Printers
The Printers page and print settings
Choose the active printer, the paper size, copies, the per-guest limit, and print a detailed test page.
The Printers page
The Printers page lists the system's printers and shows, for each one:
- its name, and for a known model its brand, model and technology;
- its status: Ready, Printing, Job cancelled, Error;
- Virtual printer for “Microsoft Print to PDF” and similar, which don't produce a physical print.
With no printer: “Plug the printer in over USB”. If there are printers but none is selected: “Choose one below”.
The bar's buttons:
- Refresh: reloads the list of printers (it's also refreshed automatically every few seconds);
- System settings: opens your system's printer settings (queue, driver);
- Help: Install the drivers, Detection, Troubleshooting and Compatible printers.
How BoothX recognizes models: How BoothX recognizes your printer.
The active printer
Click Use on a printer to make it the active printer. BoothX always prints to it, regardless of the system's default printer. The Dashboard shows it in the Printer card.
Print settings
The Printing section:
| Setting | Values | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Paper size | the printer's sizes | Must match the installed ribbon. |
| Copies per photo | 1 to 4 | Each layout is printed that many times. |
| Limit per guest | 1, 2, 3, 5 or Unlimited | Caps the prints for a session. |
| Automatic printing | on / off | Prints each layout as soon as it's ready. |
| Confirm before printing | on / off | The guest confirms before printing. |
| Borderless | on / off | Edge-to-edge printing. |
| Cut into 2 × 6" strips | on / off | Only on printers that cut. |
The paper size chosen here is also the one the editor uses to check your templates: it only offers sizes the printer can print.
The test page
The Test page button opens a window detailing what the page lets you check:
- Cropping: rulers on all four edges show what the printer trims;
- Colors: pure colors, gradients and skin tones;
- Sharpness: fine lines, test chart, aliasing and small text;
- Grayscale: contrast, shadows and highlights;
- Dimensions: millimeter rulers and a 50 mm square to measure.
Click Print. BoothX confirms “Test page sent to the printer.”. With a virtual printer, the page is saved to the Desktop.
Reading the test page
- The edge rulers are cut off: the printer trims; keep text and logos farther from the edges in the editor, or turn off Borderless.
- The square doesn't measure 50 mm: the selected paper size doesn't match the actual paper.
- Skin tones are too red or too green: check the ribbon (a ribbon from another brand can skew colors) and the driver's color profile.
- Fine lines are smudged: clean the print head as described in the manufacturer's manual.
Printing from the editor
In the editor, Print a test page of this template prints the event's template with sample photos. It's the best way to check a layout before the event.
Monitoring the printer remotely
If the booth is linked to an account, the web panel shows the printer's status and the Printer error and Printer offline alerts. See Monitor your booths.