Thermal printer datasheets lead with print speed and resolution. For unattended cloud printing, neither decides anything: every current model prints a ticket faster than the kitchen can read it.
The short answer: choose on connectivity first, paper width second, and treat everything else as preference. The real question is what happens on a Sunday when the ticket does not come out, and the answer depends almost entirely on how the printer reaches the internet.
Connectivity is the whole decision
| 4G with its own SIM | Ethernet | Wi-Fi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depends on the venue network | No | Yes | Yes |
| Survives a router reboot | Yes | Once the router returns | Once the router returns |
| Affected by a password change | No | No | Yes |
| Affected by kitchen congestion | No | No | Yes |
| Needs a cable run | No | Yes | No |
| Recurring cost | SIM plan | None | None |
| Who fixes it at 20:00 | Nobody, usually | The venue | The venue |
Take 4G when you do not control the premises. A franchise, a client site, a food court, a pop-up: anywhere the router belongs to someone else, a printer with its own SIM removes an entire category of support calls. This is the choice that makes multi-site deployments manageable, and the one agencies underestimate most.
Take Ethernet when the site is yours and a cable is possible. It is the most boring and most reliable option. A printer on a cable does not care how many phones are in the room.
Take Wi-Fi when neither of the above works, and accept the trade. Wi-Fi is fine in a quiet office and fragile in a kitchen at peak, where people, metal and a microwave on the same frequency all conspire against it. If tickets stop at exactly the same time every week, this is why.
Paper width: 80 mm unless you know otherwise
80 mm gives roughly 42 characters per line, which is what receipt and kitchen ticket layouts assume. 58 mm gives about 32, and every layout has to be reworked to fit.
Choose 58 mm only for genuinely small tickets: a queue number, a locker code, a payment stub. For an order with item names, modifiers and a total, 80 mm is the right default and the cheaper decision long term because your template stays standard.
The details that matter more than the spec sheet
Automatic cutter. Not optional for anything unattended. Without it, tickets stay attached and the next order prints onto the previous one until someone tears them apart.
Buzzer or audible alert. A ticket nobody notices is a ticket that did not print. In a kitchen with any noise, a printer that beeps on arrival is worth more than a faster print head.
Cash drawer kick. Only relevant if a drawer sits at the counter. It costs nothing to have and cannot be added later.
Paper loading. Drop-in loading is a genuine operational difference at 20:30 with wet hands. Front-exit models are easier to wall-mount near a pass.
Heat tolerance and placement. Above a fryer, everything fails early. Thermal paper also darkens near heat, so a roll stored above the oven ages before it is used.
What you can safely ignore
- Print speed above about 150 mm/s. The bottleneck is the person reading the ticket.
- Resolution beyond 203 dpi, unless you print detailed logos or dense barcodes. For text and QR codes, 203 dpi is enough.
- Bluetooth, for unattended printing. It is a pairing to maintain and a device to be in range of, neither of which suits a printer that should work with nobody present.
Keeping the printer you already own
If there is a working USB thermal printer on the counter, you do not necessarily need to replace it. A Raspberry Pi USB adapter makes an existing printer addressable over REST, which is the cheaper move when the hardware is fine and only the connectivity is missing. That path is covered in turning a USB printer into a cloud printer.
Replace the printer when it is failing anyway, when you need 4G that it cannot provide, or when the estate is large enough that a single supported model is worth more than saving individual units.
Before you order a fleet
Buy one, install it in the least convenient location you have, and run a full service through it. Check the ticket from where the cook stands, watch what happens when the roll runs out, and unplug the router to see how it behaves. A single printer tested properly tells you more than a specification comparison of six.
Print a test ticket on the free plan as soon as it arrives, before it is mounted, so you know the chain works before the position becomes a variable. Layout details are in the receipt layout reference.
FAQ
4G, Wi-Fi or Ethernet: which should I choose?
4G when you do not control the premises, because the printer stops depending on someone else's router. Ethernet when the site is yours and a cable is possible, as it is the most reliable. Wi-Fi only when neither is available.
Is 58 mm or 80 mm paper better?
80 mm unless you know otherwise. It gives about 42 characters per line, which is what receipt and kitchen layouts assume. 58 mm gives about 32 and forces every template to be reworked, so keep it for short tickets such as queue numbers.
Does print speed matter for order printing?
Above roughly 150 mm/s, no. The bottleneck is the person reading the ticket, not the print head. Spend the budget on connectivity, an automatic cutter and an audible alert instead.
Do I need to replace my existing USB printer?
Not if it works. A Raspberry Pi USB adapter makes it addressable over REST, which is cheaper than new hardware when only the connectivity is missing. Replace it when it is failing anyway or when you need 4G it cannot provide.
Why do Wi-Fi printers fail during service?
A kitchen at peak fills with people and metal, and microwaves share the 2.4 GHz band. The symptom is tickets stopping at the same time every week. Ethernet is steadier, and 4G removes the venue network from the chain altogether.