Mortdecai/POS_PRINT.md

POS_PRINT.md — Printing to the Epson TM-m30

Quick-reference for any agent or script that needs to print arbitrary content on the receipt printer.

USER may explicitly use this file in lieu of a formal request to print.

Printer Details

Exact model reference: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GO08MW2

Core

Field	Value
Model	Epson TM-m30
Print method	Thermal
Print speed	200 mm/second
Print resolution	203 dpi
Print direction	Vertical and horizontal
Protocol used here	ESC/POS over raw TCP
IP	192.168.0.137
Port	9100
Profile	default (python-escpos)

Fonts and characters

Field	Value
Fonts / columns	Font A: 12 x 24, 48 cpl (default); Font B: 10 x 24, 57 cpl; Font C: 9 x 17, 64 cpl
Character size	Font A: 1.25 x 3.00 mm; Font B: 1.13 x 3.00 mm; Font C: 0.88 x 2.13 mm
Character set	95 alphanumeric, 18 international, 128 x 43

Barcode and 2D symbols

Field	Value
Barcode	UPC-A, UPC-E, JAN8 / EAN8, JAN13 / EAN13, Code39, Code93, Code128, ITF, CODABAR (NW-7), GS1-128, GS1 DataBar
2D symbols	PDF417, QR Code, MaxiCode, Data Matrix, Aztec Code, 2D GS1 DataBar, Composite Symbology

Media handling

Field	Value
Type	Thermal roll paper
Paper feed method	Friction feed
Width	3.12 in / 79.5 mm
Paper loading	Drop-in
Roll diameter (max)	3.27 in / 83 mm
Core diameter (min)	0.71 in / 18 mm
Paper guide	Yes
Auto cutter	Yes

Connectivity

Field	Value
Ethernet model	Built-in USB + Ethernet 10/100Base-T/TX
Bluetooth model	Built-in USB + Bluetooth 3.0 (EDR supported) + Ethernet 10/100Base-T/TX
Wi-Fi model	Built-in USB + 802.11b/g/n (2.4 GHz) and 802.11a/n (5 GHz) + Ethernet 10/100Base-T/TX
Wireless security mode	WEP, WPA, WPA2 Personal/Enterprise
Supported mobile OS	iOS, Android, Windows (Store Apps)
Easy setting	SimpleAP, TM Utility, NFC, QR Code

General

Field	Value
Printer reliability	15 million printing lines
Auto cutter reliability	1.5 million cuts
NV bit image memory	12 KB (max)
NV graphics	384 KB (max)
Receive buffer	4 KB or 45 bytes
Printer drivers	ePOS-Print SDK, Windows Driver (APD), OPOS, OPOS.NET, JavaPOS (Win), JavaPOS (Linux), TM Virtual Port Driver, CUPS Driver (Linux), Mac Driver
Software	TM Utility (iOS, Android), TM-m30 Utility (Windows Desktop), EpsonNet Config (Win, Mac), TM Bluetooth Connector, Deployment Tool, Monitoring Tool
Audible alert	Optional external buzzer
LED indicators	Blue LED = Power, Orange LED = Error and/or Paper Out
Sensors	Paper End, Cover Open
D.K.D. function	Yes
Power consumption	Approx. 1.5 A (mean)
Power source	Adapter C, Adapter RA (printer powers tablet SKU only)
Power saving	Yes
Temperature	5 C to 45 C
Relative humidity	10 to 90%
Acoustic noise level	55 dB
Standards and approvals	EMI FCC Class A, CAN ICES-3(A)/NMB-3(A), UL60950-1/CSA C22.2 No.60950-1
Dimensions (W x D x H)	5 x 5 x 5 in (127 x 127 x 127 mm)
Weight	2.64 lb / 1200 g
Color	Epson Black, Epson Ultra White
Options	Mounting brackets, external buzzer

