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VPOS-VIRTUAL POS
Not Your Father’s
Not Your Father’s
POS
POS
Printer
Printer
Imaging,
graphics
capabilities
expand
BY JULIE RITZER ROSS,
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ONCE AMONG THE MOST BASIC
pieces of equipment sold by retail VARs, receipt
printers are becoming increasingly sophisticated. While there will always be a market
for models that do little more than generate
a simple record of POS transactions, the use
of units with a myriad of enhancements clearly taking hold.
In perhaps the most significant of recent developments, Epson America has launched the TMH6000II, the first supermarket POS printer to offer
a digital check imaging function. The TM-6000II
represents a new class of POS printer in that it combines slip, impact and two-color thermal printing
with integrated digital imaging technology—the latter integrates electronic check conversion (ECC) and
Epson’s
TM-H600011
Ithaca/
Transact has
launched an
“A List”
program for
ally cost $400 to $600 per register.
Handling and routing expenditures
associated with processing, storing
and routing paper checks decrease
by approximately 38 percent, with
average processing cost per check
decreasing from 34 cents to 21
cents. Access to complete checks,
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29
rather than MICR codes alone as
with most check-scanning terminals,
facilitates cash flow, increases interest income and gives retailers valuable customer information for
targeting programs. ECC means
merchants can identify fraudulent
transactions much faster than with
POSjet VARs
check imaging into retailers’ existing
POS systems. Whenever a check is
inserted into the printer, a component dubbed TransScan digitizes
it and transmits its image to the back
office for processing. Receipt
printing occurs at a speed of
17.7 lines per second for twocolor and 53 lines per second for
single color.
According to Bud Weist,
Epson’s director of sales and
marketing, System Device
group the TM-6000II affords
a number of unique advantages over other POS printing
options. Notably, the co m pany’s line of Connect-It
options renders the unit com-
patible with proprietary sys-
tems and best-of-breed
solutions alike, enabling end-
users to maximize IT investments they have already made.
Support for full IBM 4610 mode
emulation lets retailers upgrade
printer speed and performance without buying entirely new POS systems,
while suppor t f o r RS-232 and bidirectional parallel interfaces, RS485 and USB PlusPower allows
merchants to select the interface that
meets their current requirements,
then upgrade as needs change.
Further, the printer’s check imaging capability eliminates the need to
purchase specialized credit
authorization terminals, which usu-
DIGITAL RECEIPTS
The Association for Retail Technology
Standards (ARTS) announced at the
recent NRF Show in New York the
availability of the IXRetail digital
receipt XML schema. The digital receipt
is an electronic purchase verification
that can be issued by retailers, financial
institutions or any other industry that
provides consumers proof of purchase.
“We are extremely pleased that the
value of the IXRetail digital receipt has
been immediately recognized,” says
Richard Mader, executive director of
ARTS. “AfterBOT, a member of the
Digital Receipt Development Group,
has announced the first implementation. In the POS and retail management
areas, Sales Management Systems
(SMS) has made a digital receipt feature
available in its QuickSell Commerce
software.”
The benefits of the digital receipt are
maximized by the IXRetail schema.
The standard creates a single data
interface for all systems serving retailers, consumers, manufacturers and
third parties.
The AfterBOT ReceiptPLUS Webservice solution has been implemented
at Smart & Final Stores, the 223-store
warehouse grocery retailer based
in Commerce, California. AfterBOT’s
ReceiptPLUS solution, which is the first
digital receipt implementation based
on the IXRetail digital receipt ARTS
standard, provides retailers with the
ability to create, deliver and archive digital receipts using in-store POS transaction data.
“Superior customer service is the
cornerstone of our success,” says Bob
Graham, vice president of Store
Systems at Smart & Final. “Once fully
implemented, AfterBOT’s innovative
ReceiptPLUS solution will give our customer the ability to securely view their
receipt details and related purchase
information on our Web site, a unique
service we are proud to be the first to
provide.”
Digital receipts provide benefits to all
parties in a sales transaction, proponents claim. They provide a new
method of communicating with customers for marketing and targeted promotions, help reduce third-party credit
charge-backs and fraudulent returns,
and enable proximity payments
through wireless devices such as cell
phones and handheld PDAs.
In addition, the digital receipt provides manufacturers and third parties
with a standard method to obtain sales
information for making production
and promotion cycle adjustments,
streamlining warrantee and rebate
claim processing, and assists in the efficient resolution of credit card purchase
disputes between retailers and banks.
Interested parties can download the
new specification from the ARTS Web
site at www.nrf-arts.org.
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VPOS-VIRTUAL POS
traditional check conversion; average check processing time is reduced
from 12 days to four days.
In general, hardware vendors are
responding to louder cries for electronic receipt capture and storage
capabilities. “Merchants want a
more efficient way than paper to
maintain and retrieve receipts,”
states George Devitt, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of
Hypercom, which supplies credit
authorization terminals. Hypercom
has developed epicReceipts database
software for uploading receipt data
to a secure server. Information may
also be downloaded to receipt print-
Volume of
Volume of
Transactions
Transactions
2001
2001
15
10
ers for printing onto paper should
the need arise. Both Transact
Technologies, Ithaca and CitizenCBM America report work on adding
electronic journaling features to their
printer lines.
