Author: Brianna Moriarty

Star Micronics and CardFlight Team Up to Offer A Simple, Bring Your Own Tablet Countertop Point of Sale Solution

SwipeSimple Register, the new simple countertop POS solution from CardFlight featuring the Star Micronics mPOP, will be demoed for the first time at ETA TRANSACT in Las Vegas

SOMERSET, NJ — April 13 2018 — Star Micronics, the global industry leader in POS printing solutions, announces it has teamed up with C ardFlight, the leader in payment technology and mobile POS solutions, to deliver a bundled cash register and payment terminal solution for the modern merchant’s needs, combining SwipeSimple hardware and software with Star Micronics’ mPOP and the portable receipt printer SM-L200.

SwipeSimple Register works on virtually any iOS or Android tablet, and lets merchant acquirers provide merchants with a modern and intuitive hardware and software setup for their payment needs. The SwipeSimple solution supports payments with EMV Quick Chip and NFC contactless for all types of mobile wallets, and cash. By partnering with Star Micronics, CardFlight can now offer merchants the convenience of issuing paper receipts for both countertop and mobile needs.

“We are excited to partner with Star Micronics,” said Derek Webster, Founder and CEO of CardFlight. “As our company continues to build payment acceptance solutions for a broad range of small businesses, the partnership helps us expand the SwipeSimple product suite to serve even more merchants.”

SwipeSimple Register for countertop merchants features Star Micronics mPOP™ that combines cash drawer and receipt printer in a sleek and compact design, making it easy to fit into even the smallest retail spaces. Bluetooth connectivity and smart cable management keep the counter clutter free. Mobile merchants also have the option to use SwipeSimple Register on a smartphone or tablet and print receipts on Star Micronics’ portable receipt printer SM-L200. The SM-L200 is the first portable printer with the ability to connect to any Apple iOS BLE-compatible device without having to pair with it.

“Our mPOP and mobile printing solution paired with SwipeSimple are both easy to set up and use, which is perfect for the modern small merchant,” said Jon Levin, Star Micronics’ product integration manager. “We look forward to working with CardFlight to expand into new markets.”

Star Micronics will be exhibiting at booth #838 and SwipeSimple Register paired with Star Micronics’s mPOP will be demonstrated at CardFlight’s booth #618 at ETA TRANSACT, April 17-19 in Las Vegas.

April 13, 2018
Star Micronics Teams up with Slatwall Commerce to Provide eCommerce Platform

Somerset, NJ — March, 14, 2018 — Star Micronics, a global industry leader in point-of-sale printer solutions, has teamed up with Slatwall Commerce, an enterprise eCommerce software. Star Micronics’ mPOP™ now integrates with Slatwall POS, a web based system that is designed to allow organizations to manage orders, accounts, inventory, fulfillment, reporting and much more in a PCI compliant environment.

The Star mPOP is a hybrid Mobile Point of Purchase tablet POS system that brings together a cash drawer and printer. Sumit Verma, Vice President of Slatwall Commerce, says “our customers love the flexibility and customization that our software provides and the compact all-in-one hardware that Star’s mPOP provides.”

“We are thrilled that our partnership with Slatwall will allow us to provide our customers with increased eCommerce functionality,” said Christophe Naasz, Director of Business Development at Star Micronics.

March 14, 2018
What to Expect from Star Micronics at VARTECH 2017

VARTECH 2017 is almost upon us and Star Micronics is gearing up for another great show lineup. VARTECH is unique as it provides value-added resellers the opportunity to rub elbows and build relationships with hardware manufacturers and software solution providers. Star Micronics is looking forward to connecting with our current and potential reseller partners and demonstrating the kind of value Star printers and customer engagement solutions can provide.

