# USB Printers on Windows To use a USB receipt printer with the desktop app on Windows, install it in Windows first: the app finds a USB printer only once Windows has it. Then add it in the POS: 1. [Install the printer in Windows](#do-this). 2. [Add it in the POS](#add-in-pos). This page is also for you if, in the desktop app on Windows: * **Add printer** says **No printer found**, with the printer plugged in and switched on. See [No printer found](#no-printer-found). * A printer you added in an earlier version says **On Windows, add this printer as an installed printer instead.** See [A printer from an earlier version](#earlier-version). * The test page is [stray letters and symbols](#stray-symbols), or [nothing came out](#nothing-came-out). ## Install the printer in Windows[​](#do-this "直接链接到 Install the printer in Windows") First, check whether Windows already has it: 1. Plug the printer in and switch it on. If the maker supplies a Windows driver or installer, run it now. 2. In Windows, open **Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners**. 3. If your printer is in the list, go on to [Add it in the POS](#add-in-pos). If not, next to **Add a printer or scanner**, choose **Add device**. If Windows finds the printer and adds it, go on to [Add it in the POS](#add-in-pos) too. If Windows still doesn't list it, add it by hand with **Generic / Text Only**, the plain driver that comes with Windows. Add the printer by hand 1. Choose **Add manually**, then **Add a local printer or network printer with manual settings**. 2. Under **Use an existing port**, pick the printer's USB port: its name starts with **USB**, such as USB001. 3. For the driver, choose the manufacturer **Generic** and the printer **Generic / Text Only**. 4. Give it a name you'll recognise at the till, such as *Receipt printer*, and finish. On Windows 10 Start from **Settings → Devices → Printers & scanners** and choose **Add a printer or scanner**. Where Windows 11 says **Add manually**, Windows 10 says **The printer that I want isn't listed**. ## Add it in the POS[​](#add-in-pos "直接链接到 Add it in the POS") 1. In the desktop app, go to **Settings → Printing** and press **Add printer**. The search starts by itself and looks for **USB, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi** printers. 2. Pick the card with the name you gave the printer in Windows. It carries the badge **Installed printer**. With several printers, the panel asks **Which printer is yours?** and picks none for you. 3. Press **Print a test page**. The panel asks **Did the test page print?** 4. If the page looks right, answer **Yes, and it looks right**. The printer is saved: the panel says *name* **is set up**. Press **Done**, and the printer has its own row in **Settings → Printing**. If the page came out wrong or not at all, see [If something goes wrong](#goes-wrong). The other answers are on [Print a test page](/zh-CN/hardware/receipt-printers/printer-setup-wizard.md#test-page). ## If something goes wrong[​](#goes-wrong "直接链接到 If something goes wrong") ### No printer found[​](#no-printer-found "直接链接到 No printer found") First check **Printers & scanners** in Windows. If your printer isn't listed, [install it in Windows](#do-this), then press **Scan again**. If it is listed and the app still finds nothing, see [Still stuck?](#still-stuck). The other buttons on the No printer found panel 1. **Scan again** — looks again. Press it after you install the printer in Windows. 2. **Find a Bluetooth printer** — for a Bluetooth printer that needs no pairing. 3. **Enter an IP address** — for a network printer the search missed. 4. **More options** — name, paper width and drawer, before the test page. See [More options](/zh-CN/hardware/receipt-printers/printer-setup-wizard.md#more-options). 5. **Open the printer guide** — the [printer guide](/zh-CN/hardware/receipt-printers.md). ### A printer from an earlier version[​](#earlier-version "直接链接到 A printer from an earlier version") Printing to the printer says **On Windows, add this printer as an installed printer instead.** An earlier version saved it as a direct USB printer, and on Windows the app now reaches a USB printer only through its entry in Windows. In **Settings → Printing**, open the printer's **More actions** menu, choose **Delete**, then add it again with **Add printer** and pick its **Installed printer** card. ### Stray letters and symbols[​](#stray-symbols "直接链接到 Stray letters and symbols") #### While adding a printer[​](#symbols-during-setup "直接链接到 While adding a printer") 1. Answer **Nothing came out**, even though paper printed. The panel has no answer for symbols, and this one opens **Start over** and **Save without testing**. 