Star TSP100 USB printer no longer shows up in our connections after 6 years

[oldedixie]

A little backstory. We are a food truck business that had been using the Square Stand with Square point of sale on an iPad Air 2 (yes...it was quite old but getting the job done). We recently received an email from Square that we would need to update our iPad as they were phasing out software updates for that iPad. We expected this was coming as the iPad was beginning to get a bit sluggish. 

We ended up going with an iPad Air M2 with the new Square Kiosk and using the Square point of sale on it as we had our previous Square Stand for the past 6 years. We opted for the Kiosk setup because the orientation of being able to have the screen essentially laying down at the window makes it far easier for our cashier to take orders than having to constantly swivel or look around the Square stand. We had two printers hooked up to the Square Stand via the hub. Both are Star TSP100 USB printers. One of them is located near our employee at the register and the other is located in the corner near our prep station. Once we updated to the Kiosk, everything was working great for about a week or week and a half. System was much zippier than it used to be thanks to the new iPad. 

Recently, we started having a lot of issues with our prep station Star TSP100 printer. It would either print out tickets extremely slowly, print out the same ticket endlessly until it was unplugged, or just completely stop working all together. Unplugging both the power and printer cords from it for a few minutes would usually fix it temporarily. Now, the printer will not even show up in the Square point of sale as a connected accessory. There is a constant red error message on the Square point of sale screen near the bottom saying that the Prep station printer is unable to be detected. Troubleshooting through the button provided in the Square point of sale software yields no results. We have tried everything we can think of. Unplugging it no longer works. We have also tried unplugging it from the hub as well. That does not work. We have deleted our printer profiles and made new ones. That has not worked. We even connected a brand new Star TSP100 USB printer that we have had as a backup in case one of them failed and that did not work. Nothing seems to work, and our fear is that Square has updated the software to where it will only recognize one USB printer connected to the hub or will no longer see two printers connected to the hub if they are both the exact same brand and model printer (both of them are Star TSP100 USB printers). 

We had purhcased the Square Register years ago and it ended up not working for us for the very same issue we are now experiencing. The Register would never recognize two USB printers. Now, the Kiosk is not recognizing the second USB printer we have. 

Has somerthing changed in the software? Does Kiosk not recognize two USB printers or two printers of the exact same brand and model?

[Donnie-M]

@oldedixie just to make sure I understand correctly, you have the usb printer connected to the usb hub for the kiosk stand?  And now you just can't see the usb printer anymore?

I would do a little due diligence:  I would try a new usb printer cable (shouldn't be it, but I have seen stranger) especially with intermittent slow errors.  Make sure both the ipad and the square app are up to the latest version.  Try connecting the usb printer directly to a computer and you can download a star app to check the printer and settings.  This might be useful if it is in fact the printer.

Last option, try another printer if you can get one to see what happens.  This might not be an option, but I try to rule out what the problem is.  Make sure you use the new usb hub with the new stand also.

[oldedixie]

Unfortunately, we have tried nearly every suggestion you have mentioned. There are two of this particular printer hooked up to our USB hub that is connected to the kiosk. Both are Star TSP100 USB printers. One of them is seen by the system and functions perfectly. The other one has stopped being recognized by the system and will not show up at all. 

As mentioned in our original post, we have tried a brand new Star TSP100 USB printer that we have had on standby in the event that one of our printers quit working. It did not work. All of the cables to the printer are brand new. The hub we are using is the brand new hub that came with the Square Kiosk. The Square app and the iPad are both running the most current software. We forgot to mention this in the original post, but updating the software was one of the first things we attempted when troubleshooting the issue. 

The only thing you mentioned that we have not tried is hooking this printer up to a computer. However, if the printer works with a  computer, then that will almost certainly solidify our belief that Square made an update to the point of sale software that no longer allows the system to recognize two USB printers or two printers of the exact same brand and model. Unfortunately, we do not have a different brand printer to test with the system or the funds to purchase a new printer of some other brand or connection type after upgrading the iPad and purchasing the new kiosk to go with it. 

[Donnie-M]

@oldedixie You might have to change the name of the usb printer. It could be something arcane like that causing it to not populate correctly.  The other option is to get one of the wifi dongles that you can plug in the usb and make it a network printer.

I was heartened that you had an extra printer hanging out, that is smart business.  IT doesn't make a lot of sense that one works, and one doesn't.  The computer option lets you fiddle with some settings.

The communication with these printers relies on some VERY OLD protocols.  It is ancient stuff from the DOS days at times.  So nothing surprises me.

Driver Conflicts:
When two identical printers are plugged into the same hub, the system might not assign unique drivers to each printer, causing confusion during print commands.

Port Assignment Issues:
The operating system might not consistently assign the correct virtual USB port to each printer on the hub, leading to unexpected printing behavior.

Detection Problems:
In some cases, the system may only recognize one of the two printers connected to the hub, causing the other to appear unavailable.

What to do:
Use Separate USB Ports: (Not Practical)
For the most reliable solution, connect each Star TSP100 printer directly to a separate USB port on your computer, bypassing the USB hub altogether.

Check Printer Settings: (This One)
Ensure each printer has a unique name or identifier within your operating system's printer settings to differentiate them.

Update Drivers:  (Sometimes there is a firmware update)
Update your printer drivers to the latest version to improve compatibility and potential device recognition.

Alternative Solutions: (Haven't tried these)
USB Hub with Individual Power Supply:
If you must use a USB hub, consider using one with its own power supply to ensure adequate power delivery to both printers.
Dedicated USB Print Server:  (Too much work imo)
For advanced setups, a dedicated USB print server can help manage multiple printers connected to a single USB port.