ChowNow + AutoPrintEmail: Auto-Print Online Orders as They Come In
Friday night. 6:47 PM. Your kitchen is firing on all burners.
A ChowNow order came in 11 minutes ago. It's sitting in the tablet on the counter by the register. The tablet that's currently buried under a stack of takeout menus and a server's apron.
Nobody checked it. The customer just called asking where their food is.
You apologize, rush the order, and comp the delivery fee. That's $8 you just lost. Plus however much goodwill.
This happens 3-4 times a week. And it's entirely preventable.
Table of Contents
- How ChowNow Orders Work
- The Tablet Problem
- The Auto-Print Solution
- Setting Up ChowNow + AutoPrintEmail
- Thermal Printer Compatibility
- ChowNow Email vs. Tablet: Side by Side
- What About Multiple Locations?
- Beyond ChowNow: Other Ordering Platforms
- Real Talk: Is This Worth $99?
- TL;DR
How ChowNow Orders Work
ChowNow is an online ordering platform for restaurants. No commissions. Your branding. Direct customer relationships.
When a customer places an order through your ChowNow-powered website or app, a few things happen:
- The order appears on your ChowNow tablet (or Dashboard)
- The tablet makes a sound (if someone hasn't muted it)
- ChowNow sends an order confirmation email to your restaurant's email address
That email contains everything: customer name, items ordered, special instructions, order total, pickup/delivery time.
The problem is step 2. Tablets get muted. Tablets get buried. Tablets run out of battery. Tablets crash.
The email, though? That's reliable. It always arrives.
The Tablet Problem
Let's be honest about tablets in restaurant kitchens.
- They get splashed with sauce
- Staff accidentally mute the volume
- The WiFi drops and orders queue up silently
- The screen goes to sleep and nobody wakes it
- Someone unplugs it to charge their phone
- It's one more thing to check during rush
Tablets work great in theory. In a busy kitchen during Friday dinner service? They're a liability.
You know what survives a kitchen? Paper.
A printed ticket clipped to the line doesn't run out of battery. It doesn't get muted. It doesn't need WiFi. It just sits there, loudly existing, until someone cooks it.
The Auto-Print Solution
Here's the setup:
- ChowNow sends an order confirmation email to your restaurant's Gmail or Outlook
- AutoPrintEmail monitors that inbox
- The moment the email arrives, it prints to your kitchen printer
- The ticket is on the line before anyone touches a tablet
No tablet checking. No manual printing. No missed orders.
The email from ChowNow typically comes from an address like orders@chownow.com or noreply@chownow.com. The subject line usually contains your restaurant name and "New Order" or the order number.
AutoPrintEmail catches it, formats it, and sends it straight to the printer.
Setting Up ChowNow + AutoPrintEmail
Total setup time: about 5 minutes. You can do it between lunch and dinner service.
Step 1: Confirm Your ChowNow Email Settings
Log into your ChowNow Dashboard. Make sure order notification emails are being sent to your restaurant's email address. This is usually configured during initial setup, but double-check.
Note the sender address -- it'll be something like orders@chownow.com or noreply@chownow.com.
Step 2: Install AutoPrintEmail
Download AutoPrintEmail on the computer connected to your kitchen printer. Works on Windows, Mac, or Linux.
Step 3: Connect Your Email
Connect your restaurant's Gmail or Outlook account. OAuth sign-in -- no passwords stored.
If you're using a custom email domain (like orders@yourrestaurant.com), you can connect via IMAP instead.
Step 4: Create a Filter
Set up a filter to catch ChowNow orders:
Or if ChowNow uses a different sender for your account, adjust accordingly. Run a test order first to see the exact sender and subject format.
Step 5: Choose Your Printer
Select your kitchen printer. This can be:
- A standard laser/inkjet printer
- A thermal receipt printer (more on this below)
- A networked printer shared across the kitchen
Set your preferred options -- paper size, orientation, number of copies.
Step 6: Test It
Place a test order through your ChowNow ordering page. Within seconds, the order should print to your kitchen printer.
If it works, you're done. Walk away and let it run.
Thermal Printer Compatibility
Most restaurant kitchens use thermal receipt printers -- Epson TM series, Star TSP series, or similar 80mm thermal printers.
AutoPrintEmail works with any printer your operating system can see. If your thermal printer shows up in your printer list (System Preferences on Mac, Printers & Scanners on Windows), AutoPrintEmail can print to it.
Common thermal printers that work:
- Epson TM-T20III
- Epson TM-T88VI
- Star TSP143III
- Star TSP654II
- Bixolon SRP-350III
Tips for thermal printer setup:
- Use the manufacturer's driver, not a generic one. Generic drivers sometimes cut off text.
- Set the paper width to match your roll size (usually 80mm or 3 1/8")
- Enable "auto-cut" in the printer settings if your printer supports it
- Print the email body (not attachments) -- ChowNow order details are in the email body itself
ChowNow Email vs. Tablet: Side by Side
| ChowNow Tablet | ChowNow Email + AutoPrintEmail | |
|---|---|---|
| Order notification | Sound alert (if not muted) | Physical ticket prints immediately |
| Missed order risk | High during rush | Near zero |
| Battery required | Yes | No (printer is plugged in) |
| WiFi dependency | Continuous | Only for email check |
| Kitchen-proof | Not really | Paper survives everything |
| Cost | Included with ChowNow | $99 one-time |
| Setup time | Provided by ChowNow | 5 minutes |
The tablet is your backup. The printed ticket is your primary.
What About Multiple Locations?
Running two or three locations with ChowNow? Each location gets its own AutoPrintEmail setup:
- Location A's email prints to Location A's kitchen printer
- Location B's email prints to Location B's kitchen printer
Each license is $99 one-time per machine. No monthly fees. No per-order charges. No per-location surcharges.
For a restaurant doing 40 online orders a day, that $99 pays for itself the first time you don't lose an order.
Beyond ChowNow: Other Ordering Platforms
Already using AutoPrintEmail for ChowNow orders? Add filters for your other platforms:
- DoorDash:
from:no-reply@doordash.com - Uber Eats:
from:uber@uber.com subject:New Order - GrubHub:
from:orders@grubhub.com - Toast: Filter by Toast's notification email
- Square Online:
from:messaging@squareup.com
One app. One printer. Every platform. All your online orders print automatically, regardless of where they come from.
Real Talk: Is This Worth $99?
Let's do the math.
- Average missed order cost: $25-40 (food cost + delivery comp + lost customer)
- Missed orders per week without auto-print: 2-4
- Weekly cost of missed orders: $50-160
- Monthly cost: $200-640
AutoPrintEmail costs $99. Once. Forever.
It pays for itself the first week. Probably the first day.
And that's just the direct cost. We're not counting the frustrated customers who don't come back. Or the bad reviews. Or the stress on your kitchen staff when they're playing catch-up on a missed order during peak.
TL;DR
ChowNow sends order confirmation emails. AutoPrintEmail prints them to your kitchen printer the moment they arrive.
- No tablet checking -- orders print automatically
- Works with thermal printers -- Epson, Star, Bixolon, anything your OS can see
- 5-minute setup -- filter by ChowNow's sender address
- $99 one-time -- no monthly fees, no per-order charges
- Add other platforms -- DoorDash, Uber Eats, GrubHub with extra filters
Just $99 for a lifetime license. Connect your Gmail, set up a filter for ChowNow, and never miss another online order. Read our automated email printing guide for the full setup walkthrough.
Your kitchen runs on paper tickets.
Your online orders should too.
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