POS solutions

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joe

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My current pos terminal is an aging compaq computer. I use SpeciltySoft, I also have Adobe Photoshop installed plus windows business 2003, also Quickbooks. Also I have an old Epson printer that prints full sheet recipes for SS. This setup is really not working. It takes like 2 minutes for the recipe to print. People are out the door before it swings into action.

How many of you have more than one terminal with QB, Adobe, and other large programs on a second computer. Do you have a recipt printer? Do you use a second pos softeware for gift items?
 
Laser printers are fast and affordable to use. They start at about $49 and go up from there.

We use an all in one deal that is our plain paper fax, laser printer, scanner, and copier. Brother MFC-7420 ~$149-$249

An actual receipt printer, familiar to the retail environment, is worthy of consideration. In our shop, we are using the laser mentioned above for back room workorders and corporate invoices, as well as two Star TSP-143 high speed thermal printers. ~$200 each. One at each retail LifeSaver & FrameVue workstation. Our setup also has an automatic cash drawer, credit card swipers, debit card pinpads, barcode reader, barcode label printer, camera, and second monitor. The receipt printers have no warmup time and print a receipt in just ONE secondl even cutting it. Theyre in the standard narrow format.

Having multiple pc's for a POS is no problem. They both plug into the same internet router, and you can network them to share drives, and printers. They will share the same live POS data.

My suggestion is to buy a new fast PC and make it the "server", and either retire the current one completely - or make it the "client" (slave pc, second machine) If it's that old, it may make sense to just get two new pc's and start fresh. Tech support can walk you through moving the current POS data over to the new machine(s).

I am not very familiar with SpecialtySoft, but I suggest consulting them before doing any of this. I believe they require a specific version of Windows XP or Vista, so make sure the system you order meets the requirements of the software. If you want to network two stations, you will also need a license for the second machine. ~$250

If you are considering a narrow format high speed thermal receipt printer, in addition to the laser, be sure to ask Specialtysoft which ones are supported/recommended. A good source for these is posworld.com

Once you know the requirements, it's time to go shopping.

Best regards,
Mike
Moderator
 
That is probably the answer. Before I do that I'm going to uninstall a lot of stuff to see if I can improve the speed. I know I have a lot of programs running in the background, esp Zone Alarm, etc.
 
I use SSS.

My POS station crashed last year. (luckily I was data backed up!)

I replaced it with a new one and added a second station.

In the process I replaced a Brother Laser with a new HP Laser (2015).

What a difference! The Brother whirred and made noises for seconds before printing. (I got quite good at a mini-tap dance while waiting for receipts), but the HP is near instant.

There were also some funny hiccups relative to landscape vs. portrait mode when printing reports that just went away when I installed the HP.

My second station is an old PC that works just fine as a second POS and visualization system, but it is faster to run reports directly on the server.

My suspicion is that the "background" applications and tasks are not actually slowing you down much, although if there is very little memory in the machine it's possible.

I would try installing new memory and get a good laser (my HP was about $250.)
Then, if it is still too slow, it is ready to be a second POS to a new server.

When evaluating printers, pay attention to "First Page Out" NOT "PPM"!!! They all push pages per minute, but it doesn't really matter for a receipt printer! It's how fast is the first page that is critical.
 
Joe:

A new PC (with enough memory) can handle all your current software. There is really no need to spread the applications over multiple new PCs just so they'd run faster.

Go with multiple PCs if you really want to. But one new PC with a good processor and 2 gigs of memory can handle all the applications that you listed.
 
I'm sure Paul N is right, that you could do it all with one computer. But I'd recommend getting a new one anyway, for a couple of reasons...

1. If you're not desperate for a faster computer with more memory right now, you soon will be. Time is money, and I would not want to waste time on a slow computer -- especially when it is certain to become even slower, as your data storage and memory requirements continue to accumulate.

2. The old computer would still be useful for limited applications. Once you have installed your new computer, the old one may be sent out for maintenance and upgrades, then put back into the LAN for use with programs it can handle.

I'm no geek, but in my little frame shop I have five computers and two laser printers. I would not want to go a day without any of them.
 
Receipt Printers

Joe,
Here is my 2 cents on receipt printers. If you sell a lot of small priced giftware, then the receipt printer might be a good idea. Especially if they are items like art supplies and students want to buy them and get out right away.
However, receipt printers are associated with less expensive items, like groceries. The perception of value for an $800 piece of art is diminished on a 2" receipt slip. That is where you want to use the full page professional invoice from your SSS.
If you can do without the expense of adding a receipt printer for selling $5 to $15 items, then I would pass on it. You can always ask people if they want a receipt. If not, then you don't need to print out the page.
 
Carol that's a very good call about the receipt printer. I have small items but don't want to give the impression of buying from the dollar store. I think I will move my home computer to the shop and printer also and see how they work, both are much newer. I'll leave the existing computer/printer for other purposes and try to network both.

I like the idea of a laser printer also. Probably will get a new system, I'll talk to SpecialtySoft
first. I hadn't planned on this expenditure but this has to be solved.
 
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