What resellers can expect:

Star Cloud Services

You can expect demonstrations of our Star Micronics Cloud Services applications such as AllReceipts®, Micro Receipts, and Receipt Flip. All of our Star Cloud Services applications are tailored to drive customer engagement and boost customer loyalty. They are also designed to provide our reseller partners with the opportunity to help merchant clients gather big data, run loyalty campaigns, and provide better customer experiences.

Faster, Easier, Better – TSP143IIIU

Your customers can use the new TSP143IIIU receipt printer to connect simply and directly to an iOS device while simultaneously charging the iOS device as well!

SM-L300 + Cradle

With the SM-L300 + Cradle, empower your client base to easily switch from desktop to mobile mode. The new cradle is designed to hold the SM-L300 with or without a belt clip. It doesn’t hurt that this little printer + cradle looks great on the go or on the counter with its small footprint and modern design.

Portable Printers

Get up close and personal with a wide variety of our portable printers at VARTECH 2017, including the SM-S230i, SM-T300i, SM-T400i, and SM-L200.

mPOP™ + Peripherals

With our support for the new peripheral options for the all-in-one mPOP™, Mobile Point of Purchase, you can help your customers transform their mPOP into a complete point of sale hub with optional 1D or 2D barcode reader, scale options, a customer-facing line display, and a port for an external cash drawer.

CloudPRNT

With CloudPRNT, restaurants’ online orders will be sent directly from your online ordering service to the kitchen. This cuts out any need for additional hardware to send online orders to the printer. What’s more, this product allows payment providers to deploy a very simple payment solution with printer receipts at any mobile point of sale location.

SP742: The Ideal Kitchen Receipt Printer

All of your restaurant customers need this printer. The SP742 is specially designed for use in hot and humid environments. Because of this, it is the ideal printer for kitchen order printing. On top of its rugged design, its speed, reliability, and embedded power supply, make this receipt printer a must-have.

In addition to these extraordinary solutions, Star will also be featuring these solutions at VARTECH 2017:
• BSC10
• Label/Sticky Printers (TSP743II, TSP847II, SM-L300, TSP654IISK)
• SK1-21, SK1-31, SK1-41, TUP900, TUP500

We’re excited to see all the great education sessions and events on the VARTECH 2017 agenda, scheduled for Sept. 18 and 19 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, Florida. You can contact us to reserve a spot on our calendar for a meeting or one-on-one demo of our products.

We look forward to seeing you at VARTECH!

September 14, 2017
Star Spotlight with Green Bits

What does Green Bits do?

Green Bits is an inventory and point of sale system for recreational cannabis retail. Unlike a standard point of sale system, Green Bits is directly integrated into their customer’s state seed-to-sale tracking system. Green Bits is designed from the ground up to integrate seamlessly into any store’s workflow and is built for speed, simplicity, and security.

How is Green Bits working with Star Micronics?

Green Bits has added support for Star Micronics TSP650II BTi receipt printer and Value Series CD3 cash drawers. With Green Bits being an iPad-based software, the Bluetooth receipt printer allows customer to print receipts without needed a physical, wired connection. Green Bits customers find the Bluetooth connection between the iPad and receipt printer to be very strong and easy to troubleshoot should any issues arise.

What key benefits do Green Bits and Star Micronics bring to the cannabis retail market?

Green Bits currently runs over 50% of cannabis retail stores in Washington and also supports Colorado and Oregon, all of which use Star Micronics’ TSP650II BTi printer with a CD3 cash drawer. As recreational cannabis legalization continues to grow, Green Bits and Star Micronics will continue to dominate that market. The bundled solution allows retailers to keep track of their sales and analytics by budtender in one, easy-to-use platform. The wireless connection between the device and printer also helps to reduce clutter, making it easier for retailers to increase their impulse sales at the POS.

August 18, 2017
What to Expect from Star Micronics at RetailNOW 2017

It’s that time of year for retail and point of sale industry professionals to gather at RSPA RetailNOW 2017! It’s the only show that focuses strictly on technology providers (resellers, software vendors, payment professionals, manufacturers and distributors). This year, Star Micronics (booth #707) is looking forward to realigning our strategy and efforts in producing top-quality POS printer peripherals, reuniting with our partners to provide solutions for new and emerging markets, and reengaging with new technology and opportunities.

