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How to select a kiosk printer: Part 4
November 23, 2011 by Charles Levinski — Product Manager, Hengstler GmbH
In part 1 of what my editor is no doubt thinking of as a never-ending story, I introduced a checklist of issues to cover when selecting a kiosk printer. In part 2, I reviewed printer technology and started discussing media, usually paper. In part 3, I looked at media-related specifications in more detail. Now, I'll move on to more feature-related issues.
Presenters: A presenter is a device that mounts on the front of a printer and basically prevents the user from touching the printed document before it is severed from the paper supply (whether a roll or fanfold). There are usually three reasons for using a presenter.
Preventing vandalism: if the user can't touch the paper until it's severed, they have no ability to pull all the paper off the paper roll or fanfold stack since it's no longer attached. The worst that they can do is destroy their own printout. (We call these "paper-pull vandals".)
Protecting private information: if the application warrants it, and a printout is not taken after a certain period of time, confidential information can be protected by retracting the printout back into the kiosk and dropping it into a reject bin. The ability to pull the receipt back into the kiosk is usually called "retract".
Keeping the floor safe: As odd as it may sound, one reason for a presenter, especially in an indoor environment with a lot of traffic, like a shopping mall, is to prevent untaken printouts from ending up on the floor and becoming a slipping hazard. A presenter with retract capability would be needed in this case.
The first question is whether you need a presenter at all. If retract is not needed, the same effect (preventing contact with the printout until after it is severed) can sometimes be achieved by designing the kiosk to allow the printout to drop into a chute. (Many boarding pass printers use a variation of this approach.) Also, applications where the printer is attended by an operator, (for example, a bus pass printer where the driver hands the printed transfer to the customer), do not usually need a presenter because vandalism increases the operator's workload. Additionally, if the printer is fast enough, the opportunity for vandalism is greatly decreased. Finally, there are also printer designs that use a unique internal tear bar that will cut the paper if an attempt is made to pull it.
Assuming you decide you need a presenter, unless the purpose is only to prevent vandalism, you will need one with retract. This feature is generally inexpensive today, and having the feature and not using it is preferable to not having it and needing it, so I recommend that you get one with retract regardless of your application.
In your kiosk design, make sure that you allow for two presenter-related issues.
- Almost all presenters today work by forming a paper loop. The end of the paper is captured in the presenter and held, and as the printer itself continues printing, a paper loop is formed either upwards or downwards, depending upon the design. You must allow space for this loop based on your longest printout. If the loop gets caught on something in the kiosk, it can easily cause a paper jam.
- If your presenter includes retract, you must allow space for the reject bin. I don’t believe I have ever seen a reject bin with a simple box shape; they always seem to be made to fill the unused space that is available.
Cutters: There are several different cutter technologies available. The most common is the guillotine, where two essentially flat blades slide against each other. The advantage of guillotine cutters is fast cut speed, while the disadvantage is usually limited cutting ability based on paper thickness. Guillotine cutters are also sometimes configured to make either full cuts (severing the paper completely) or partial cuts (leaving a small tab of paper holding the cut printout to the roll) on command, allowing one cutter to do both. Another cutter technology is the rotary cutter, where a rotating blade cuts against a flat one. This has the advantage of cutting thicker paper (some of our rotary cutters will cut over 350 g/m² paper) at the cost of cut speed, due to the gearing used to obtain higher cutting torque.
Select an appropriate guillotine cutter if you need to make partial cuts, or if your paper is within the cutter's spec. As a reference point since I'm most familiar with our products, our partial- and full-cut guillotine cutters are rated at 120 g/m², while the full-cut only guillotines are rated at 160 g/m². Select a rotary cutter if the paper being printed is heavier than these specs.
Next time, we'll discuss interfaces, printer resolution and print speed.
Title: How to Select a Kiosk Printer, Part 4
By Charles Levinski
In part 1 of what my editor is no doubt thinking of as a never-ending story, I introduced a checklist of issues to cover when selecting a kiosk printer. In part 2, I reviewed printer technology and started discussing media, usually paper. In part three, I looked at media-related specifications in more detail. Now, I’ll move on to more feature-related issues.
Presenters: A presenter is a device that mounts on the front of a printer and basically prevents the user from touching the printed document before it is severed from the paper supply (whether a roll or fanfold). There are usually three reasons for using a presenter.
Preventing vandalism: if the user can’t touch the paper until it’s severed, they have no ability to pull all the paper off the paper roll or fanfold stack since it’s no longer attached. The worst that they can do is destroy their own printout. (We call these “paper-pull vandals”.)
Protecting private information: if the application warrants it, and a printout is not taken after a certain period of time, confidential information can be protected by retracting the printout back into the kiosk and dropping it into a reject bin. The ability to pull the receipt back into the kiosk is usually called “retract”.
Keeping the floor safe: As odd as it may sound, one reason for a presenter, especially in an indoor environment with a lot of traffic, like a shopping mall, is to prevent untaken printouts from ending up on the floor and becoming a slipping hazard. A presenter with retract capability would be needed in this case.
The first question is whether you need a presenter at all. If retract is not needed, the same effect (preventing contact with the printout until after it is severed) can sometimes be achieved by designing the kiosk to allow the printout to drop into a chute. (Many boarding pass printers use a variation of this approach.) Also, applications where the printer is attended by an operator, (for example, a bus pass printer where the driver hands the printed transfer to the customer), do not usually need a presenter because vandalism increases the operator’s workload. Additionally, if the printer is fast enough, the opportunity for vandalism is greatly decreased. Finally, there are also printer designs that use a unique internal tear bar that will cut the paper if an attempt is made to pull it.
Assuming you decide you need a presenter, unless the purpose is only to prevent vandalism, you will need one with retract. This feature is generally inexpensive today, and having the feature and not using it is preferable to not having it and needing it, so I recommend that you get one with retract regardless of your application.
In your kiosk design, make sure that you allow for two presenter-related issues.
1. Almost all presenters today work by forming a paper loop. The end of the paper is captured in the presenter and held, and as the printer itself continues printing, a paper loop is formed either upwards or downwards, depending upon the design. You must allow space for this loop based on your longest printout. If the loop gets caught on something in the kiosk, it can easily cause a paper jam.
2. If your presenter includes retract, you must allow space for the reject bin. I don’t believe I have ever seen a reject bin with a simple box shape; they always seem to be made to fill the unused space that is available.
Cutters: There are several different cutter technologies available. The most common is the guillotine, where two essentially flat blades slide against each other. The advantage of guillotine cutters is fast cut speed, while the disadvantage is usually limited cutting ability based on paper thickness. Guillotine cutters are also sometimes configured to make either full cuts (severing the paper completely) or partial cuts (leaving a small tab of paper holding the cut printout to the roll) on command, allowing one cutter to do both. Another cutter technology is the rotary cutter, where a rotating blade cuts against a flat one. This has the advantage of cutting thicker paper (some of our rotary cutters will cut over 350 g/m² paper) at the cost of cut speed, due to the gearing used to obtain higher cutting torque.
Select an appropriate guillotine cutter if you need to make partial cuts, or if your paper is within the cutter’s spec. As a reference point since I’m most familiar with our products, our partial- and full-cut guillotine cutters are rated at 120 g/m², while the full-cut only guillotines are rated at 160 g/m². Select a rotary cutter if the paper being printed is heavier than these specs.
Next time, we’ll discuss interfaces, printer resolution and print speed.
About Charles Levinski
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