Using Chinese Thermal/Label printer with PC - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: sairfan1
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2023, 05:37:05 pm
content: I recently bought a small Thermal printer, please refer to attached pictures when i send print from computer with a box and simple text in it, printer prints the commands its receiving, but not the actual print it is suppose to print. I believe i have to setup printer properly on my PC, not sure what needs to configure

author: barshatriplee
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2023, 12:15:34 am
content: Have you got any user manuals or datasheets? I think without consulting these, it will not be possible to figure out what is missing.

author: JustMeHere
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2023, 09:26:30 am
content: Looks like postscript (I think). Are you using a PS driver? Maybe look for a PCL driver if you can find one.

author: BeBuLamar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2023, 09:48:36 am
content: Did the software come with the printer? It appears that the printer is a text only printer.

author: PA0PBZ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2023, 10:03:22 am
content: It looks like you are using software for a labelprinter (Brother P-touch or similar) and your printer is not a labelprinter.

author: BeBuLamar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2023, 11:46:08 pm
content: If the software isn't the one that came with the printer then I am sure it's a text ony printer. No fancy fonts either.. Just print 1 fixed font and you can simply send it the text and it will print.

author: mikerj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 08:10:56 am
content: Those receipt printers almost always use the ESC/POS command set. It is definitely possible to print simple monochrome bitmaps using the appropriate commands, but not directly from an app like that using the generic text output printer driver. If you search on GitHub there are numerous code examples and projects using ESC/POS.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 10:01:28 am
content: Quote from: sairfan1 on May 23, 2023, 05:37:05 pmThat is WPL (Wasp Printing Language), the printer language for Wasp brand printers. Since your printer doesn’t know what to do with that, it’s just printing it as text.In other words, you need to configure your software for YOUR printer, not some random one.Check the documentation to see what languages your printer supports, and whether you need to make any jumper settings to select the language and other options.Some cheap ones only do text, in which case driving them is simple. You just don’t get real graphics.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 10:03:10 am
content: Quote from: PA0PBZ on May 24, 2023, 10:03:22 amBased on the file extension in the screenshot, it’s Bartender, a commercial labeling program that supports a gazillion different printer types.https://www.seagullscientific.com/software/free/

author: MikeK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 01:59:51 pm
content: Enlarging the first image in post #1 strangely shows a different image than the thumbnail.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 03:32:57 pm
content: Quote from: MikeK on May 25, 2023, 01:59:51 pmJust another server bug. The thumbnail is wrong (today; it was correct earlier), the image is correct.