KOT printing and kitchen displays: how to use them together

A kitchen order ticket, often shortened to KOT, tells the kitchen what to prepare and where the order belongs. A kitchen display shows that order as work moves through preparation. They can support the same service, but paper and screen have different jobs: the ticket is a readable snapshot, while the display tracks the current status.

What belongs on a useful KOT

• A recognizable ticket or order reference.
• The table, room or takeaway reference.
• The time the order was received.
• Item names, quantities and relevant notes.
• The preparation station and current order status when printed.

A ticket should be easy to read near a busy workstation. Long menu names that make sense to guests may be awkward on narrow paper. Print a realistic mixed order, including a long name and a note, before deciding that the layout is ready. Check that a staff member can identify the table without opening another screen.

Route tickets by preparation station

Food and drinks often need different teams. In GiveMyMenu, dishes can be assigned to stations such as Kitchen, Bar or Dessert. The kitchen view can filter by station, and the KOT view can show the items for a selected station. Test a combined food-and-drink order so neither station mistakenly treats the other station’s work as its own.

A print view is one part of printer setup

GiveMyMenu provides a browser KOT print view on eligible plans. Staff open the ticket and use the browser or system print workflow. The application does not currently provide an unattended thermal-printer bridge. Paper width, margins, browser headers and the selected printer affect the result, so use the actual service computer and printer for the test.

Keep paper copies and live status in step

Printing a ticket is not a preparation step and does not confirm that a physical printer produced paper. Staff should still move the order through the kitchen display as work progresses. If a paper ticket is lost or a printer runs out, open the original order rather than placing it again. A duplicate order changes the bill; a reprint of the original ticket does not create a second meal to charge for.

Run a short printing rehearsal

1. Submit one staff POS order and one guest QR order.
2. Find the correct table and item quantities on the kitchen display.
3. Open the KOT, check station filtering and print a sample.
4. Reopen the original ticket and agree how staff identify a replacement copy.
5. Update preparation status and verify the guest and floor team see the change.

Keep a clear fallback for a printer or network interruption. The screen and print view should support the team’s process, rather than leave two independent queues that disagree. Check printing access against the chosen plan after any trial ends.