Ticket Printing Basics
Ticket printing for events is often a perplexing process. This overview on ticket printing basics and box office management integration will help guide you.
Ticket Printing Hardware
Whether you use a printer from Hewlett Packard, Canon, or from any other manufacturer, most printers will create relatively similar documents whether they are PDFs, DOCs or other formats. Similarly, you will receive the same printed ticket whether you use a printer by Practical Automation, Inc. (through our optionally available ticket printer bundled package) or any another manufacturer. (For more information on ticket printers, please see our ticket printing guide.)
Printer Device Drivers
Just as printers connected to our PCs require a device driver to work, the same holds true for ticket printers. A printer's driver understands and translates your operating system's command into useful instructions for the printer. Every printer utilizes its own driver. Ticket printers are shipped with model specific drivers--often on CD-ROM--for installing on your computer
Ticket Printing Software
Word documents are created by Microsoft Word software. Adobe's Acrobat Reader software allows us to view and print PDF files. The same process applies to ticket printing software. Ticket printing software allows us to create a ticket for printing using a WYSIWYG (pronounced wizzy-wig or "what you see is what you get") interface.
Now, if you open up MS Word or Adobe Reader and hit the print command, a blank page will issue forth. Your ticket printing software would perform similarly. So, we need to provide data to the software for formatting and printing anything but a blank page. This data is generated by the ThunderTix software and formatted by the ticket printing software.
Ticket printing software utilizes the sales data--ie. event name, event date, row and seat information--and places the individual fields on a ticket template. Some software requires you to number each ticket while others can number each ticket or apply unique bar codes to each ticket.
Putting It All Together with ThunderTix Ticketing Software
ThunderTix tracks and records all ticket purchase information and makes available the data for importing into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The data may take the following format:
| Tickets Purchased for "Main Stage Event, October, 21, 2006" | ||||
| Name | Address | City, State, Zip | Tickets | Ticket Number |
| Jane Doe | 100 Main St | Anytown, State, 00000 | Section 102, Row A, Seat 4 Section 102, Row A, Seat 5 | 000318 00319 |
| John Smith | 9 Pleasant St | Pleasantville, USA 11111 | General Admission Ticket | 000320 |
The data generated through the ThunderTix software may formatted using printing software like Printers Bench Pro which formats the data for printing using an intuitive interface that makes the process easy. The data may be applied to your chosen ticket design using the familiar, "File -> Print" command. Voila! Your tickets are printed and ready for delivery or Will Call.
Custom Ticket Designs
Thunder Data offers beautiful, custom ticket designs for use with your thermal printers. While all printers allow for standard black and white printing, many offer thermal color printing of any chosen design. This may be important for venues who want to offer "souvenir style" tickets for those special events. Don't over look the marketing power of a beautiful ticket! Great ticket designs can become marketing collateral for your venue.
Bundled Packages for Ticket Printing
ThunderTix offers special, competitive pricing for printer hardware, software, our box office sales software, and thermal ticket stock and designs. These packages take the guessing and research out of the on-line ticketing and printing process and allow you to concentrate on box office management and sales. Simply contact us for more details or call us toll free at 877-883-6464!
Old Dominion University's
Career Mgmt. Center now makes it easy for companies advertising at their fall and spring career and trade fairs to select a booth location using the ThunderTix Reservation System.
Welcome to the box office software that gives small venues the leverage to succeed against the arena behemoths and profit-draining ticketing services.