2. Check the name on the card you picked: * Another printer, such as an office printer? It can't read receipt commands. Press **Start over** and pick your receipt printer's entry. * Your receipt printer? Press **Save without testing**, then [fix its language](#symbols-saved). #### A printer already saved[​](#symbols-saved "直接链接到 A printer already saved") 1. Check the name on its row in **Settings → Printing**. If it's another printer, press **Add printer** and pick your receipt printer's entry. 2. If it is your receipt printer, its **Printer Language** setting may not match the printer. Press **Edit** on its row. 3. Set **Printer Language** to the one your printer's manual names. Star printers use **StarPRNT** or **Star Line Mode**; Epson printers use **ESC/POS**, as do most other makes. 4. Press **Test Print** on the row. If a Star printer still prints symbols, set the other Star language and test again. 5. Symbols with every language? Check your model on [Supported receipt printers](/zh-CN/hardware/receipt-printers/supported-printers.md), then see [Still stuck?](#still-stuck). ### Nothing came out[​](#nothing-came-out "直接链接到 Nothing came out") #### While adding a printer[​](#nothing-during-setup "直接链接到 While adding a printer") 1. Answer **Nothing came out**. 2. Check the name on the card you picked. If it's another printer, press **Start over** and pick your receipt printer's entry. 3. If it is yours, the panel says **Check the cable and that the printer is switched on, then try again.** Do that, then press **Try again**. #### A printer already saved[​](#nothing-saved "直接链接到 A printer already saved") 1. Check the name on its row in **Settings → Printing**. If it's another printer, press **Add printer** and pick your receipt printer's entry. 2. If it is yours, check the cable and that the printer is switched on, then press **Test Print** on its row. #### Still nothing[​](#windows-test-page "直接链接到 Still nothing") Print a test page from Windows itself, from your printer's entry in **Printers & scanners**. If Windows can't print to it either, the fault is between Windows and the printer: the cable, the port or the driver. If Windows prints it and the POS still doesn't, see [Still stuck?](#still-stuck). ### Find a USB printer fails in the web app[​](#web-app "直接链接到 Find a USB printer fails in the web app") In the web app, **Find a USB printer** often can't open a USB printer on Windows. Use the desktop app instead: [install the printer in Windows](#do-this), then [add it in the POS](#add-in-pos). ## How the app prints on Windows[​](#why-it-happens "直接链接到 How the app prints on Windows") The desktop app prints to the printer you installed in Windows, so pick that one. Whether your model reads receipt commands is on [Supported receipt printers](/zh-CN/hardware/receipt-printers/supported-printers.md). Why the printer has to be installed in Windows Windows puts its own driver, or the maker's, on a USB printer, and the desktop app prints through the printer's entry in Windows rather than to the cable. It sends each receipt as printer commands, and Windows passes them to the printer unchanged, so the driver doesn't reshape the receipt. Which Windows printers the search lists Every printer installed in Windows, except Windows' own entries such as **Microsoft Print to PDF** and **Fax**. An office printer installed in Windows is listed too, and looks like any other, so pick by name. A Bluetooth printer paired in Windows shows up the same way, as an installed printer. ## Still stuck?[​](#still-stuck "直接链接到 Still stuck?") Press **Copy setup report** on the **Nothing printed** panel, or in the printer's **More actions** menu in **Settings → Printing**. Paste it into your message: it names the Windows entry the app printed to. [Discord Community](https://wcpos.com/discord) ## Related Documentation[​](#related-documentation "直接链接到 Related Documentation") [Printer Setup WizardAdd a printer, print the test page and answer its questions](/zh-CN/hardware/receipt-printers/printer-setup-wizard.md) [Receipt PrintersWhat each app can connect to, and every printer guide](/zh-CN/hardware/receipt-printers.md) [Supported receipt printersWhich printers work, and how well](/zh-CN/hardware/receipt-printers/supported-printers.md)