7 years of work, 2 million cuts and 150 kilometers of checks: a little more about the reliability of iron in modern stores

We continue to talk about the infrastructure in the field of retail. The requirements for the hardware used here are seriously different from those that must be met by “consumer” gadgets or office equipment. Today in our blog there is a story about these tough standards of reliability on the example of cash registers ( CCV , former fiscal registrars) - devices without which the work of a modern store is impossible.

CCP - what it is and why it is so important

According to the requirements of the new edition of the Federal Law-54, retailers must install online cash registers that send real-time data on all sales to the tax. Old cash registers with fiscal registrars without internet connectivity are outdated; they should be replaced with online cash registers for new requirements. After modernization, the fiscal registrar is called KKT (cash register equipment).
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In essence, CCP is a receipt printer with a special drive that not only stores, but also transmits data on sales and returns to the tax service. On the basis of such devices they create a POS system - a cashier’s workplace (they connect a computer and various additional equipment, for example, a barcode scanner).

KKT prints checks and sends data on the sale of the store to the tax. This means that any malfunctions in the operation of the device immediately lead to problems for the business and direct losses (it is impossible to trade without checks). Therefore, such critical elements of retail infrastructure should be very reliable and meet very high standards.

How reliable should retail technology be?

The choice of CCV for use in a store can be compared with the purchase of a car by a transport company. As in the car market in retail, there are products of different price categories, but you cannot focus on the price alone - the reliability of operation, the service life of the device and the cost of its maintenance are also important.

When it comes to device reliability, its overall service life is considered, as well as the possibility of uninterrupted operation of individual elements - in the case of CCP, this is, for example, a print head and a knife for cutting checks. If the CCP printer has broken, then the cashier will not be able to punch checks, and serious problems will begin in the store operation - the load on the cash registers remaining in the line will increase, queues will increase, etc.

If we talk about the average figures for the reliability of CCV, then the following indicators are considered to be quite good:

• print speed of 200-220 millimeters per second;

• resource of the printing head of 100-150 kilometers of checks;

• a knife for check tape should provide 1 million cuts.

However, you have to pay for reliability - equipment from well-known manufacturers is expensive, so many retailers, even the middle segment, cannot always afford it. As a result, business and customers who suffer from failures suffer.

We decided to fix this problem and developed a new product - SKT-PRINT 54-F . With the cost of equipment from the middle price segment, it has the characteristics of more expensive hi-end devices.


Below are the indicators of the device, which significantly exceed the "average" figures of popular CCPs:

• The printing speed is 300 mm / s, the knife life is 2 million cuts, the print head is able to print 150 km of checks, and the total service life of the CCP is 7 years.
• Today, instead of RS-232, additional USB ports are increasingly being used, and Ethernet ports, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are also present in the expensive CCPs for organizing network connectivity in SKY-PRINT 54-F.
• SKY-PRINT 54-F works on the platform of the Italian vendor - the selection of components, control of the assembly process and quality control of finished products are carried out with the participation of Italian partners, which has a positive effect on reliability.

Why design is just as important

For a long time, retail was one of the industries in which the principle of "the main thing - it works" prevailed. Little attention was paid to the appearance of the devices, so often the equipment of the stores looked rather daunting for an unprepared person. The trends of the consumer electronics market penetrate retail more slowly - for example, the same USB ports appeared in the hardware quite recently here, and most devices are connected to each other via COM ports.

However, progress is being made in this difficult market, and in recent years, manufacturers and businesses have begun to pay more attention to the usability and appearance of the devices. For example, such changes include the distribution of equipment that is assembled without the aid of a screwdriver and bolts. Even in small SKT SKY-PRINT 54-F KKT the special pocket for fast replacement of the printing head is provided. This greatly simplifies and reduces the cost of service.

Devices gradually begin to look pretty - for example, the SKY-PRINT 54-F fiscal printer case can be opaque, glossy, and made in several colors.

Instead of a conclusion: how to choose a reliable CCP

In conclusion, here are some practical tips on choosing a reliable cash register equipment:

• When choosing KKT, you should analyze the technical characteristics - for example, today, printing speeds of 200–220 millimeters per second, printhead life of 100–150 kilometers of checks, 1 million pieces of check tape are considered to be good parameters for such devices.
• When choosing a device, you should always check the real compliance of its work with the stated indicators. It often happens that on the KKT sellers' websites there are overestimated numbers that the device does not show in real work - for example - often, taking into account the speed of the fiscal cycle, the real speed of the device is much lower due to pauses in print commands.
• It is necessary to consider with what cash software the device works. It may be that after buying a CCP, you will have to spend additional funds on integrating with the cash register program. For example, SKY-PRINT 54-F CCV works with Pilot cash platform Profi-T, compatible with cash systems from 1C and specialized software for pharmacies F3TAIL from the company Spargo Technology JSC. In addition, the model can be easily integrated with other programs.
• It is important to understand that the lower cost of the equipment itself often results in a higher cost of ownership - the probability of a device failure is higher, it will serve a smaller number of years. These problems are solved in SKT-PRINT 54-F CCP - with a low price, the devices have the characteristics of equipment from the higher price segment.

In addition to technical characteristics, design factors can play a role in the selection. For example, the small size of the CCP can give businesses more opportunities to use the device in a limited space and by field workers, and a memorable design will emphasize the individuality of the store - this is important, for example, for boutiques.