The short answer: Altru sites almost always print admission tickets on a direct thermal ticket printer, and the brand you’ll hear most often in the Altru community is BOCA Systems. That said, “works with Altru” depends less on the brand than on a handful of practical details: the model, how it connects, which driver is installed, what ticket stock you buy, and how your ticket layout is set up in Altru. Get those right and printing is boring, which is what you want at an admissions window.
Below is how to choose a printer, what to check before you buy, and where setups usually go wrong.
Start with Blackbaud’s current hardware guidance
Before you order anything, look up Blackbaud’s current supported hardware information for Altru (in the Altru help documentation or by asking Blackbaud support). Supported models and recommended drivers change over time, and a printer that worked for a peer five years ago may not be the model Blackbaud tests against today. If a specific model isn’t listed, that doesn’t mean it can’t work, but it does mean support may not be able to help you troubleshoot it.
Ask support two direct questions and write down the answers:
- Which ticket printer models and connection types (USB or network) are recommended for our version of Altru?
- Is there a specific driver, print setting, or browser requirement for ticket printing on our workstations?
What to look for in a ticket printer
Direct thermal, built for ticket stock
Dedicated ticket printers use heat-sensitive stock, so there’s no ink or ribbon to replace. They’re also made to handle the thicker card stock and fanfold or roll formats that tickets come on. A standard office laser printer or a narrow receipt printer can technically print something, but neither is a good daily solution for admissions.
Connection type
USB is the simplest: one printer, one workstation, plugged in directly. Ethernet lets a printer sit on the network and be shared or relocated, but it adds IP addresses, firewall rules, and your IT team to the troubleshooting chain. For a typical admissions desk with one register per printer, many sites keep it simple with USB. If you run a will-call window or a group sales office that prints from more than one computer, a network printer may make more sense.
Speed and duty cycle
Think about your busiest hour, not your average day. A school group arriving all at once, or an event with timed entry, can mean printing a large stack of tickets in a few minutes. Desktop models are fine for a small visitor center; a high-volume front gate may justify a faster, heavier-duty model. The printer’s spec sheet will list speed and recommended volume.
Cutter or tear-off
Some models have an automatic cutter, others rely on perforated stock that staff tear off. Cutters are faster for staff and look cleaner, but they’re one more moving part to maintain.
Ticket stock matters as much as the printer
Ticket stock needs to match three things: the printer’s supported size and thickness, the format (fanfold vs. roll), and the ticket layout you’ve configured in Altru. Mismatches here cause most “the printer is broken” calls.
- Size. Confirm the exact dimensions your printer supports and that your Altru ticket layout is designed for the same size.
- Black mark or gap. Printers find the start of each ticket using a printed black mark or a gap between tickets. The stock and the printer’s sensor settings need to agree, or tickets will print across the perforation.
- Custom printing. Many organizations order stock pre-printed with their logo or artwork on the front, then let the thermal printer add date, price, and barcode. Order a small test batch before a large run.
Thermal stock fades with heat and sunlight over time. That’s fine for same-day admission, but don’t store your backup cases next to a window or heater.
Setting it up on the workstation
- Install the manufacturer’s driver (or the one Blackbaud recommends) before plugging in the printer, and use the same driver version on every admissions computer.
- Set the paper size in the driver to match your stock. A default of letter size is the most common reason tickets print tiny or spill across several tickets.
- Calibrate the sensor using the printer’s own utility or front-panel procedure after loading new stock.
- Check browser print settings. Since Altru runs in a browser, margins, scaling, and headers/footers in the print dialog can shift or shrink the ticket. Turn off headers and footers and use actual size rather than “fit to page,” then save those settings.
- Assign the printer in Altru. Make sure the workstation or sales setup points to the ticket printer rather than the default office printer. If you’re unsure where your version handles this, check the Altru help topics on ticket printing or ask support.
- Print a test ticket for every layout you use: general admission, timed entry, events, and memberships if you print cards. Then scan each barcode with your scanning device to confirm it reads.
When printing goes wrong
- Prints shifted or cut off: almost always paper size, margins, or scaling. Recheck the driver and browser print settings.
- Prints across the perforation: sensor calibration or the wrong black-mark/gap setting.
- Prints to the wrong printer: the workstation’s default printer changed, often after a Windows update or a new user login.
- Faint print: dirty print head or old stock. Clean the head with the manufacturer’s recommended method.
- Barcode won’t scan: the layout may be scaling the barcode down. Print at actual size and test again.
Keep one spare printer configured and tested. When a printer fails mid-morning, swapping in a known-good unit is far faster than troubleshooting with a line at the window.
Do you need printed tickets at all?
It’s worth asking before buying more hardware. Many sites now send eTickets for online sales and scan them from phones, keeping thermal printers for walk-up sales, groups, and visitors who want a physical ticket. If that mix fits your audience, you may need fewer printers than you think, but plan the barcode format and scanning process together so printed and digital tickets work the same way at the door.
Quick answers
Is BOCA the only option?
No, but it’s the brand most commonly used with Altru. Whatever you pick, confirm it against Blackbaud’s current guidance and test it with your real stock before rolling it out.
Can I use a receipt printer for tickets?
It may print, but receipt paper is thin, narrow, and not designed for admission tickets. Use a ticket printer for tickets and keep receipt printers for receipts.
Do Mac workstations work?
Driver support for ticket printers varies by operating system. Check both the manufacturer’s drivers and Blackbaud’s guidance before deploying on anything other than the setup support recommends.
