Printer::ESCPOS::Manual - Manual for Printing POS Receipts using Printer::ESCPOS
version 1.006
use Printer::ESCPOS; # Create a Printer object, Initialize the printer. my $device = Printer::ESCPOS->new( driverType => 'Serial' deviceFilePath => '/dev/ttyACM0' ); # All Printers have their own initialization # recommendations(Cleaning buffers etc.). Run # this command to let the module do this for you. $device->printer->init(); # Prepare some data to send to the printer using # formatting and text commands $device->printer->bold(1); $device->printer->text("Heading text\n"); $device->printer->bold(0); $device->printer->text("Content here\n"); $device->printer->text(". . .\n"); # Add a cut paper command at the end to cut the receipt # This command will be ignored by your printer if it # doesn't have a paper cutter on it $device->printer->cutPaper(); # Send the Prepared data to the printer. $device->printer->print();
Printer::ESCPOS uses a three step mechanism for sending the data to the Printer i.e initialization, preparation of data to send to the printer, and finally sending the prepared data to the printer. Separation of preparation and printing steps allows Printer::ESCPOS to deal with communication speed and buffer limitations found in most common ESCPOS printers.
The USB driverType allows you to talk to a printer using its vendorId and productId as params.
my $device = Printer::ESCPOS->new( driverType => 'USB', vendorId => 0x1504, productId => 0x0006, );
Optional parameters:
The driver uses a default endPoint value of 0x01. To get valid values for endPoint for your printer use the following command:
shantanu@shantanu-G41M-ES2L:~$ sudo lsusb -vvv -d 1504:0006 | grep bEndpointAddress | grep OUT bEndpointAddress 0x01 EP 1 OUT
Replace 1504:0006 with your own printer's vendor id and product id in the above command
my $device = Printer::ESCPOS->new( driverType => 'USB', vendorId => 0x1504, productId => 0x0006, endPoint => 0x01, );
You may also specify USB device timeout, although default value(1000 ms) should be sufficient in most cases:
my $device = Printer::ESCPOS->new( driverType => 'USB', vendorId => 0x1504, productId => 0x0006, endPoint => 0x01, timeout => 500, );
The Mandatory parameters for a Serial driverType are driverType( Serial ) and deviceFilePath This is the preferred driverType for connecting to a printer. This connection type is valid for printers connected over serial ports or for printers connected on physical USB ports but showing up as Serial devices(check syslog when you connect the printer). Note that not all printers show up as Serial devices when connected on USB port.
my $device = Printer::ESCPOS->new( driverType => 'Serial', deviceFilePath => '/dev/ttyACM0', );
the driver uses 38400 as default baudrate. If necessary you can change this value by providing a baudrate parameter.
my $device = Printer::ESCPOS->new( driverType => 'Serial', deviceFilePath => '/dev/ttyACM0', baudrate => 9600, );
If your printer is not printing properly when connected on physical serial port try setting the flag serialOverUSB to 0 to tell Printer::ESCPOS to use special buffer management optimizations for physical serial ports
my $device = Printer::ESCPOS->new( driverType => 'Serial', deviceFilePath => '/dev/ttyACM0', baudrate => 9600, serialOverUSB => 0 );
The Mandatory parameters for a Network driverType are driverType( Network ), deviceIP and devicePort This is a driverType for printers connected over a network.
my $device = Printer::ESCPOS->new( driverType => 'Network', deviceIP => '10.0.13.108', devicePort => '9100', );
The Mandatory parameters for a File driverType are driverType( File ) and deviceFilePath This Driver is included for those instances when your printing needs are simple(You don't want to check the printer for printer status etc. and are only interested in pushing data to the printer for printing) and Serial driver type is just refusing to work altogether. In this driverType the data is written directly to the printer device file and from there sent to the printer. This is the basic text method for ESCPOS printers and it almost always works but it doesn't allow you to read Printer Status which might not be a deal breaker for most people. This driverType can also be used for Printers which connect on USB ports but don't show up as Serial devices in syslog
my $device = Printer::ESCPOS->new( driverType => 'File', deviceFilePath => '/dev/usb/lp0', );
In all the methods described below its assumed that variable $device has been initialized using the appropriate connection to the printer with one of the driverTypes mentioned above. The following methods prepare the text and text formatting data to be sent to the printer.