Here’s a sneak peak of what you can expect to see at the Star booth at RetailNOW 2017:

mPOP™ Your Way!

Star Micronics has officially released support for new peripheral options for our all-in-one mPOP™, Mobile Point of Purchase. Transform your mPOP™ into a complete point of sale hub with optional 1D or 2D bar code reader, scale options, a customer-facing line display, and external cash drawer.

Faster, Easier, Better – TSP100IIIU

The TSP100IIIU is a game changing USB POS receipt printer! Its the first of its kind to be able to connect directly to an Apple iPad® or iPhone® using an Apple Lighting cable for reliable communication between the printer and device, and simultaneous device charging.

SM-L300 Portable Printer for Receipt, Label, and MAXStick®

The SM-L300 is Star’s latest addition to their line of Bluetooth low energy (BLE) portable printers. This 3-inch, lightweight portable printer features an adjustable multi-paper width and an optional charging cradle. The SM-L300 supports thermal receipt paper and linel, linerless, and MAXStick® labels, making it the perfect portable printer for on-the-road or mobile receipt or label printing.

Come see our POS printer peripherals with the following software solutions:

CAP supplies specialty retailers with custom tools and software, as well as any hardware they may need. CAP’s retail software solutions are suited to a variety of businesses in a wide range of verticals such as specialty boutiques, small grocery, convenience stores, apparel, and more. CAP Software solution will be shown on Star’s mPOP.

PopScrap is a global scrap metal compliance specialist and U.S. based recycling software prodiver to the international scrap, waste, and recycling industry. Weigh & Pay’s software solution will be shown on Star’s mPOP with new scale option.

TouchBistro offers a POS specifically for restaurants that is easy to use and learn, helps increase staff performance, drives greater operation efficiency, and improves customer experience. TouchBistro will be shown on Star’s TSP100IIIBi printer.

Green Bits is designed specifically for the cannabis retail market and is designed from the ground – up to integrate seamlessly with your store’s workflow. The Green Bits solution will be shown on a Star TSP100IIIU printer.

Total Merchant Services offers payment processing and more to help business grow. Groovv POS includes everything merchants need to manage, grow and optimize their business, all in a compact point of sale system that’s easy to set up and free to use. The Groovv POS solution with be shown on Star’s mPOP with a Samsung tablet.

Appetize Point of Sale technology brings value to hundreds of enterprise businesses in sports and entertainment, education, convention centers, dining, theme parks, and more. The Appetize solution with be shown with a Star TSP700II printer with Elo’s I-Series and Wallaby flip-stand.

eMobilePOS is a next-generation POS solution for retail and restaurants that is EMV ready for tablets and smartphones. eMobilePOS will be shown with a Star Micronics SM-T300i portable printer.

Vend offers point of sale solutions for retail that works on Mac, iPad, and PC. It includes everything you need to run your business from POS, to eCommerce, to hardware, and more. Vend will be shown with a Star TSP100III printer and Star Cloud Services digital receipt and customer engagement tools.

Visit us at booth #707!

July 27, 2017
Sunglass Menagerie Finds Their Shine with Vend and Star Micronics’ mPOP™

Sunglass Menagerie has proudly served the New Jersey beach community for the past 38 years offering a variety of sunglass options for every type of beach bum. Sunglass Menagerie was originated in the late 70s before big brand sunglasses began to take off. Being one of the first sunglass stores in the country, Sunglass Menagerie’s goal is to have a pair of sunglasses for every face that enters the store. Over the past 30 years, Sunglass Menagerie has expanded to open 6 stores along the Jersey shore, and plans to open 5 more stores this upcoming season. With Sunglass Menagerie’s success and recent expansion, they sought a point of sale system that would work seamlessly across all locations. Star Micronics’ mPOP™ with Vend POS for retail was the perfect solution.

