations for all printers.
• Keep POS & printers on the same VLAN/subnet; allow TCP 9100 and LPR/LPD if used.
• Disable storm control/isolation that blocks broadcasts if your POS relies on discovery.
• Use UPS power for the switch & printers; brown-outs cause missed jobs.
• Turn off Green Ethernet/Energy Efficient Ethernet on the switch ports connected to printers.

Customer

We made the changes. Anything else to prevent missed tickets long-term?

Technician

Preventative checklist: label the printer with its static IP; keep extra rolls/ ribbons; schedule weekly test print; clean the platen & cutter; confirm POS is set to reprint on failure; and export your printer map so new stations point to the same IP/port. If you want, I can jump in the chat and verify each Toast setting with you.

Customer

Thanks. Can you summarize the fastest path to stop skipping orders?

Technician

Summary: Set a static IP → connect via RAW 9100 (or LPR) not WSD → disable Wi-Fi sleep/enable keep-alive → increase spooler timeout & enable auto-cut → hard-wire with good cabling → keep POS & printers on the same VLAN. Need help mapping ports or testing? Open the chat — I’ll stay until every ticket prints.

Quick answer: the accepted fix

Accepted fix for a kitchen printer skipping orders: assign a static IP, switch the port to RAW 9100 (TCP) or LPR, disable WSD/SNMP if unstable, turn off Wi-Fi sleep (prefer Ethernet), increase spooler timeout, enable auto-cut, and keep POS and printers on the same VLAN. Works for Epson TM-U220/TM-T88 and Star TSP series.

FAQ

Step-by-step (all POS)

1. Print config page → set static IP and confirm link speed.
2. In POS, connect via TCP/RAW 9100 or LPR (queue lp); avoid WSD.
3. Disable Wi-Fi sleep or switch to Ethernet; keep RSSI > −65 dBm.
4. Enable auto-cut; clean cutter/platen; use quality paper/ribbon.
5. Increase spooler timeout; disable SNMP/bidirectional if unstable.

Optional: advanced checks

1. Place POS & printers on the same VLAN; allow TCP 9100/LPR.
2. Turn off EEE/Green Ethernet on switch ports; use a UPS.
3. Enable POS reprint on failure and review audit logs weekly.

Sources

• Epson POS Support — TM-series network & printer settings
• Star Micronics Support — TSP series utilities & power-save
• Toast POS Help Center — Printer setup & troubleshooting

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