# The Thermal Printer is working!

**URL:** <https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938>\
**Category:** DevTerm\
**Tags:** hardware\
**Created:** [August 16, 2021, 3:43pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938 "2021-08-16T15:43:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jxgx072037](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/jxgx072037/32/5178_2.png) [@jxgx072037](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/jxgx072037)\
**Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 3:43pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/1 "2021-08-16T15:43:27Z")

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![first 热敏](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/clockworkpi/original/2X/c/c17611584db3110ca33aa8333f5475dbac39b109.jpeg)  
Finally, the thermal printer is working!

The size of thermal paper is 57 \* 50. I followed guide here, [DevTerm/Code/thermal\_printer at main · clockworkpi/DevTerm · GitHub](https://github.com/clockworkpi/DevTerm/tree/main/Code/thermal_printer)

It’s time to figure out how to print sth except test word.

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**Author:** ![jxgx072037](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/jxgx072037/32/5178_2.png) [@jxgx072037](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/jxgx072037)\
**Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 4:19pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/2 "2021-08-16T16:19:26Z")

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Update

The driver seems work perfectly. I tried print sth by LibreOffice Writer and it works!

![2nd](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/clockworkpi/original/2X/2/246e1cdde93233885a107c7efa689d8f2fb9fec3.png)

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**Author:** ![pooka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@pooka](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/pooka)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2021, 12:44am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/3 "2021-08-17T00:44:14Z")

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Wow, really nice! A graceful device.

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**Author:** ![pooka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@pooka](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/pooka)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2021, 12:51am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/4 "2021-08-17T00:51:54Z")

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Does it make a loud noise when it is running？

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**Author:** ![guu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ab992/32.png) [@guu](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/guu)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2021, 7:12am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/5 "2021-08-17T07:12:13Z")

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> echo -e “Hello DevTerm\n\n\n\n\n\n” \> /tmp/DEVTERM\_PRINTER\_IN

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**Author:** ![vinc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e9c0ed/32.png) [@vinc](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/vinc)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2021, 10:52pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/6 "2021-08-17T22:52:50Z")

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Yes it does, more than an thermal printer from a POS system

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**Author:** ![DustinWoods](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/dustinwoods/32/4741_2.png) [@DustinWoods](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/DustinWoods)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 1:38am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/7 "2021-08-18T01:38:07Z")

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Are you able to print something really long? For example: can you easily setup a page size so that you can print a meter of text?

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**Author:** ![javelinface](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/javelinface/32/3079_2.png) [@javelinface](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/javelinface)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 2:02am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/8 "2021-08-18T02:02:00Z")

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Get it procedurally print out Pi. Ha! Topical!  
Unlike say the old Gameboy printer, the paper should be fairly cheap to buy, if you’re using POS receipts.  
I’m more worried about excessive use potentially wearing out the printer unit. But bring thermal based, it sounds like it should be as bullet proof as a dot matrix ribbon printer.

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**Author:** ![Godzil](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/godzil/32/60_2.png) [@Godzil](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Godzil)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 12:16pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/9 "2021-08-18T12:16:42Z")

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I think you may run out of paper before the head die, I mean printer in POS are heavily used and they don’t seems to die easily, the only moving part is the paper and the rolls to move the paper, the head does not move on this type of printer (that’s also why they tend to be more reliable in general)

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**Author:** ![ksbex](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/ksbex/32/5288_2.png) [@ksbex](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/ksbex)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 1:55pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/10 "2021-08-18T13:55:13Z")

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I have a few thermal printers for TRS-80 pocket computers that are still working from the '80s

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Hawanna](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/hawanna/32/1626_2.png) [@Hawanna](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Hawanna)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 12:41pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/11 "2021-09-03T12:41:26Z")

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I tried to print a PDF file via qpdfview (Ctrl+P) and via `lp -d devterm_printer test.pdf`.  
In both cases the printer starts to rattle but instantly stops. I can print any text directly from terminal. Is there another way to print a PDF file? Images are working fine too.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Hawanna](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/hawanna/32/1626_2.png) [@Hawanna](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Hawanna)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 6:01pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/12 "2021-09-07T18:01:08Z")

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Whell I made it working with this function:

```auto
printpdf() {
 #try to fit pdf
 lp -d devterm_printer -o fit-to-page -o media=A8 -o scaling=200 "$1"
}

```

I placed the function in my `~/.profile` and us it like `printpdf file.pdf`

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![hengying](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/hengying/32/4647_2.png) [@hengying](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/hengying)\
**Post date:** [September 15, 2021, 1:37pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/13 "2021-09-15T13:37:36Z")

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Is there any detailed manual on how to use the printer? Especially how to print documents and images in editing software?  
Any best practice advices?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![guu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ab992/32.png) [@guu](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/guu)\
**Post date:** [September 15, 2021, 3:37pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/14 "2021-09-15T15:37:06Z")

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> **[DevTerm/Code/thermal\_printer at main · clockworkpi/DevTerm](https://github.com/clockworkpi/DevTerm/tree/main/Code/thermal_printer)**
>
> main/Code/thermal\_printer

and here is how to use lp to print png file

```auto
export LPDEST=devterm_printer
lp some.png

```

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Petrakis](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/petrakis/32/256_2.png) [@Petrakis](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Petrakis)\
**Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 8:29am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/16 "2021-09-16T08:29:18Z")

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You can always send a pull request also 🙂 if you find mistakes or improvements.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Godzil](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/godzil/32/60_2.png) [@Godzil](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Godzil)\
**Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 5:37pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/17 "2021-09-16T17:37:55Z")

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And also reporting such issues on github is probably a better place than lost somewhere on this forum.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Petrakis](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/petrakis/32/256_2.png) [@Petrakis](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Petrakis)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 9:11pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/18 "2021-11-18T21:11:04Z")

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I have a situation where pigments from the paper seem to stick to the head, I dont know if its from the paper, I will try to get another one but it will take time. This one I got locally and I have 10 rolls 😅

 ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/clockworkpi/original/2X/f/ffb631d0b8445551f1720505cea09cf433efa00e.jpeg)

 ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/clockworkpi/original/2X/9/972ac591460c6c3a5d3c5aae79b027040a0d3c85.jpeg)  
Its driving me nuts, I will order some rolls from Amazon and try again.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pilot](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/pilot/32/4471_2.png) [@pilot](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/pilot)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 4:18am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/19 "2021-11-25T04:18:23Z")

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@Petrakis, easy way to test the paper is to take a heat gun (or hairdryer on high) and run it back and forth over the paper. The nose of the gun should be about 1/2 inch from the paper. The paper will slowly get blue/grey then black. You will see any defects in the paper roll that way.

Also it looks like there are some shiny streaks on the paper. Do those run the length of the roll? Or just after the paper goes over the print head?

If the streaks are only showing after the paper is run then that could indicate debris on or before the print head. Although your second picture looks clean.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Petrakis](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/petrakis/32/256_2.png) [@Petrakis](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Petrakis)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 8:50am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/20 "2021-11-25T08:50:21Z")

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The shiny streaks is the debris on the head grinding on the paper and they vary their location. On the second picture if you follow the black line on the head you will see black dots, thats it, and thats what makes the shiny lines.

If I take a piece of paper and clean them they are gone for some time and they appear again wherever the debris got deposited on the head again.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pilot](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/pilot/32/4471_2.png) [@pilot](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/pilot)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 10:24am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/the-thermal-printer-is-working/6938/21 "2021-11-25T10:24:30Z")

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You can clean the print head with 99% isopropyl alcohol on a cotton swab.

Turn the device off first; let it dry completely before powering back on.

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