Sunglass Menagerie was experiencing huge success over the past few years, and needed a point of sale system to keep up with the high volume of transactions during their busy season. Prior to the install of the mPOP with Vend, Sunglass Menagerie used an analog cash register that they referred to as ‘a cigar box with a calculator’. When they decided to upgrade their technology, customers immediately noticed. Being based in beach town locations, Sunglass Menagerie typically employs high school or college students that are looking to make some extra cash over summer break. Their old cash register was very difficult for employees to set up and operate. “Employees could never be sure if the machine would even start up or work properly for the day,” said Colton Karch, Store Leader of Sunglass Menagerie.

The ‘out of the box’ solution offered by Star and Bend was simple to set up, only taking about 30 minutes. “A temp employee was able to get the first mPOP set up and running within an hour,” recalls Karch. Sunglass Menagerie never experienced a single technology issue with the hardware, and the Vend software offered a user-friendly solution for employees. The Vend POS solution allowed employees to run real-time reports, see their daily sales numbers, and complete seamless customer transactions, all to improve the overall customer experience.

The Vend and Star Micronics mPOS system brought many benefits to Sunglass Menagerie. One of the largest was inventory control. For the first time, Sunglass Menagerie has the ability to gain instant access to inventory reports to ensure that they never run out of popular items. Management can now check-in remotely and know exactly what they have available in each store, resulting in less lost customers.

The mPOP was also able to provide a smoother workflow for employees and management. Employees no longer have to worry about the system shutting down, and management is no longer receiving phone calls on how to change the receipt paper or that the machine ran out of ink.

“It’s comforting to know that we are no longer losing sales due to the system being down. Employees understand and enjoy using the new system. Knowing exactly what we have in stock and being able to see their sales numbers makes the employees more excited to set new goals and sell more sunglasses.”

– Colton Karch, Store Leader, Sunglass Menagerie

Download the full success story: Sunglass Menagerie Case Study

July 25, 2017
How a Thermal Printer with a USB Tether Connection Benefits Restaurants

Restaurant owners that want to turn tables faster and increase throughput often look to upgrade their technology. Mobile solutions can help boost profits and ensure a higher level of customer satisfaction – but even the newest, most feature-rich solutions only print as quickly as their device to receipt printer connection allows.

It doesn’t matter if you’re dealing with top of the line POS hardware or more affordable packages, even the best technology won’t perform as expected without connectivity you can count on.

Star Micronics has developed a new printer with a USB tether option that eliminates connectivity problems between the device and the receipt printer, so data is transferred to receipt printers quickly when your restaurant staff is on the go.

What causes connectivity problems?

Device to printer connectivity problems can cause dropped tickets, order mistakes, and errors in food preparation. They also can cause a delay in the time it takes to transmit data.

What is a USB tether?

The main connectivity options restaurant owners usually consider for their device to printer connections are Wi-Fi, Ethernet and Bluetooth. Unfortunately, none are a perfect fit – Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections can be unpredictable in a hospitality environment, while Ethernet connections may be awkward and difficult to set up.

AUSB tether is the ideal solution for a restaurant or hospitality venue that needs “always on” connectivity between devices. USB tethers are established when an Internet-enabled device, like an iPad or Android tablet, is connected to another wireless device using a wireless connection or a physical cable via a USB connection. USB tether, especially when wired to another device, is extremely reliable.

How can I employ a USB tether in my restaurant?

If your restaurant needs to print receipts from mobile, web-based POS applications but struggles with connectivity issues, a printer that is connected via USB tether is the perfect solution. Star Micronics’ new TSP143IIIU offers a simple and extremely reliable tether via USB connectivity. If you’re using an Apple device, the USB tether will simultaneously charge the device that is it connected to.

