Kadence VMS Kiosks can print a visitor badge automatically the moment a visitor checks in — no receptionist needed. This guide covers everything required to make that work: connecting the Brother QL-820NWB to your network, finding and reserving its IP address, configuring it in Kadence, and testing the full flow.

Badge printing works the same on every kiosk type — iPad, Android, and Neat devices all use the same network-based setup. The printer connects over your local network (not Bluetooth), and Kadence sends print jobs to it using its IP address.

Before you start

You'll need:

A Brother QL-820NWB label printer with a Brother DK-1202 (or compatible) label roll installed — this is the only supported printer model
The printer powered on near your reception area
Your kiosk device set up and connected to your workplace Wi-Fi, running Kadence Visitor Management app version 26.23 or later — update the app first if needed (via the App Store, Google Play, or whoever manages your devices)
Access to your network — either an Ethernet socket near reception, or the Wi-Fi network name and password
A Kadence admin account with access to kiosk settings
Badge printing enabled for your building, with at least one badge profile created — done in Building Settings → Visitor Management. Without a profile, the kiosk's auto-print setting can't be turned on. See Setting Up Visitor Badge Printing for details.

The golden rule: the printer and the kiosk must be on the same network. The single most common cause of printing failures is the printer sitting on a different network than the kiosk — or on no network at all.

Wireless Direct is not supported. Brother printers can broadcast their own Wi-Fi network ("Wireless Direct"). This mode does not work with automatic badge printing — a kiosk joined to the printer's own network loses its internet connection and can't check visitors in. If you see the address 192.168.118.1 anywhere during setup, you're looking at the Wireless Direct address — don't use it. Step 1 puts the printer on your real network instead.

Who does this setup?

It depends on your network:

Simple network (one Wi-Fi name, one router, like most small offices) — anyone can complete this guide start to finish in about 20 minutes.
Corporate network (separate staff and guest Wi-Fi, sign-in pages, or a managed IT environment) — getting the printer onto the network (Steps 1–3) usually needs your IT team, while the Kadence configuration and testing (Steps 4–5) can be done by anyone at reception. Send this guide to IT before the printer arrives — the IT notes section tells them everything they need.

Step 1 — Connect the printer to your network

Option A — Ethernet (recommended)

Plug an Ethernet cable into the port on the back of the printer and into a network socket on the same network your kiosk's Wi-Fi belongs to — ask IT if you're unsure.
On the printer, turn Wi-Fi off: press Menu, go to WLAN, and set WLAN (On/Off) to Off. With only one connection active, there's only one address the printer can have.
The printer picks up an address automatically. Go to Step 2.

The cable connects the printer to your network — not the printer to the kiosk directly. Your kiosk stays on Wi-Fi as normal, and print jobs travel across the network. Ethernet is also the best option if the printer can't join your corporate Wi-Fi (some networks use sign-in pages or security the printer doesn't support).

Option B — Wi-Fi

Press Menu, scroll to WLAN, press OK.
Set WLAN (On/Off) to On.
In Network Mode, select Infrastructure Mode and press OK — specifically this, not "Direct Mode" or any combined mode.
Scroll to Infra Manual Setting and press OK. The printer searches for nearby networks.
Select your workplace Wi-Fi network from the list and enter the password.
When connected, the Wi-Fi icon appears on the printer's screen.

Connect the printer to the same Wi-Fi network your kiosk uses. If your workplace has separate corporate and guest networks, don't mix them — a printer on guest Wi-Fi can't be reached from corporate Wi-Fi, and vice versa.

Step 2 — Find the printer's IP address

The IP address is the printer's address on your network — it's what Kadence uses to send print jobs.

Connected by Wi-Fi: on the printer, go to Menu > WLAN > WLAN Status > Infrastructure Mode. The address is shown beside IP Addr — for example, 192.168.1.44.
Connected by Ethernet: go to Menu > Information > Print Configuration and choose Select all. The printer prints several labels of settings — find the IP Address among them. Make sure a label roll is loaded first.

Sanity-check the address before continuing:

192.168.118.1 — the Wireless Direct address. The printer isn't properly on your network. Go back to Step 1.
169.254.x.x or 0.0.0.0 — the printer failed to join the network. Re-run Step 1 and double-check the Wi-Fi password.
Anything else (commonly 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x) — looks good, carry on.

Step 3 — Reserve the IP address

By default, your network may hand the printer a different address after a reboot — and when that happens, badge printing silently stops. Ask your IT team to give the printer a fixed address using one of these methods:

A DHCP reservation on your router (recommended) — the router always gives the printer the same address, based on its MAC address. To find the MAC address, print the printer's configuration: Menu > Information > Print Configuration > Select all. Keep the printout — it's also useful if you contact support.
A static IP set on the printer itself — configured on the printer's web settings page (open http://<printer IP> in a browser) or via Brother's Printer Setting Tool. Make sure IT excludes the chosen address from the router's automatic range.

