Your receipt printer stopped: every cause, in order

We fix one specific failure: the browser cutting the link to your printer. It is not always that one. Here are the other causes, ranked from most to least common, with the check that settles each. It is free, and if you find your problem here, you will not need us.

1. The Windows test page — do this first

In the Windows printer settings, print the test page. This is the check that splits the world in two:

• The page comes out → your printer, cable and driver work. The failure is software, between your POS and the printer. Go to point 3, then the tester.
• Nothing comes out → the problem is hardware or system. Continue with points 2, 4 and 5.

2. Paper and lid

The most common cause, and the most annoying. After a roll change, a lid that did not "click" shut is enough to stop everything, sometimes with no clear indicator. Reopen it, check the roll unwinds the right way round (thermal paper only prints on one side: scratch it with a fingernail, the side that darkens is the right one), close it firmly. Also check there is paper left — the coloured end-of-roll stripe fools plenty of people.

3. The printing utility is not running

POS software running in a browser prints through a small program installed on the station by your vendor. If it is not running, nothing comes out — and nothing says so. Look near the clock, in the hidden icons area; restart it, or reboot the PC. It sometimes stops starting automatically after a Windows update.

4. The printer is paused or offline

Still in printer settings: the printer may be marked paused, offline, or have a queue stuck behind an old failed receipt. Clear the queue, untick "pause printing", and check the right printer is set as default — a PDF printer added by an update sometimes takes over.

5. Cable, USB port, power supply

Change USB port, plugging directly into the computer rather than a hub, a monitor or an extension lead. Ports in deep sleep do not always wake the printer. Also check the power supply: a thermal printer that lights up but does not print may lack power.

6. The driver after a Windows update

A major Windows update can replace or disable a printer driver. If the test page fails and the hardware is fine, reinstall the driver supplied by the printer manufacturer (Epson, Star and others), not the one offered automatically.

7. The browser blocking — our speciality

If everything above is in order, the Windows test page prints fine, the utility is running, and the failure appeared on its own: it is most likely the browser. Since Chrome 142 (28 October 2025), a web page may no longer reach a program installed on your station without permission — and it happens without a single error message. Edge followed in December 2025, Firefox in July 2026.

Check in 10 seconds → The version-by-version table