$device
Prints a qr code to the printer. In Generic profile, this creates a QR Code image using L<GD::Barcode::QRcode>. A native implementation may be created using a printer model specific profile.
$device->printer->qr('Print this QR Code'); $device->printer->qr('WIFI:T:WPA;S:ShantanusWifi;P:wifipasswordhere;;') # Create a QR code for connecting to a Wifi
You may also pass in optional QR Code format parameters like Ecc, Version and moduleSize. Read more about these params at http://www.qrcode.com/en/about/version.html.
my $ecc = 'L'; # Default value my $version = 5; # Default value my $moduleSize = 3; # Default value $device->printer->qr("Don't Panic!", $ecc, $version, $moduleSize);
You may also call align() before calling qr() to set alignment on the page.
use utf8; $device->printer->utf8ImagedText("Hello World", fontFamily => "Rubik", fontStyle => "Normal", fontSize => 25, lineHeight => 40 );
This method uses native fonts to print utf8 compatible characters including international wide characters. This method is slower than direct text printing but it allows exceptional styling options allowing you to print text using system fonts in a wide range of font sizes and styles with many more choices than what a thermal printer otherwise provides.
In the background this function uses Pango and Cairo libraries to create a one line image from a given font styles, font family in a given font size. Note that you must not use this method to print more than a single line at a time. When you want to print the next line call this method again to print to the next line.
string: String to be printed in the line.
fontFamily (optional, default 'Purisa'): Font family to use. On linux systems with font config installed use the following command to choose from the list of available fonts:
fc-list | sed 's/.*:\(.*,\|\s\)\(.*\):.*/\2/'
You may also install more fonts from https://fonts.google.com/ to your system fonts( copy the font to /usr/share/fonts )
fontStyle (optional, default 'Normal'): Font style like Bold, Normal, Italic etc.
fontSize (optional, default 20): Font size
lineHeight (optional, default 42): Line Height in pixels, make sure this is bigger than the font height in pixels for your chosen font size.
paperWidth (optional, default 500): This is set to 500 pixels by default as this is the most common width for receipt printers. Change this as per your printer specs.
Prints a GD image object to the printer
use GD; my $img = newFromGif GD::Image('header.gif') || die "Error $!"; $device->printer->image($img);
Sends raw text to the printer.
$device->printer->text("Hello Printer::ESCPOS\n")
Sets the Print area width specified by width which is a int between 0 to 65535
$device->printer->printAreaWidth( 255 );
Note: If you are using Printer::ESCPOS version prior to v1.* Please check documentation for older version of this module the nL and nH syntax for this method.
Sets horizontal tab positions for tab stops. Upto 32 tab positions can be set in most receipt printers.
$device->printer->tabPositions( 5, 9, 13 );
Default tab positions are usually in intervals of 8 chars (9, 17, 25) etc.
moves the cursor to next horizontal tab position like a "\t". This command is ignored unless the next horizontal tab position has been set. You may substitute this command with a "\t" as well.
"\t"
This
$device->printer->text("blah blah"); $device->printer->tab(); $device->printer->text("blah2 blah2");
is same as this
$device->printer->text("blah blah\tblah2 blah2");
line feed. Moves to the next line. You can substitute this method with "\n" in your print or text method e.g. :
"\n"
$device->printer->text("blah blah"); $device->printer->lf(); $device->printer->text("blah2 blah2");
$device->printer->text("blah blah\nblah2 blah2");
Set Font style, you can pass a, b or c. Many printers don't support style c and only have two supported styles.
$device->printer->font('a'); $device->printer->text('Writing in Font A'); $device->printer->font('b'); $device->printer->text('Writing in Font B');
Set bold mode 0 for off and 1 for on. Also called emphasized mode in some printer manuals
$device->printer->bold(1); $device->printer->text("This is Bold Text\n"); $device->printer->bold(0); $device->printer->text("This is not Bold Text\n");
Set double-strike mode 0 for off and 1 for on
$device->printer->doubleStrike(1); $device->printer->text("This is Double Striked Text\n"); $device->printer->doubleStrike(0); $device->printer->text("This is not Double Striked Text\n");
set underline, 0 for off, 1 for on and 2 for double thickness
$device->printer->underline(1); $device->printer->text("This is Underlined Text\n"); $device->printer->underline(2); $device->printer->text("This is Underlined Text with thicker underline\n"); $device->printer->underline(0); $device->printer->text("This is not Underlined Text\n");
Reverse white/black printing mode pass 0 for off and 1 for on
$device->printer->invert(1); $device->printer->text("This is Inverted Text\n"); $device->printer->invert(0); $device->printer->text("This is not Inverted Text\n");
Most thermal printers support just one color, black. Some ESCPOS printers(especially dot matrix) also support a second color, usually red. In many models, this only works when the color is set at the beginning of a new line before any text is printed. Pass 0 or 1 to switch between the two colors.