GRAPHICS CAPABILITIES
Demand for printers that can generate color receipts, either with or without graphic embellishments, is also
heating up. Gregg Gallagher, executive vice president, Citizen-CBM
America, attributes this trend to
retailers’ growing recognition of the
key role better-looking receipts can
play in communicating with con-
15
8.3
5
Debit
Debit
Card
Card
Credit
Credit
Card
Card
19
Checks
Checks
Star Micronics’
TSP600 thermal
printer
sumers. At press time, Gallagher’s
company was preparing to introduce
the CBM1000 Type II printer, which
will feature two-color thermal printing capability.
“Merchants see the use of color
printing and images on receipts and
combination receipt/coupons as an
effective way to not only build their
brand image, but to cultivate
repeat business,” concurs
Christophe Naasz, technical sales
manager, Star Micronics. Star
Micronics’ new TSP600 Series thermal printers, promoted as lowcost, high-speed units offering dual
color printing support, print 25 or
33 lines per second at a resolution
of 203 dpi they company says.
LogoStore software allows for internal graphics and coupon storage.
0
Number of transactions at POS (billions)
Note: Despite the rapid growth in both debit and credit card transactions, checks
are still the largest non-cash form of payment used at POS.
Source: Federal Reserve, 2001, U.S. Snapshot and Extrapolation Study
Type of Transaction
TWO-COLOR PRINTING
Two other recent introductions to the
vendor’s line—the TSP700 Series and
the TSP800 Series—permit two-color
printing at a rate of 60 and 50 lines
per second, respectively. The
TSP700s can store multiple logos or
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VPOS-VIRTUAL POS
coupons, enabling store logos or
coupons to be produced with every
receipt even if a serial printer is being
utilized. The TSP800s feature logo
storage and handle paper measuring
4.4” wide for additional flexibility.
Ithaca/Transact was out of the
gate early with its POSjet 1000 ther-
mal inkjet printers, which generate
two-color receipts in any combination of red, blue, green and black. Jim
Stetson, senior vice president, sales
and marketing, claims the products
afford VARs more cost-effective twocolor printing than dot-matrix and
traditional thermal printers. “For
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Ithaca
POSjet 1500
example,“ Stetson asserts, “our
research shows that over a five-year
period, expenditures for operating a
thermal inkjet printer are 10 percent
to 30 percent less than thermal. Inkjet
paper is half the price of thermals.
The price of consumables goes down,
too. Our inkjet unit can print about 7
million characters with one cartridge.
A retailer would need two to three
printer ribbons to perform the same
operation.”
Stetson adds that Ithaca/Transact
distrubutes its “TCO Calculator” to
help its reseller partners figure out
exactly how much money retailers
would save using thermal inkjet
receipt printing technology, based
on their individual printing requirements. The firm has also launched
an “A List” program for VARs that
carry the POSjet line. Under its auspices, channel players learn how to
qualify prospects for color receipt
printing, implement printing solutions that incorporate graphics
capabilities and to convey the cost
of ownership proposition to potential customers. “A List” VARs are
also eligible for additional marketing
assistance, special offers and leads
from Ithaca/Transact in selling its
POSjet products.
“Wireless applications
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appear on our radar
screen on an
almost daily basis.”
Gregg Gallagher,
Citizen-CBM
THE WIRELESS WAIT
Meanwhile, interest in wireless receipt
printing options continues on an
upswing. “Wireless and other mobility-based applications are appearing
on our radar screen on an almost
daily basis,” notes CBM’s Gallagher.
He says his firm’s future plans call for
addressing such a trend via a “variety
of approaches”; details will be
released sometime down the road.
Although all retail verticals are
becoming or will become receptive to
wireless receipt printing because of
its usefulness in line-busting remote
POS applications, the hospitality
segment merits particular attention
from VARs aiming to promote the
technology, contends Keith McNally,
senior vice president, business development at Ameranth Wireless.
Ameranth’s wireless printing software allows handheld computers
used by wait staff for order-taking
purposes to be configured to print
receipts at diners’ tables.
“The fact that wireless reduces
[diners’] wait for receipts and [therefore] enhances operational efficiencies is part of the reason it is gaining
favor among restaurateurs,” McNally
observes. “However, patrons—and, in
turn, operators—also like it because
of the security benefits [inherent in]
eliminating the need for servers to
walk away with peoples’ credit cards
in order to process the transaction
and print the receipt.”
RSR
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RSR SURFS
Ameranth Wireless www.ameranth.com
Citizen-CBM America www.cbma.com
Epson America www.pos.epson.com
Ithaca/Transact www.transact-tech.com
Hypercom www.hypercom.com
Star Micronics www.starmicronics.com
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