Don't skip this step. "It worked for weeks and then stopped" is almost always a moved address.

Step 4 — Configure the kiosk in Kadence

In Kadence, open your kiosk's settings and find the Badge Printing section (see VMS Kiosk Setup and Management for where kiosk settings live).
Turn on Auto print on check-in.
Choose the Badge profile to print at this kiosk.
Under Printing connection, enter the Printer IP address from Step 2.
Click Save. If several kiosks share one printer, enter the same address on each kiosk.

Quick confidence check before testing: from any device on the same network, open http://<printer IP> in a browser — the printer's settings page should load. (A browser security warning is normal for printer admin pages.) If the page doesn't load, fix that first using the troubleshooting checks below — no check-in will print until the printer is reachable.

Step 5 — Test it

iPad kiosks — two test check-ins required

The first check-in on a new iPad triggers two one-time Apple permission prompts, and the badge will not print on that first run — this is expected. The second check-in proves the real flow.

If you've locked the iPad to Guided Access or a single-app restriction, turn it off before these tests — it can interfere with answering the permission prompts. Turn it back on after both test check-ins are complete.

First test check-in — trigger and accept the permission prompts:

Create a test visitor booking for today and check it in at the kiosk.
At the photo step, iOS asks for camera access — tap Allow.
At the end of check-in, iOS asks for local network access — tap Allow.
The badge will not print this time — the prompt interrupted it. That's normal.

Second test check-in — verify the clean flow:

Create a second test booking and check it in. No prompts should appear, and the badge should print within a few seconds.

Tapping 'Don't Allow' on either prompt breaks the feature, and iOS never asks again. Camera denied = no visitor photos; local network denied = no badge printing. To recover, go to iPad Settings > Privacy & Security, enable Camera and/or Local Network for the Kadence app, then restart the iPad.

Android and Neat kiosks

Run the same two test check-ins. Android doesn't ask permission to reach the printer, but may show a camera permission prompt at the photo step on first use — tap Allow. The second check-in confirms everything runs cleanly.

Troubleshooting

Work through these in order — each check rules out a layer.

Check 1 — Is the printer really on the network right now?

Read the live address off the printer itself: Menu > WLAN > WLAN Status > Infrastructure Mode for Wi-Fi, or for Ethernet print the configuration via Menu > Information > Print Configuration > Select all. Don't trust an address written down during setup — leases move and Wi-Fi drops.

Shows a valid address → go to Check 2.
Shows nothing, 0.0.0.0, or 169.254.x.x → the printer has dropped off the network. Re-join the Wi-Fi (Step 1) and consider switching to Ethernet.
Shows 192.168.118.1 → you're reading the Wireless Direct screen. Go back to Step 1.

Check 2 — Does the address match what's in Kadence?

Compare the live address from Check 1 with the address saved in the kiosk's settings in Kadence. If they differ, update Kadence — and do Step 3 (reserve the address) so this doesn't recur.

Check 3 — Can the kiosk device actually reach the printer?

Run this on the kiosk device itself — open a browser and go to http://<printer IP>. The printer's settings page should load. (A browser security warning is normal — proceed past it.) A wired computer reaching the printer tells you nothing about the kiosk's wireless path — the kiosk's own browser is the truth.

Page loads → the network path is fine. Go to Check 4.
Page doesn't load → the kiosk can't reach the printer. Confirm both are on the same network name, and ask IT whether the Wi-Fi has "client isolation" / "AP isolation" enabled — common on guest networks. Move both to a network without isolation, or connect the printer by Ethernet.

Check 4 — (iPad only) Has local network permission been granted?

On the iPad, open Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network and find the Kadence kiosk app.

Listed and toggled on → permission is fine. Go to Check 5.
Listed and toggled off → someone declined the prompt. Toggle it on here, then restart the iPad.
Not listed at all → the app hasn't triggered the prompt yet. Run a test check-in and tap Allow when it appears.

Check 5 — Still not printing?

Confirm Auto print on check-in is on and a badge profile is selected for this specific kiosk.
Power-cycle the printer, wait for it to rejoin the network, and re-run Check 1 (the address may have moved).
Check the label roll isn't empty or jammed and the printer shows no error light.
Contact [email protected] with: the printer's configuration printout (Menu > Information > Print Configuration > Select all), the IP saved in Kadence, and whether the browser test in Check 3 passed.