$device->printer->lf(); $device->printer->color(0); #black $device->printer->text("black"); $device->printer->lf(); $device->printer->color(1); #red $device->printer->text("Red"); $device->printer->print();
Set Justification. Options left, right and center
$device->printer->justify( 'right' ); $device->printer->text("This is right justified");
Sets Upside Down Printing on/off (pass 0 or 1)
$device->printer->upsideDownPrinting(1); $device->printer->text("This text is upside down");
Set font height. Only supports 0 or 1 for printmode set to 1, supports values 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 for non-printmode state (default)
$device->printer->fontHeight(1); $device->printer->text("double height\n"); $device->printer->fontHeight(2); $device->printer->text("triple height\n"); $device->printer->fontHeight(3); $device->printer->text("quadruple height\n"); . . .
Set font width. Only supports 0 or 1 for printmode set to 1, supports values 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 for non-printmode state (default)
$device->printer->fontWidth(1); $device->printer->text("double width\n"); $device->printer->fontWidth(2); $device->printer->text("triple width\n"); $device->printer->fontWidth(3); $device->printer->text("quadruple width\n"); . . .
Sets character spacing. Takes a value between 0 and 255
$device->printer->charSpacing(5); $device->printer->text("Blah Blah Blah\n"); $device->printer->print();
Sets the line spacing i.e the spacing between each line of printout.
$device->printer->lineSpacing($spacing);
0 <= $spacing <= 255
Reverts to default line spacing for the printer
$device->printer->selectDefaultLineSpacing();
Sets the distance from the beginning of the line to the position at which characters are to be printed.
$device->printer->printPosition( $length, $height );
0 <= $length <= 255
0 <= $height <= 255
Sets the left margin for printing. Set the left margin at the beginning of a line. The printer ignores any data preceding this command on the same line in the buffer.
In page mode sets the left margin to leftMargin x (horizontal motion unit) from the left edge of the printable area
Left Margin, range: 0 to 65535. If the margin exceeds the printable area, the left margin is automatically set to the maximum value of the printable area.
$device->printer->leftMargin($leftMargin);
Rotate printout by 90 degrees
$device->printer->rot90(1); $device->printer->text("This is rotated 90 degrees\n"); $device->printer->rot90(0); $device->printer->text("This is not rotated 90 degrees\n");
This method prints a barcode to the printer. This can be bundled with other text formatting commands at the appropriate point where you would like to print a barcode on your print out. takes argument barcode as the barcode value.
In the simplest form you can use this command as follows:
#Default barcode printed in code93 system with a width of 2 and HRI Chars printed below the barcode $device->printer->barcode( barcode => 'SHANTANU BHADORIA', );
However there are several customizations available including barcode system, font, height etc.
my $hripos = 'above'; my $font = 'a'; my $height = 100; my $system = 'UPC-A'; $device->printer->barcode( HRIPosition => $hripos, # Position of Human Readable characters # 'none','above','below','aboveandbelow' font => $font, # Font for HRI characters. 'a' or 'b' height => $height, # no of dots in vertical direction system => $system, # Barcode system width => 2 # 2:0.25mm, 3:0.375mm, 4:0.5mm, 5:0.625mm, 6:0.75mm barcode => '123456789012', # Check barcode system you are using for allowed # characters in barcode ); $device->printer->barcode( system => 'CODE39', HRIPosition => 'above', barcode => '*1-I.I/ $IA*', ); $device->printer->barcode( system => 'CODE93', HRIPosition => 'above', barcode => 'Shan', );
Available barcode systems:
UPC-A
UPC-C
JAN13
JAN8
CODE39
ITF
CODABAR
CODE93
CODE128
Prints bit image stored in Non-Volatile (NV) memory of the printer.
