The short answer: Altru doesn’t talk to a receipt printer directly. Altru runs in a web browser, so the browser prints the receipt and the operating system hands it to the printer. In practice, almost any receipt printer with a solid Windows or macOS driver can print an Altru receipt. Whether it prints a good one, at the right width and with no wasted paper, depends on the driver, the paper size, and the browser settings. The printer brand matters less.
That changes how you should shop. Below is what to look for, which source to trust for model recommendations, and how to set up a station so receipts come out right on the first try.
Start with Blackbaud’s supported hardware list
Blackbaud publishes hardware guidance for Altru point-of-sale stations, covering receipt printers, ticket printers, cash drawers, and barcode scanners. Check that list before you buy anything. Models get discontinued and the list gets updated, so look at the current version instead of trusting what a colleague bought five years ago. If the model you’re considering isn’t listed, ask Blackbaud support before you place the order. Don’t find out at the register.
You’ll see many organizations, retail shops, and restaurants using 80mm thermal printers in the Epson TM-T88 family. It’s a sensible starting point for research. Still, confirm the exact model and connection type against Blackbaud’s current guidance rather than buying on reputation alone.
What to look for in the printer itself
- Thermal, 80mm paper. Thermal printers need no ink or ribbon, and 80mm (about 3 1/8″) rolls are the standard receipt width. Narrower 58mm printers are cheaper but tend to wrap or shrink a browser-printed receipt badly.
- A real OS driver for every computer you run. The printer has to show up as a normal printer in Windows or macOS. If your admissions desk runs Windows and your shop runs Macs, make sure drivers exist for both.
- Auto-cutter. Worth having at any station that sees a line.
- The right connection. USB is simplest for one printer tied to one computer. Ethernet makes sense when you want to move or share a printer, but it adds IP addressing and network troubleshooting. Bluetooth printers built for phones and tablets are usually a poor fit for a browser-based desktop workflow.
- A cash drawer port, if you use one. Many receipt printers have a port that pops a connected drawer when a receipt prints. Whether that happens on the right Altru transactions depends on the driver settings and how Altru sends the job. Test it with your exact printer and drawer before you rely on it.
Receipt printer vs. ticket printer
Don’t mix these up. A receipt printer prints transaction receipts on plain thermal paper. A ticket printer prints admission tickets on heavier ticket stock, often with barcodes laid out for scanning at the gate. Some sites use one for both by printing tickets as receipts. Others keep a dedicated ticket printer. Decide which you need first. If you plan to print barcoded tickets, test whether your scanners read them reliably off the stock you choose.
Setting up the station
Most “the printer doesn’t work with Altru” complaints turn out to be setup problems. On each workstation:
- Install the manufacturer’s driver, not a generic one the OS picked on its own. Print the printer’s self-test page so you know the hardware works before Altru is involved.
- Set the paper size in the driver to the roll you actually load, for example 80mm wide with a continuous or receipt-length setting. A letter-size default is the usual cause of receipts printed in a tiny strip or with a foot of blank paper after them.
- Clean up the browser print settings. Turn off headers and footers so the URL and date don’t print. Set margins to none or minimum and scale to fit or 100%, whichever looks right on your layout. Test once, then leave those settings alone.
- Decide whether staff should see the print dialog. Some browsers can be set up to print silently to the default printer. Chrome has a kiosk printing option, for example. This saves a click on every sale, but it also means the receipt printer must be that computer’s default printer. A shared office machine with a laser printer as its default is a bad candidate.
- Write down the settings. Keep a one-page note per station with the driver version, paper size, and browser settings. A browser update or a new staff login can reset them, and you’ll want to put them back quickly.
Test before you open
Run a short test in Altru with each transaction type that prints at that station: a daily admission sale, a membership sale, a donation, a shop sale, a refund, and a split payment if you take them. For each one, check:
- The receipt fits the paper width, with no cut-off text or tiny shrunken print.
- Your logo, if your receipt layout uses one, prints legibly in black and white.
- The cutter fires once at the end, not midway.
- The cash drawer opens on cash sales, if you use one, and stays shut when it should.
If a receipt layout looks wrong on every printer you try, the problem is probably the receipt template in Altru, not the hardware. That’s worth a separate look with whoever manages your Altru configuration.
Quick answers
Do I need special software to connect a receipt printer to Altru?
Generally, no. You need the manufacturer’s driver on the workstation and a browser set up to print to it. For special cases such as cash drawers or ticket stock, check Blackbaud’s hardware guidance or ask support.
Can I use one receipt printer for several computers?
A network (Ethernet) printer can be shared, but each computer still needs the driver and browser settings. One printer per busy register is easier to support.
Will a new printer model work if it isn’t on the list?
It may print fine through the browser. Features like drawer kick and cutting can still behave differently. Buy one, test it at a real station, and only then buy the rest.
