About the kitchen printers
The printers on the Statler Hotel kitchen lines print orders sent from the Oracle Micros POS system. Each menu item prints to a specific kitchen printer, and every kitchen printer has a backup printer assigned. All kitchen printers are the same model, an Epson TM-U220.
These are different from the small receipt printer at each POS terminal, which prints guest checks, receipts, and credit card slips. If a guest check or receipt is not printing, see Oracle Micros POS: Terminal and Printer Problems, and Who to Contact instead.
Kitchen printers make no sound. They do not beep. The ERROR light is the only signal the printer gives, so it is the most useful thing to report.
Before you contact anyone
- Which printer, and which kitchen line it serves.
- Whether anything is printing at all, or whether orders are coming out on a different printer.
- What the ERROR light is doing - steady, blinking (and how), or off.
- Whether the printer was moved, swapped, or re-plugged recently.
If orders are printing on a different printer
This usually means the main printer is out of paper, and its orders are going to the backup printer. Reload the paper in the main printer.
If the ERROR light is on or blinking
- The paper cover is open. Close it. The error clears on its own.
- The printer paused during a busy rush. The print head is cooling down. This is normal, not a fault. It starts printing again on its own.
- The POS screen says "Mechanical error". Despite the name, this means paper is jammed. Clear the jam (see below).
- Anything else: note what the light is doing and log a ticket with the IT help desk. Do not keep turning the printer off and on. Some error patterns mean the printer has failed and must be replaced by IT.
Clearing a paper jam
- Turn the printer off.
- Open the roll paper cover using the tab. Remove the take-up spool, then open the unit using the unit open lever.
- Remove the jammed paper. Caution: do not touch the manual cutter blade - it can cut a finger.
- Close the printer, turn it back on, and check that the next order prints.
- If the jam comes back right away, the cutter may be jammed (see below).
If the cutter is jammed
- Open the roll paper cover and remove anything that has fallen in - push pins and paper clips are the usual cause. A minor jam often clears on its own once the object is out.
- Turn the printer off, close the cover, and turn it back on. This returns the cutter to its normal position.
- If it still is not working, log a ticket with the IT help desk.
Common questions
- The printer is printing garbled text, stopping mid-order, or repeating the same line. Log a ticket with the IT help desk. If the printer was recently moved or re-plugged, say so in the ticket.
- Several kitchen printers are down at once. Stop working on them one at a time. Log a ticket with the IT help desk right away - this is urgent, because the kitchen cannot see orders.
- A menu item prints to the wrong kitchen printer. This is a menu setting, not a printer fault. Contact the Director of Food and Beverage.
Still need help?
The order is: the IT help desk (log a ticket), then the Hotel System Manager. For menu printing settings, contact the Director of Food and Beverage.
Always log a ticket with the IT help desk first (itrequests@business.cornell.edu). If the situation is critical or urgent, you can then contact the Hotel System Manager directly, after you have submitted the ticket. Your manager or department director knows how to reach the Hotel System Manager and is empowered to do so based on their judgment.
Still need help? Contact the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business Helpdesk at itrequests@business.cornell.edu.
[edited via Jane by wbo7 on 2026-10-27 18:35 UTC]