Common symptoms

"The browser test passes on the kiosk, but badges still don't print"

Four things can allow web access to the printer while blocking print jobs — work through in order:

iPad permission — Check 4, always first on iPads.
Printer's own settings — in the printer's web settings page, find the network Protocol settings and confirm the raw printing port (Port 9100) is enabled. If it's off, the web page works but print jobs are refused.
Wi-Fi security policy — some corporate wireless systems allow web traffic between devices but block other traffic. Ask IT whether client-to-client traffic on TCP port 9100 is permitted on this network.
VPN on a managed iPad — a company VPN can route the app's print traffic away from your local network while Safari isn't affected. Check Settings > General > VPN & Device Management and ask IT to exclude local traffic for the Kadence app.

"Printing works some days and not others"

Two usual causes. First, the printer's address moved — run Check 1 and do Step 3. Second, the printer's connection can get stuck if another device left a connection open (an old print app on someone's phone, a stalled job). Power-cycle the printer when this happens, and keep the printer dedicated to the kiosks.

"The very first check-in on a new iPad didn't print a badge"

Expected. The local network permission prompt interrupts the first print attempt and the app doesn't retry it. Accept the prompt, then run a second check-in — it will print. See Step 5.

"Printing stopped after the app was reinstalled or the iPad was reset"

Reinstalling the app or resetting the iPad wipes the permission grants. The camera and local network prompts come back, and the next check-in fails to print exactly like a brand-new setup. Re-run the two test check-ins from Step 5.

"Manual printing works, but automatic printing doesn't"

Manual printing from a phone or iPad uses AirPrint, which finds printers a different way and doesn't use the address saved in Kadence. A successful manual print proves the printer is alive — it does not prove the address in Kadence is correct or that the kiosk can reach it. Run Checks 1–4.

Notes for IT

A few one-time decisions prevent almost all recurring failures:

Reserve the IP address (Step 3) — the single most important step. Treat the badge printer like any other network appliance: fixed address, documented, owned.
Set the power-on network behaviour. The printer's "Network Settings on Power On" should be set to Wireless LAN by Default (or Wired LAN by Default for Ethernet) — not "Keep Current State" — so it rejoins the network automatically after a power cut. This is configured via Brother's free Printer Setting Tool (Windows and Mac, available from install.brother) over a USB cable. A one-time, five-minute job best done on day one.
Add the printer to your Wi-Fi change checklist. If the Wi-Fi password, network name, or access points change, the printer won't rejoin on its own — re-run Step 1. Ethernet-connected printers are unaffected.
VLANs and firewalls. The kiosk sends print jobs directly to the printer on TCP port 9100 (raw printing) — never via the cloud. Both devices on the same network segment is simplest; otherwise routing and firewall rules must allow the kiosk to reach the printer on 9100. Note that the browser test (Check 3) uses port 80, so it can pass while port 9100 is blocked.
If the printer won't join your corporate Wi-Fi at all (but joins a home network fine), it's almost always one of two things: the printer's Wi-Fi is 2.4GHz only (802.11b/g/n) and your office SSID is 5GHz-only; or the network uses enterprise authentication (WPA2/WPA3 Enterprise / 802.1X) which the printer can't complete from its screen. Either way: connect by Ethernet, or put the printer on a 2.4GHz IoT/devices network (plus MAC registration if devices need approving).
After any network maintenance — router replacement, firmware updates, SSID changes — run a test check-in before the next working day.

FAQs

Can I use a QL-810W or another Brother printer model?

Not currently — automatic badge printing supports the Brother QL-820NWB only. Support for additional models may come later.

Can I use Bluetooth instead of Wi-Fi?

No. Automatic badge printing connects to the printer over your network. Bluetooth pairing is not supported. If your printer was previously paired by Bluetooth, set it up again by following this guide.

Can I use the printer's own Wi-Fi network (Wireless Direct)?

No. A kiosk joined to the printer's network loses internet access and can't check visitors in. The printer must join your workplace network instead.

Can multiple kiosks share one printer?

Yes. Enter the same printer IP address on each kiosk. The reverse also works — different kiosks can each have their own dedicated printer.

What happens if the printer is offline when a visitor checks in?

Check-in completes normally — visitors are never blocked by a printer problem. The badge just doesn't print. Email notifications to building admins when a print fails are coming soon.

My badges printed fine for weeks, then stopped. Why?

Almost always the printer's address changed after a reboot or network change. Run Check 1 in Troubleshooting, update the address in Kadence, and ask IT to reserve the address so it can't move again (Step 3).

VMS Kiosk Setup and Management

Setting Up Visitor Badge Printing

Checking In as a Visitor

Badge Printer Setup Guide