It's easy to use the thermal printer with CircuitPython (or Python via the Blinka library) and the Adafruit CircuitPython Thermal Printer module. This module allows you to easily write Python code that controls the printer, like printing text and barcodes (note right now bitmap printing is not supported by CircuitPython code).
Wiring is explained on the “Making Connections” page.
On Raspberry Pi, a common choice is to use the board’s GPIO pins to connect to the printer’s TTL serial port. Also on Pi, and on most other computer (not microcontroller) situations, there’s the USB port on the Tiny printer, or using a USB-to-serial or FTDI cable. Please visit the guide for CircuitPython on Linux to see whether your platform is supported.
CircuitPython Installation of Thermal Printer Library
If you're using a CircuitPython microcontroller, you'll need to install the Adafruit CircuitPython Thermal Printer library on your CircuitPython board.
First make sure you are running the latest version of Adafruit CircuitPython for your board.
Next you'll need to install the necessary libraries to use the hardware--carefully follow the steps to find and install these libraries from Adafruit's CircuitPython library bundle. Our introduction guide has a great page on how to install the library bundle for both express and non-express boards.
You can also download the adafruit_thermal_printer folder from its releases page on Github.
Copy the adafruit_thermal_printer folder into the CircuitPython drive’s lib directory. Place the whole folder itself there, not the individual files within.
If you're using a Raspberry Pi or other computer with Python, you'll need to install the Adafruit_Blinka library that provides the CircuitPython support in Python. This may require verifying you are running Python 3. Since each platform is a little different, and Linux changes often, please visit the CircuitPython on Linux guide to get your computer ready!
Once that's done, from your command line run the following command:
sudo pip3 install adafruit-circuitpython-thermal-printer
Firmware Version and Baud Rate
Before you can use the printer module you must determine the firmware version and baud rate of the printer. This is easy to find out by printing a test page from the printer as described on the “First Test” page, hold the printer button as power is applied. Print out the test page and take note of these values printed at the bottom:
- Baudrate - Remember this value, typically 19200 or 9600.
- Version - Take note of this value too, it's a value like 2.2, 2.64, 2.68, etc. You will use the version to pick the appropriate module for interacting with the printer.
Usage
If you're using a CircuitPython microcontroller, connect to the board's serial REPL so you are at the CircuitPython >>> prompt. If you're using a computer like the Raspberry Pi, bring up a REPL at the command prompt by typing python3. (On some systems, python may run Python 3 - just make sure you're not using Python 2, as it isn't supported.)
To demonstrate the usage of the sensor we'll initialize it and print some text from the REPL.
First you must import the necessary modules to initialize the hardware serial connection to the printer. These commands will vary depending on your hardware - choose the appropriate set:
# On a CircuitPython microcontroller: import board import busio uart = busio.UART(board.TX, board.RX, baudrate=19200)
# On the Raspberry Pi with built-in UART:
import serial
uart = serial.Serial("/dev/serial0", baudrate=19200, timeout=3000)
# On the Raspberry Pi with the USB-to-serial converter:
import serial
uart = serial.Serial("/dev/ttyUSB0", baudrate=19200, timeout=3000)
# On the Raspberry Pi with recent Tiny printers on USB:
import serial
uart = serial.Serial("/dev/usb/lp0", baudrate=19200, timeout=3000)
Notice the baud rate of the serial connection is specified with the baudrate keyword. For most printers they'll use a rate of 19200 baud, however other printers might be configured to use a different rate like 9600 baud. Use the baud rate you saw printed on the test page of your printer!
Also be aware CircuitPython currently requires bi-direction UART connections so even if you don't have the board RX pin hooked up (as recommended) you must keep the RX pin disconnected and ignore using it in your project.
Create ThermalPrinter Class
Next you'll need to import the thermal printer module and call a function to get the right class depending on the version of your printer firmware. Be sure you've found the exact version number for your printer by following the steps mentioned above and on the previous test page!
import adafruit_thermal_printer ThermalPrinter = adafruit_thermal_printer.get_printer_class(2.69)
Notice you call the get_printer_class function from within the adafruit_thermal_printer module. You must pass this function the version of the thermal printer that you're using and it will internally find the right class to import and use in your code. In this example we're specifying a printer with version 2.69 firmware, but be sure to specify your printer's version!
