Badge printers
Supported badge and label printers (AirPrint, Brother QL, Zebra and ESC/POS receipt printers), label sizes, setup and troubleshooting.
Agoo is in early access. This page describes the feature as it ships to early-access organisations; screens are illustrative.
A badge printer next to the kiosk prints a visitor badge the moment someone is checked in. Badge printing is included on Growth, Pro and Enterprise, and ships in P8. You design the badge itself in Console → Settings → Branding → Badge; see Badges.
Supported printers
| Printer type | Works with | Connects by | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| AirPrint label printers | iPad, iPhone | Wi-Fi | Simple setup on iPad kiosks |
| Brother QL series | iPad, iPhone, Android | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth; USB on Android | Photo badges on die-cut labels; the most common choice |
| Zebra (Link-OS) | iPad, iPhone, Android | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Busy entrances and long print runs |
| ESC/POS receipt printers | Android; iPad over Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth; USB on Android | Low-cost paper slips on 58 mm or 80 mm rolls, widely sold in Ghana |
All of these are thermal printers: they need no ink or toner, only labels or paper rolls.
Wi-Fi printers keep printing offline
A Wi-Fi printer talks to the kiosk over your local network, not the internet. When the internet drops but the router stays on, badges still print. Put the router and printer on a UPS and badges keep printing through a power cut too.
Label sizes
The badge designer has layouts for these sizes. Choose the one that matches the labels in your printer.
| Printer | Label | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Brother QL | 62 × 100 mm die-cut | Standard photo badge (recommended) |
| Brother QL | 62 mm continuous roll, cut to length | Photo badge, or a longer contractor badge |
| Brother QL | 29 × 90 mm die-cut | Name-only badge, no photo |
| Zebra | 102 × 51 mm (4 × 2 in) die-cut | Standard photo badge |
| AirPrint | 62 × 100 mm, or the printer's nearest size | Standard photo badge |
| ESC/POS receipt | 58 mm or 80 mm roll | Paper visitor slip with name, host and QR code |
Badges printed on direct-thermal labels fade in strong sun or heat over weeks. That's fine for a one-day badge; for long-term contractor badges, reprint them when they fade.
Set up a printer
Connect the printer to your network
Follow the printer's own instructions to join it to the same Wi-Fi network as the kiosk. Give it a fixed IP address in your router if you can, so it doesn't change after a power cut. For Bluetooth or USB, skip this step.
Add it in the Console
Go to Console → Devices → Printers and select Add printer. Choose the printer type, the site and the label size, and name it after where it is: "Lobby printer".
Assign it to kiosks
Open each kiosk in Console → Devices → (device) and choose its Printer. Several kiosks at the same desk can share one Wi-Fi printer. For a Bluetooth printer, pair it from the kiosk's device menu (you'll need the device PIN).
Print a test badge
Select Print test badge. Check the photo, the text and that the QR code scans from a phone.
When reception checks someone in or reprints a badge from the Console, they choose one of these printers.
Troubleshooting
Check that the printer is on, has labels, and shows as Online in Console → Devices → Printers. For Wi-Fi printers, check the kiosk and printer are on the same network and that the printer's IP address hasn't changed. For Bluetooth, re-pair it from the kiosk's device menu.
Direct-thermal labels only print on one side. Check the roll is loaded the right way round, and that it's a thermal label roll, not plain paper.
The label size in Console → Devices → Printers must match the labels in the printer. Brother and Zebra printers may also need their own label calibration after you change rolls; see the printer's manual.
Make the QR code larger in the badge designer, or increase the print darkness in the printer's settings. Very small labels (29 mm) can be too narrow for a reliable QR code with a photo; use a name-only layout on them.
Our badge printer kit
The Badge printer kit (GH₵4,990, excluding VAT) is a network label printer with two rolls of badges, set up for your kiosk. The Kiosk Pro kit includes one. Both can be ordered now, on a written quote: see Order a kit.