Impact printers work in much the same way as a traditional typewriter, that is to say that they have an ink ribbon that is "impacted" by the print head to produce the image on the paper. This allows impact printers to print onto multiple sheets of paper at a time (up to 2 ply officially, they will technically work with 3-ply, though it is not recommended as it will wear the printer significantly, causing faults and premature failure) - this is in contrast to thermal printers like those that typically print bills\receipts - these thermal printers can only print 1-ply.
Typically at IRC, networked impact printers are used for dispense and kitchen printers.
They are primarily affected by either network or mechanical issues, both of which are very easy to identify in seconds and troubleshoot in under a minute.
You can tell if a printer is correctly connected to the network by checking the status LEDs on the rear of the printer where the network cable connects into.
A correctly connected network printer will show 2x lights - one a solid colour and the other a flashing colour. The solid LED indicates a connection to the network, the flashing LED indicates that data is being sent across the network.
If you have no lights on the network card, then the printer is not connected to the network. Double check both ends of the network cable and disconnect then reconnect at both ends the network cable.
If you still have no lights on this card, then the printer is either not correctly connected to the network or it is connected to a port that is not patched in.
Check the error light at the front of the printer (next to the paper feed button) - is it indicating a printer error?
If it's flashing, this typically indicates a mechanical issue, turn the printer off for at least 10 seconds then back on then sent three test prints - if all three print, then you might be OK.
If it errors out before you've done the three test prints, the printer is mechanically faulty and needs to be replaced.
Press and hold the printer feed button - does the printer feed paper or not?
If not, then it's likely that the printer has a mechanical fault - this will usually be the case if the printer both (a) has the error light illuminated and (b) will not feed paper when instructed. If both conditions are true, your printer has a mechanical fault and will need to be logged with [email protected].