Print on the printer you have

Plenty of distributors still print their invoices on a 24-pin dot-matrix with two-part carbon paper. It is cheap to run, it prints a copy for the shop and a copy for the file in one pass, and it never needs a new toner cartridge. The trouble is modern invoice designs. Light grey labels, thin lines and small print that look elegant on a screen come out faint on the top copy and nearly invisible on the carbon. This tour shows how the office tells each computer which printer it has, so every invoice prints to suit it.

Step by step

1. Open Settings, Printers and scanner. The office computer's printer settings have a section called Invoices and proformas. It holds one choice: Printer type.

2. Choose the printer this computer uses. There are three options: Laser / inkjet, Dot-matrix and Thermal. The office picks Dot-matrix, because its invoices go to a ribbon printer such as the Epson LQ-310.

3. Know that the choice belongs to this computer. The setting is saved on the computer, not for the whole business. The office's machine can be set to Dot-matrix while the counter's machine stays on Thermal for receipts, and the owner's laptop on Laser / inkjet. Nobody has to keep switching back.

4. See what Dot-matrix changes. With Dot-matrix chosen, invoices print in black only, with text made bolder and a little bigger. Pale greys become solid dark text, and hairline borders become lines the pins can actually draw. The carbon copy, which always comes out lighter, stays readable.

5. Open an invoice and press Open / Print. The print preview opens with the same Printer type switch at the top. If you are printing from a different computer today, or need a laser copy for a bank or a supplier, you can switch it here.

6. Watch the preview change. Switch between Laser / inkjet, Dot-matrix and Thermal, and the preview redraws to match. The choice you leave it on is remembered on this computer for the next invoice.

7. Check the totals in rupees. The preview is the invoice as the printer will put it on paper: the shop's details, the lines, any discount steps, and the totals in rupees. What you see is what prints.

8. Print or save a PDF. Print / Save PDF sends it to the printer, or saves it as a PDF you can then send to the shop.

Which printer type to choose

A worked example: one invoice, two printers

Take an invoice for a mini mart after the shop rang to change its order: six bags of samba rice at Rs 6,900, four bags of red dhal at Rs 8,150, five cartons of cream crackers at Rs 4,980, two bags of white sugar at Rs 14,250 and one carton of tea dust at Rs 21,600. The total is Rs 149,000.

Printed with Laser / inkjet on the dot-matrix, the column headings and the shop's address come out in pale grey. On the top copy they are readable if you hold it to the light. On the carbon they are a faint smudge. When the shop disputes a line a month later and you pull the carbon from the file, you cannot read the quantity.

Printed with Dot-matrix chosen, every word is solid black and a size larger. The rupee totals are bold, and the carbon in the file can be read at arm's length. Same invoice, same printer, same ribbon. The only difference is that the invoice was told what it is being printed on.

Before the first print run of the day

A dot-matrix office usually prints in batches: the morning's orders, then the afternoon's. Before the first batch, print one invoice and look at the carbon, not the top copy. If the carbon is clear, the rest will be. If it is faint even with Dot-matrix chosen, the problem is the ribbon or the paper alignment, not the invoice. Check that continuous paper is sitting straight on the tractor feed, because a sheet that creeps sideways can push the right-hand totals column off the page. Five minutes here saves reprinting a whole batch of two-part sets.

Tips for the office

• Set each computer once. The setting is per computer, so set the office machine, the counter machine and any laptop separately.
• Change ribbons before they fade completely. Bolder text helps, but a dry ribbon still prints grey.
• Keep the carbon copies in order. A readable carbon is your record if a shop questions an invoice.
• Use Save PDF for shops that want it on the phone. It is the same invoice, without paper.

Common mistakes

Printing a laser design on a dot-matrix. The screen looks fine, the paper does not. Choose Dot-matrix on that computer.

Setting it once and expecting it everywhere. A new office computer starts with its own setting. Check it before the first print run.

Switching in the preview and forgetting. The switch in the preview is remembered. If you print one laser copy from the office machine, switch it back to Dot-matrix afterwards.

Using Thermal for full invoices. Receipt width is for counter receipts. A full invoice with many lines belongs on A4 or continuous paper.

Why a clear invoice gets paid sooner

A shop owner who can read every line, every discount step and the total pays with fewer questions. A faint invoice invites "I'll check it and call you", and that call may not come for a week. Our guide to how to get invoices paid faster covers other ways to remove reasons for delay.

What to do next

If you are registered for VAT, a printed invoice must also show the right tax details; VAT explains what is required. For setting credit terms that the printed invoice then states clearly, read customer credit for wholesalers.