The TSP143IIIU allows iOS, Windows or Android devices to tether directly to the receipt printer. The simple connection, lightning fast printing speed and compact design provides the reliability required for fast-paced service, high volume transactions and workplaces where wireless networking is difficult.

This cost-effective printer option includes everything you need to upgrade your printing capabilities. The printer comes with an internal power supply, cables, mounting kits, and paper roll. Its simple “plug and play” connectivity and new USB serial number feature, allows a PC to detect the TSP143IIIU on its Windows platform using any USB port.

Your customers expect to see up-to-the minute POS solutions that empower them to order when they want, how they want and pay the check promptly when they are finished. However, mobile POS is only as reliable as the internet connection that keeps it up and running. Restaurants that use tablet POS in their restaurant or hospitality venue should take advantage of Star’s new receipt printer with the USB tether option so they can print receipts anytime, anywhere, with a reliable internet connection.

Learn more about the TSP143IIIU: https://starmicronics.com/TSP100

July 19, 2017
Small Business Tips: How Retailers Can Leverage User Generated Content
If you’ve looked into marketing options and best practices for your retail business, you may have seen the term “user generated content” being tossed around quite a bit. For retailers and small businesses, leveraging user generated content is a great way to grow your marketing and sales for little to no cost.

What is User Generated Content?

User generated content (UGC) is defined as any type of content including videos, photos, blogs, tweets, etc. that has been created and published by unpaid contributors. In the case of retail, this would be content created by your customers. This can range from Instagram photos featuring your new line of summer wear, to a Facebook Live video of your bath bomb dissolving to create the most relaxing bath time.

Now the question to ask is: Do user generated marketing campaigns actually work? The short answer is yes!
- Brand engagement increases by 28% when user generated content is used in product videos
- 86% of millennials say that UGC is a good indicator of the quality of the brand
- Shoppers who interact with UGC are 97% more likely to convert with a retailer than customers who do not
- 43% of people are more likely to purchase a new product when they have learned about it through social channels or from friends and family
Organic vs. Driven UGC

Now that you know what user generated content is and have seen some statistics to back up the benefit of UGC campaigns, let’s talk about what it can do for your brand. Leveraging UGC on social media portrays that your brand is so likable, that people want to promote it themselves. Sometimes UGC comes from different motives. Many brands will hold a photo contest in order to leverage user generated content, whereas others generate is more naturally.

For example, if you follow any millennial females on Instagram, you may have seen the famous red bathing suit post that “broke the Internet”. Sunny Clothing Co. saw the opportunity to make their Instagram post go viral by posting a photo of a woman in a red bathing suit with the caption telling their followers that they can get that same bathing suit for free by reposting the photo and tags Sunny Clothing Co. For an SMB retailer, this is a genius way to organically boost your social media following and take advantage some free user-generated marketing. It was in fact so genius, that the company underestimated the success of the post. They ended up with so many respondents that they had to put a limit on the number of red bathing suits they could give away.

Personalization and Contests

Coca-Cola, on the other hand, found a more subtle way to run their UGC campaign. Within the past year or so, you may have noticed that Coke began putting people’s names on their bottles. You may have even found yourself searching through to find a Coke bottle with your own name on it. So how is this campaign helping to create user generated content? We live in a digital age where everything and anything we do gets posted to Facebook, sent in a Snapchat, posted to Instagram, or even sent to a group chat on iMessage. And for some funny reason, people love finding their name on things! With the combination of that and our obsessions with sharing our day-to-day tasks on social, Coke created a wildly successful UGC campaign.

How to Leverage UGC

Before you go off and launch your very own UGC campaign, there are first a few questions you will need to ask yourself. Do you want to drive the UGC? Do you have the budget to give away prizes for top posts? Will the content generated by your customers be consistent with your brand?