The result is a class which you can immediately initialize:
printer = ThermalPrinter(uart)
Notice you must pass in the serial UART connection that was previously constructed.
Be aware it will take from a half to even 5 seconds for the printer to be created and initialize itself and warm up. You can optionally specify auto_warm_up=False as a keyword and manually call the warm_up function to control when this warm-up time occurs if needed in your application (or you are confused why your code takes so long to start up).
Test Page Print
Now you're ready to print!
Try printing a full test page with the test_page function:
printer.test_page()
You should see the printer test page print out.
You can advance the paper forward a number of lines with the feed function, try feeding 2 lines to make some space:
printer.feed(2)
Now print a small line of text with the print function and feed a few lines to move it out of the printer to read:
printer.print('Hello from CircuitPython!')
printer.feed(2)
Printer Fonts
There are a few properties you can use to adjust how text is printed. Each of these can be set to a True value to enable, or a False value to disable:
-
bold- Print bold text. -
inverse- Print inverted (white on black) text. -
upside_down- Print upside down text (might not work on all versions of printers). -
double_height- Double height size text. -
double_width- Double width size text. -
strike- Strike-through text (again might not work on all versions of printers).
Try turning on bold text and printing a line:
printer.bold = True # Turn on bold
printer.print('This is bold text!')
printer.bold = False # Turn off bold
# Feed lines to make visible:
printer.feed(2)
There are a few properties you can set to special values to further control text printing:
-
underline- This controls underline printing and can be None (off),adafruit_thermal_printer.UNDERLINE_THIN, oradafruit_thermal_printer.UNDERLINE_THICK. -
size- This controls the size of text and can beadafruit_thermal_printer.SIZE_SMALL,adafruit_thermal_printer.SIZE_MEDIUM, oradafruit_thermal_printer.SIZE_LARGE. The default is small. -
justify- This controls the justification or location of printed text and can beadafruit_thermal_printer.JUSTIFY_LEFT,adafruit_thermal_printer.JUSTIFY_CENTER, oradafruit_thermal_printer.JUSTIFY_RIGHT. The default is justify left.
For example to print thick underlined, medium text, with center justification:
printer.underline = adafruit_thermal_printer.UNDERLINE_THICK
printer.size = adafruit_thermal_printer.SIZE_MEDIUM
printer.justify = adafruit_thermal_printer.JUSTIFY_CENTER
printer.print('Medium center!')
# Reset back to normal printing:
printer.underline = None
printer.size = adafruit_thermal_printer.SIZE_SMALL
printer.justify = adafruit_thermal_printer.JUSTIFY_LEFT
# Feed lines to make visible:
printer.feed(2)
Print Barcodes
Finally you can print a barcode with the print_barcode function. Each printer supports a different type and format of barcode so consult the product sheet in the downloads section for each type. However here's an example of printing a UPC A barcode with value '123456789012':
printer.print_barcode('123456789012', printer.UPC_A)
printer.feed(2)
The first parameter to print_barcode is a string that defines the barcode value (this varies depending on the type of barcode, a UPC A code is 13 digits). The second parameter is the type of the barcode, which again is dependent on the printer firmware. Typical values you might use include:
printer.UPC_Aprinter.UPC_Eprinter.EAN13printer.EAN8printer.CODE39printer.ITFprinter.CODABARprinter.CODE93printer.CODE128
Check Paper
With some printers (not all, and it varies among firmware releases), if you've connected the RX pin of your board to the printer TX, you can query paper status with the has_paper function that returns True or False if there is paper present:
printer.has_paper()
That's all there is to using the thermal printer with CircuitPython!
A complete demo of the usage is in the thermal_printer_simpletest.py demo in the library.
On the Raspberry Pi, comment out the uart = busio(...) line, and uncomment the import serial and uart = serial.Serial(...) lines, changing /dev/ttyUSB0 to the appropriate serial port.
