Printers And Devices
Pair Bluetooth thermal printers on Android, run a Location print agent, and understand the 58mm receipt and KOT layouts.
Zesty prints two different things, and they usually go to two different printers:
- Receipts — the customer's bill, printed at the counter
- KOT (Kitchen Order Ticket) — what to cook, printed in the kitchen
You can run one printer for both if you have one, but most kitchens separate them so the pass is not waiting behind a bill.
Pairing a Bluetooth printer on Android
From the mobile app, More → Device settings:
- Turn on the printer and put it in pairing mode.
- Open Device settings → Printers → Add printer. Zesty scans for nearby Bluetooth printers.
- Pick yours from the list. Grant the Bluetooth permission if Android asks.
- Print a test receipt before you rely on it.
- Assign it a role — receipts, KOT, or both.
Paired printers are saved on that device, so the app reconnects on its own the next time it opens. A printer paired on the counter tablet is not automatically available on a server's phone; pair each device that needs to print.
If a printer stops responding, the usual order is: check it has paper and power, then forget and re-pair it in Device settings.
The Location print agent
A Location can run a print agent so printing is not tied to one person's phone being in the room. The agent takes print jobs for that Location and sends them to its printers, which is what you want for a kitchen printer that has to fire whether or not a particular device is awake.
Set this up per Location in Location Settings. A Location without an agent still prints from paired devices.
The 58mm receipt
Receipts are laid out for 58mm thermal paper, the common small-roll size. The layout fits:
- Your restaurant name and branch
- Order number, table or token, date and time
- Line items with quantity and price, including modifiers
- Tax breakdown, discounts, and the total
- Payment method and change given
- Your footer text, if you set one
Long item names wrap rather than clipping, so "Regular Coffee with extra milk" does not print as "Regular Coffee with..".
80mm paper also works; the layout adapts.
KOT printing
A KOT carries what the kitchen needs and nothing else: items, quantities, modifiers, and any note the server added. No prices.
If you use kitchen stations, tickets route to the station that cooks them, so the tandoor does not print the dessert.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Try |
|---|---|
| Printer not found when scanning | Printer is off, out of range, or already connected to another device |
| Pairs but nothing prints | Check the printer's role assignment in Device settings |
| Prints garbled characters | Wrong paper width setting, or a printer that does not match the expected command set |
| Kitchen prints but counter does not | The two roles are assigned to different printers; check both |
| Nothing prints on one device only | That device has no paired printer — pairing is per device |
Where to go next
- Restaurant setup — the rest of the setup checklist
- POS register — printing bills at the counter
- Orders, KDS, billing and refunds — where KOTs come from