$device->printer->printNVImage($flag);
$flag = 0 # Normal width and Normal Height
$flag = 1 # Double width and Normal Height
$flag = 2 # Normal width and Double Height
$flag = 3 # Double width and Double Height
Prints bit image stored in Volatile memory of the printer. This image gets erased when printer is reset.
$device->printer->printImage($flag);
Cuts the paper, if feed is set to 0 then printer doesnt feed paper to cutting position before cutting it. The default behavior is that the printer doesn't feed paper to cutting position before cutting. One pre-requisite line feed is automatically executed before paper cut though.
$device->printer->cutPaper( feed => 0 )
While not strictly a text formatting option, in receipt printer the cut paper instruction is sent along with the rest of the text and text formatting data and the printer cuts the paper at the appropriate points wherever this command is used.
Trigger drawer kick. Used to open cash drawer connected to the printer. In some use cases it may be used to trigger other devices by close contact.
$device->printer->drawerKickPulse( $pin, $time );
$pin is either 0( for pin 2 ) and 1( for pin5 ) default value is 0
$time is a value between 1 to 8 and the pulse duration in multiples of 100ms. default value is 8
For default values use without any params to kick drawer pin 2 with a 800ms pulse
$device->printer->drawerKickPulse();
Again like cutPaper command this is obviously not a text formatting command but this command is sent along with the rest of the text and text formatting data and the printer sends the pulse at the appropriate points wherever this command is used. While originally designed for triggering a cash drawer to open, in practice this port can be used for all sorts of devices like pulsing light, or sound alarm etc.
Once Initialization is done and the formatted text for printing is prepared using the above commands, its time to send these commands to printer. This is a single easy step.
$device->printer->print();
Why an extra print step to send this data to the printer? This is necessary because many printers have difficulty handling large amount of print data sent across in a single large stream. Separating the preparation of data from transmission of data to the printer allows Printer::ESCPOS to do some buffer management and optimization in the way the entire data is sent to the printer with tiny timed breaks between chunks of data for a reliable printer output.
The Serial driverType allows reading of printer health, paper and other status parameters from the printer. At the moment there are following commands available for getting printer status.
Returns printer status in a hashref.
return { drawer_pin3_high => $flags[5], offline => $flags[4], waiting_for_online_recovery => $flags[2], feed_button_pressed => $flags[1], };
Returns a hashref for paper cover closed status, feed button pressed status, paper end stop status, and a aggregate error status either of which will prevent the printer from processing a printing request.
return { cover_is_closed => $flags[5], feed_button_pressed => $flags[4], paper_end => $flags[2], error => $flags[1], };
Returns hashref with error flags for auto_cutter_error, unrecoverable error and auto-recoverable error
return { auto_cutter_error => $flags[4], unrecoverable_error => $flags[2], autorecoverable_error => $flags[1], };
Gets printer paper Sensor status. Returns a hashref with four sensor statuses. Two paper near end sensors and two paper end sensors for printers supporting this feature. The exact returned status might differ based on the make of your printer. If any of the flags is set to 1 it implies that the paper is out or near end.
return { paper_roll_near_end_sensor_1 => $flags[5], paper_roll_near_end_sensor_2 => $flags[4], paper_roll_status_sensor_1 => $flags[2], paper_roll_status_sensor_2 => $flags[1], };
Only available for dot-matrix and other ink consuming printers. Gets printer ink status for inkA(usually black ink). Returns a hashref with ink statuses.
return { ink_near_end => $flags[5], ink_end => $flags[4], ink_cartridge_missing => $flags[2], cleaning_in_progress => $flags[1], };
Only available for dot-matrix and other ink consuming printers. Gets printer ink status for inkB(usually red ink). Returns a hashref with ink statuses.
return { ink_near_end => $flags[5], ink_end => $flags[4], ink_cartridge_missing => $flags[2], };
Shantanu Bhadoria <shantanu@cpan.org> https://www.shantanubhadoria.com
This software is copyright (c) 2017 by Shantanu Bhadoria.
This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.
To install Printer::ESCPOS, copy and paste the appropriate command in to your terminal.
cpanm
cpanm Printer::ESCPOS
CPAN shell
perl -MCPAN -e shell install Printer::ESCPOS
For more information on module installation, please visit the detailed CPAN module installation guide.