POS Supplies Buyer's Guide: What You Actually Need (and What You Don't)

Every point-of-sale counter runs on a small set of consumables and hardware — receipt paper, ink/ribbons, cash drawers, and (for many) a scale. But "what do I actually need?" is a question vendors rarely answer straight. Here's the honest breakdown, by business type, so you buy the right thing the first time.

The three consumables every register needs

• Receipt paper — thermal (most modern registers) or bond (impact/ribbon printers). Get the width right: 2¼" (57mm) or 3⅛" (80mm). Using the wrong width jams the printer.
• Ink / ribbons — only for impact printers. Thermal printers need no ink. Don't buy ribbons for a thermal printer.
• Cash drawer — driven by the register or receipt printer. Match the interface (RJ12/RJ11) and the bill/coin layout (4B5C vs 4B8C).

By business type

• Quick-service / café: thermal printer (58mm), 2¼" paper, small-footprint drawer. You rarely need a scale.
• Bar / restaurant: thermal printer + spill-resistant drawer + (optionally) a portion-control scale for consistent pours.
• Retail / grocery: thermal printer (80mm) + price-computing or label-printing scale + a standard drawer.
• Deli / specialty food: label-printing scale (like the CAS CL-series) + die-cut labels + 3⅛" paper.

What you don't need

• Ribbons, if your printer is thermal.
• A second cash drawer "just in case" — one per register is standard.
• Premium paper for internal/kitchen tickets — standard thermal is fine.

The one rule

Match every consumable to the machine, not the brand. Paper width, ribbon type, and drawer interface are the only three specs that matter for the basics. Everything else is preference.