Every ATM transaction, every airline check-in, every concert ticket transaction is an opportunity for failure for a self-service operator.
Not because of a security breach or a communications meltdown. Simply choosing the wrong printer for the job can lead to an unsatisfactory user experience. If a transaction is completed except for printing the boarding pass, receipt, ticket or whatever piece of paper the end user desires, the entire transaction feels like a bust to that customer.
Kiosk operators and their system integrators choose printers for various reasons, including purchase and operating costs, costs of consumables and form factors. As with choosing any component, tradeoffs are made in selecting the right tool for the job.
Rufus Connell, vice president of information and communication technology for research firm Frost & Sullivan, said choosing a printer involves five key considerations:
- Usage volume determines the number of prints and, therefore, how much paper capacity the printer must deliver.
- Transaction time and user patience determine how long the customer can or will wait and, therefore, how quickly the printer must deliver.
- The required output determines quality, paper size and color.
- The cost model guides what an operator can spend on the initial machine purchase, consumables and maintenance.
- The desired machine form factor determines how much physical space is allotted for the printer.
In preparing an analysis, thermal printers typically come up strong compared to laser printers and, less common these days, impact printers. Specialty printers, such as dye sublimation machines for photo kiosks, usually are restricted to their primary markets. The key is having all the facts to be able to make well-informed decisions.
“Everyone wants a small kiosk that delivers cheap, full-color prints the instant the button is pushed and never wants to refill the consumables, nor have to fix or replace the printer,” Connell said. “That printer doesn't exist yet. The considerations have to be balanced to meet the goals of the organization.”
Kiosk operators want their transactions to be “slippery,” that is, to allow customers to complete their business with as little friction as possible. For a businessman rushing to make his flight, waiting eight seconds for a laser printer to warm up and spit out a boarding pass feels like an eternity.
That’s why NCR, which supplies self-check-in kiosks to 12 of the top 14 airlines, exclusively uses thermal printers for boarding pass printing. Thermal printers typically print immediately without warmup. “Most of the printers we use are thermal for that reason,” said NCR’s Pete Charpentier, product manager for self-service kiosks.
Speedy response with the receipt is a key part of the customer experience, especially in applications that have migrated from attended self-service. “Whether it’s an ATM or a self-checkout, we don’t want the customers to be waiting and wondering where the receipt is,” Charpentier said. “We want to keep the timing right so the user is able to get through the transaction as quickly as possible.”
Many kiosks are unattended, with no one on site responsible even for simple maintenance. Repair and service calls can cost $85 an hour or more, making reliability a real factor in return on investment calculations. Thermal printing paper is available in large rolls, up to 10 inches in diameter, which can translate into thousands of transactions. Thermal printers also have the ability to print only the length of paper required for the transaction, which ensures maximum economy in paper use.
Frank Scolaro, sales and marketing director for printer manufacturer Practical Automation, notes that thermal printers can operate for decades without breaking down. Other than paper, the only part that may need replacement is the print head, but it can last for hundreds of thousands of transactions, effectively the life of the kiosk in some cases.
“Thermal printers have a mechanical simplicity,” Scolaro said. “They’re bulletproof things from which people have come to expect high reliability.”
