Upgrading a wired Ethernet printer to a wireless setup
Upgrading a wired Ethernet printer to a wireless setup
This setup is quite a challenge. Our restaurant combines three separate buildings, which has led to mixed repairs and a really messy network. The wiring is questionable—water leaks, possible rodent damage, and dirty power all contribute to the chaos. The POS system is already struggling due to its initial setup, making transactions difficult. Recently, the connection to our kitchen printer broke, which is a big issue since we rely on it for orders. In the near future, upgrading the POS software and rebuilding it from scratch seems like the best path. However, being in a rural area makes sending someone out costly and time-consuming, with hardware expenses around $20k. We can't just rewire the damaged cable because of the building layout, and tearing down a wall would be expensive and disrupt seating. Powerline adapters won’t work since the server and printer are on separate circuits. We have a POS terminal near the kitchen, but it only supports USB, not wireless. That leaves us with converting the printer to use WiFi—though the Epson TM-U220B only has an Ethernet port, not USB. Would there be a wireless print server or bridge we could use? Or should we try connecting it via USB, which might complicate things further?
Haha it's fine dining and very well known - it's also perfectly hygienic (perfect health inspection scores). We're also fully booked until May so no room for you anyway! But because it's a collection of buildings that have been poorly joined together to make, there is alot of space between the walls that are accessible somehow. Rodents do not get into the restaurant itself, but have access to the crawl space (I assume, they might not, but there's a lot of possums in the surrounding woods that get on the roof sometimes). Thanks for the device, the distance is actual several hundred feet. It doesn't seem to be available in my country, but I will look for something similar.
Great to hear! Hope your restaurant is thriving! If it's that distance away, make sure your Wi-Fi signal reaches the area properly. Running an outdoor Cat6 cable might be a possibility, though costs can vary by location.