Unless you used a voltage divider to hook up the printer TX line, make sure you comment out the paper check code:
# Check if the printer has paper. This only works if the RX line is connected
# on your board (but BE CAREFUL as mentioned above this RX line is 5V!)
#if printer.has_paper():
# print('Printer has paper!')
#else:
# print('Printer might be out of paper, or RX is disconnected!')
Now you can run the program with the following command:
python3 thermal_printer_simpletest.py
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2021 ladyada for Adafruit Industries
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
# Simple demo of printer functionality.
# Author: Tony DiCola
import board
import busio
import adafruit_thermal_printer
# Pick which version thermal printer class to use depending on the version of
# your printer. Hold the button on the printer as it's powered on and it will
# print a test page that displays the firmware version, like 2.64, 2.68, etc.
# Use this version in the get_printer_class function below.
ThermalPrinter = adafruit_thermal_printer.get_printer_class(2.69)
# Define RX and TX pins for the board's serial port connected to the printer.
# Only the TX pin needs to be configued, and note to take care NOT to connect
# the RX pin if your board doesn't support 5V inputs. If RX is left unconnected
# the only loss in functionality is checking if the printer has paper--all other
# functions of the printer will work.
RX = board.RX
TX = board.TX
# Create a serial connection for the printer. You must use the same baud rate
# as your printer is configured (print a test page by holding the button
# during power-up and it will show the baud rate). Most printers use 19200.
uart = busio.UART(TX, RX, baudrate=19200)
# For a computer, use the pyserial library for uart access.
# import serial
# uart = serial.Serial("/dev/serial0", baudrate=19200, timeout=3000)
# Create the printer instance.
printer = ThermalPrinter(uart, auto_warm_up=False)
# Initialize the printer. Note this will take a few seconds for the printer
# to warm up and be ready to accept commands (hence calling it explicitly vs.
# automatically in the initializer with the default auto_warm_up=True).
printer.warm_up()
# Check if the printer has paper. This only works if the RX line is connected
# on your board (but BE CAREFUL as mentioned above this RX line is 5V!)
if printer.has_paper():
print("Printer has paper!")
else:
print("Printer might be out of paper, or RX is disconnected!")
# Print a test page:
printer.test_page()
# Move the paper forward two lines:
printer.feed(2)
# Print a line of text:
printer.print("Hello world!")
# Print a bold line of text:
printer.bold = True
printer.print("Bold hello world!")
printer.bold = False
# Print a normal/thin underline line of text:
printer.underline = adafruit_thermal_printer.UNDERLINE_THIN
printer.print("Thin underline!")
# Print a thick underline line of text:
printer.underline = adafruit_thermal_printer.UNDERLINE_THICK
printer.print("Thick underline!")
# Disable underlines.
printer.underline = None
# Print an inverted line.
printer.inverse = True
printer.print("Inverse hello world!")
printer.inverse = False
# Print an upside down line.
printer.upside_down = True
printer.print("Upside down hello!")
printer.upside_down = False
# Print a double height line.
printer.double_height = True
printer.print("Double height!")
printer.double_height = False
# Print a double width line.
printer.double_width = True
printer.print("Double width!")
printer.double_width = False
# Print a strike-through line.
printer.strike = True
printer.print("Strike-through hello!")
printer.strike = False
# Print medium size text.
printer.size = adafruit_thermal_printer.SIZE_MEDIUM
printer.print("Medium size text!")
# Print large size text.
printer.size = adafruit_thermal_printer.SIZE_LARGE
printer.print("Large size text!")
# Back to normal / small size text.
printer.size = adafruit_thermal_printer.SIZE_SMALL
# Print center justified text.
printer.justify = adafruit_thermal_printer.JUSTIFY_CENTER
printer.print("Center justified!")
# Print right justified text.
printer.justify = adafruit_thermal_printer.JUSTIFY_RIGHT
printer.print("Right justified!")
# Back to left justified / normal text.
printer.justify = adafruit_thermal_printer.JUSTIFY_LEFT
# Print a UPC barcode.
printer.print("UPCA barcode:")
printer.print_barcode("123456789012", printer.UPC_A)
# Feed a few lines to see everything.
printer.feed(2)
Page last edited January 18, 2025
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