Screens VS Printers

 

Overview

In terms of traditional use by operators printers, rather than screens, have been used to communicate order information to kitchens for a much longer time and at many more locations.

 

However, businesses will always move towards whatever new technology is providing the most benefits. It is because of these many benefits that we believe the current trend is that more operators will be choosing screens over printers.

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That being said, there are a few operators that choose to run parallel systems with both screens and printers.

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Beyond delivering the promise of a “Paper-less Kitchen” other benefits of screens over printers include; reduced order completion time, less order mistakes, lower labor costs, a superior return on investment over time, no printer consumables and greater customer satisfaction.

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Printer Pros

 

   1. Printers are initially less expensive to implement than KDS.

 

   2. Printers require less user training for basic operation than                                                                                                                     KDS.

 

   3. Printers can be easier to change out in the event of a                                                                                                                           failure or upgrade.

 

Printer Cons

 

   1. Printed order tickets are low contrast with a smaller font                                                                                                                       which makes them more difficult to read.

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   2. Printed tickets can be damaged, soaked by liquids and lost.

 

   3. Additional time is needed for a printer to generate order tickets.

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   4. Printers cannot display the different preparation stages associated with various food items.

 

   5. Additional time is needed for users to handle the tickets, first tearing them off of the printer and then attaching them to the               ticket holder and then often having to move them across the pass through with the order. 

 

   6. Printers require regular and never ending refreshment of paper and in some cases ink ribbons.

 

   7. Printers often require users to have more preparation training because they need to memorize more specific order modifier,           cook time or add in information.

 

Kitchen Display Screen Pros

 

   1. KDS systems reduce order preparation times.

 

   2. KDS systems reduce order inaccuracies.

 

   3. KDS screens indicate order priority and elapsed order preparation times.

 

   4. Order Tickets displayed on KDS screens are high contrast with large fonts which makes them easier to read.

 

   5. Order Tickets displayed on a KDS screen cannot be damaged or lost.

 

   6. KDS screens display order tickets faster.

 

   7. A greater amount of text can be displayed on a KDS screen. Less abbreviation means order item descriptions are easier to             interpret.

 

   8. KDS screens display orders with no user handing in the kitchen.

 

   9. KDS systems provide valuable speed of service data which is used to improve kitchen operations.

 

  10. KDS systems make integrating online ordering easier.

 

  11. KDS Screens can display the different preparation stages associated with various food items.

 

  12. KDS screens can display images and item lists for correct plating reference.

 

  13. KDS screens require less user training because users do not have to memorize order modifier, cook time or add in                          information.

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Kitchen Display Screen Cons

 

   1. KDS screens are initially more expensive to implement than printers.

 

   2. KDS screens will require more user training than printers.

 

   3. KDS screens can be more difficult to change out in the event of a failure or upgrade.

 

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