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Chartwells deploys Epson printers to support food ordering kiosks at Utah educational institute

October 25, 2016

Chartwells, a school foodservice management contractor, has successfully installed Epson receipt printers to support kiosk ordering at Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, an entrepreneurial studies program that houses 400 students in a new housing/teaching/collaboration facility on the University of Utah campus.

Epson America, Inc. a provider of value-added point of sale (POS) solutions, and Cirra Systems, developer of the Tavlo restaurant management system (RMS), announced the deployment.  

The installation includes Epson’s OmniLink TM-T88V-DT intelligent printer and the TM-U220 receipt printer, both stationed in the kitchen, as well as three Epson TM-m30 receipt printers--one for each of the three kiosks.

The OmniLink TM-T88V-DT acts as the device hub, and with its embedded PC with VGA output, drives kiosk applications to communicate directly with the Epson slave/receipt printers. OmniLink’s ePOS Print and server direct print technology provides seamless communication between the receipt printers and mobile devices anywhere in the Lassonde studios.

"We wanted an ordering system that made it easier and faster for the students to order," said Dallas Balzly, Chartwells' director of dining. "We also feel that this system will speed up our service and increase accuracy. And since we already had great success in using Tavlo and Epson printers in another location at the University of Utah's campus, this was an easy choice."

The Lassonde Studios building features a 24/7 café where the Tavlo POS runs three self-order kiosks. Food orders are sent to the Epson receipt printers in the kitchen for preparation. The students pick up their order when their name is called. Cirra Systems will also provide an app that will let students tie in to this system from their rooms.

"Sending the orders directly from the kiosks to the Epson Omnilink printer significantly cuts down on errors," said Jim Ngo, president of Cirra Systems. "Tavlo's reliability, accuracy and ease of use allowed the Lassonde café to eliminate order takers altogether. Epson delivers the perfect receipt printers to make the food ordering process go smoothly."

"With Tavlo’s RMS, Cirra Systems makes students’ food ordering experience a lot easier," said Tom Kettell, director of commercial channel sales at Epson. "Tavlo delivers managed services through a simple, browser-based interface, so the café staff can deliver the best and smoothest service possible."