Creating Campaigns that Live On

It’s important to remember that leveraging user generated content can be as simple as using a social media monitoring tool to see when your customers are talking about your brand, or it can be as complex as starting an entire UGC campaign like Sunny Clothing Co. or Coca-Cola. While Sunny Clothing Co.’s UGC campaign was very successful, it was also very short lived, as it was only a one-day contest. Coke, on the other hand, is going on their second summer of their “Share a Coke” campaign.

It is important look at your goals and why you want to leverage UGC, and how your business can benefit from it.
July 13, 2017
Star Spotlight with Thirdshelf

What does Thirdshelf do?

Thirdshelf is a loyalty marketing software for independent retailers that helps to drive sales with customized loyalty programs and automated customer communications. They help these independent merchants grow the value of every customer relationship through analytics and converting transactional data from the point of sale. The Thirdshelf loyalty software is 100% branded to the retailer and is completely digital with no cards, dongles, or extra hardware required.

How is Thirdshelf working with Star Cloud Services?

Thirdshelf and Star Cloud Services have worked together to develop an offering where they can take transactional data from a Star Micronics receipt printer, regardless of the point of sale system that the printer is tied to, and convert data into powerful analytics and automated marketing to bring shoppers back into the store. Through this offering, retailers can create and send personalized email and SMS offers to their shoppers and learn how to accurately measure their customer relationships.

How will Thirdshelf and Star Cloud Services impact the future of retail?

“There’s a big shift happening in retail today,” says Rami Karam, Co-Founder and CEO of Thirdshelf. “Retail is beginning to move away from a transactional-oriented view and more toward a relationship-oriented view.”

Online customer data is very prevalent in today’s retail market, which has previously been less important for in-store shoppers. With more online merchants opening traditional brick and mortar stores, they’re bringing more of this customer data to the forefront of traditional retail. Thirdshelf, teaming up with Star Cloud Services, allows brick and mortar retailers to manage these loyalty programs and marketing through transactional data, just as they would in a digital store.

July 11, 2017
Shag Spa and Salons Creates Customer Branded Receipts with Rosy Salon Software and Star Micronics

Shag Spa and Salons offers hair, nail, massage, and skin care services in The Woodlands, north of Houston, Texas. Shag Spa and Salons strives to provide the best experience possible for all clients, every day. With over 60 service providers and a diverse and growing clientele, it’s essential that all operations run smoothly at every level. Appointments need to be simple to book; client information must be easy to access and checkout must happen seamlessly, so that the customer experience is smooth all the way through their visit.

Shag was in search of a robust cloud-based software solution that would allow them to run all aspects of the salon, even when working remotely. The system needed to have easy access to client information with the option for clients to book online. It also needed to integrate with multiple merchant accounts and offer completely branded receipts for all products and services.

Shag Spa and Salons uses Rosy Salon Software, a cloud-based application to schedule and confirm appointments, track client information and transaction history, make product recommendations based on current or past services, and allow easy checkout with integrated POS. Various merchant accounts and processing machines are used along with Star Micronics thermal printers to complete the transaction with customer messaging on a completely branded receipt.

The reception desk at Shag Spa and Salons can easily look up customer information, book an appointment, and check clients in or out with just a few clicks, which offers a more efficient and personalized customer experience. Clients can also book online, reserve products, and purchase gift cards or memberships from any device, any time their schedule permits. This offers convenience for the client and saves the salon precious staff time. Also, automated appointment confirmations and text alerts help reduce no-shows, keep clients on time, and notify service providers of a change in their schedule. In addition, the integrated POS handles multiple merchant accounts and the Star TSP100 printers offer a customizable receipt complete with salon branding and return policy

“We own fine of the Star TSP100 printers between our two salons. They are rock-solid, are a great value, and last a long time, even in the high demand of our always-busy salon. If i could measure the amount of thermal paper that has gone through these printers, it would be hundreds of miles of receipts. These printers just go, and go, and go!”

– Fred Klages, Co-Owner, Shag Spa and Salons

Download the full case study here: Shag Spa and Salon Case Study.

July 5, 2017