Print to a Star TSP100 or TSP143 from Node.js

The Star TSP100 family (TSP143, TSP143III, TSP100IV) is one of the most common receipt printers, and it does not understand ESC/POS. It is a raster printer: it prints bitmaps, not text commands. That is why escpos and similar libraries print garbage or nothing on it.

retail-print-kit has a Star raster profile. You write the receipt the usual way; the library lays the text out, renders it to a bitmap, and sends Star raster commands.

Install

npm install retail-print-kit @napi-rs/canvas
npm install usb     # for a USB TSP143

@napi-rs/canvas draws the text. It ships prebuilt binaries; no compiler is needed.

Print

const { Printer, profiles } = require('retail-print-kit');
const { UsbTransport } = require('retail-print-kit/usb');

async function main() {
  const printer = new Printer(new UsbTransport({ vendorId: 0x0519 }), profiles['star-tsp100']);
  await printer.open();
  printer
    .align('ct').style('b').size(2, 2).text('MY STORE')
    .size(1, 1).style('normal').align('lt')
    .text('Coffee, large            $5.00')
    .qr('https://example.com/r/1042')
    .barcode('036000291452', 'UPC_A', { height: 60 })
    .cut()
    .cashdraw();
  await printer.close();
}
main().catch(console.error);

For a LAN model (TSP143IIILAN) use new NetTransport('192.168.1.60') from retail-print-kit/net.

Star Line Mode printers

The TSP650II, TSP700II and mC-Print3 accept text commands in Star Line Mode, which is still not ESC/POS. Use their profiles and no canvas is needed:

const printer = new Printer(new NetTransport('192.168.1.61'), profiles['star-tsp650']);
// or profiles['star-mc-print3']

Which Star profile?

profileForUsb(0x0519, productId) picks between them from the USB ids.

Preview what will print

npx retail-print-kit preview --profile star-tsp100 --out page.png

Verification status

The Star encoders are covered by byte-exact tests. The raster end-of-page cut bytes and the Line Mode status bits are still being confirmed on physical units; see the hardware checklist. If you have one of these printers, npx retail-print-kit verify --usb --profile star-tsp100 prints a numbered test page, and a report is very welcome.

Related: print a receipt, cash drawer.

Install

npm install retail-print-kit

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