Minimal Print Example

import socket
from escpos.printer import Dummy

PRINTER_IP = "192.168.0.137"
PRINTER_PORT = 9100
COLS = 57  # Font B on 80mm paper

# 1. Build the receipt with a Dummy (in-memory) printer
p = Dummy(profile="default")
p.set(font='b', align='center', bold=True)
p.text("Hello from the POS printer!\n")
p.set(font='b', align='left', bold=False)
p.text("This is normal left-aligned text.\n")
p.cut()

# 2. Send raw bytes over TCP
with socket.create_connection((PRINTER_IP, PRINTER_PORT), timeout=10) as sock:
    sock.sendall(p.output)

Dependencies: pip3 install python-escpos (plus qrcode if you use QR codes)

How It Works

The pattern is always the same — build bytes, then send bytes:

1. Build — Instantiate escpos.printer.Dummy. Call formatting/content methods on it. All ESC/POS command bytes accumulate in p.output.
2. Send — Open a raw TCP socket to 192.168.0.137:9100 and sendall(p.output). The printer interprets the byte stream natively. No driver, no CUPS, no PDF.

Formatting Reference

All formatting is done via p.set(). Always pass font='b' (Font B gives 57 columns on 80 mm paper; Font A gives fewer).

# Bold, centered header
p.set(font='b', align='center', bold=True)
p.text("TITLE\n")

# Normal left-aligned body text
p.set(font='b', align='left', bold=False)
p.text("Body text here.\n")

# Right-aligned
p.set(font='b', align='right', bold=False)
p.text("Right side\n")

Available p.set() kwargs

Kwarg	Values	Notes
font	'a', 'b'	Always use 'b' for 57-col width
align	'left', 'center', 'right'
bold	True / False
underline	0, 1, 2	0=off, 1=single, 2=double
width	1–8	Character width multiplier
height	1–8	Character height multiplier
density	0–8	Print density
invert	True / False	White on black
smooth	True / False	Smoothing mode
flip	True / False	Upside-down printing

Content Methods

p.text("Plain text with newlines\n")       # Text (wrap manually at COLS)
p.qr("https://example.com", native=True, size=3)  # QR code (native=True uses printer HW)
p.image(pil_image)                          # PIL Image object
p.barcode("123456", "EAN13")               # Barcode
p.cut()                                     # Paper cut (always do this at the end)

Separators

COLS = 57
p.text("=" * COLS + "\n")   # Thick separator
p.text("-" * COLS + "\n")   # Thin separator

Reusable Send Function

import socket

def send_to_printer(raw_bytes, ip="192.168.0.137", port=9100):
    """Send raw ESC/POS bytes to the TM-m30 over TCP."""
    with socket.create_connection((ip, port), timeout=10) as sock:
        sock.sendall(raw_bytes)

Troubleshooting

• Printer unreachable: 192.168.0.137 can have intermittent ARP issues from some CTs. Ping first or retry.
• Garbled output: You probably mixed Font A and Font B column math. Stick to Font B (font='b') and COLS = 57.
• No cut at end: Always call p.cut() as the last content method. Without it the receipt hangs out of the printer.
• QR code not printing: Ensure native=True is passed to p.qr(). The TM-m30 supports hardware QR generation. Also needs the qrcode pip package installed.

Daily Briefing Project

For printing a full daily news briefing (FreshRSS headlines summarized by Ollama, weather, ZFS status, Grafana metrics, market data, Reddit top post, QR codes), see:

• Project: /root/bin/POS-Automation/
• Main script: /root/bin/POS-Automation/pos_briefing.py
• Context: /root/bin/POS-Automation/CONTEXT.md
• Gitea: https://git.sethpc.xyz/Seth/POS-Automation

That project's build_receipt() function (line 356) is the most complete example of a multi-section ESC/POS receipt with headers, dashboard data, QR codes, and article summaries. Fork it or import its patterns if you need structured receipt layouts.