Guides
Receipt printing, explained properly.
Working references for the protocols, commands, and failure modes of POS hardware — useful whether or not you ever run a ProxyNode.
For developers & integrators
- Receipt Printer API: the Complete GuideEvery way software prints receipts in 2026 — ESC/POS, port 9100, vendor SDKs, cloud relays — and how a local HTTP API on the LAN compares.
- ESC/POS Commands: a Practical ReferenceThe ESC/POS commands that matter in production — init, text style, feed, cut, drawer kick, status — with raw bytes and the quirks between brands.
- ESC/POS Emulator: Print Without a PrinterCompare ESC/POS emulators and receipt printer simulators for development — and how to emulate paper-out, cover-open, and DLE EOT status in software.
- Virtual Receipt Printer for Dev and TestingOptions for a virtual thermal printer: print-to-image drivers, GitHub emulators, and a network digital twin your app can't tell from real hardware.
- Print to a Receipt Printer from a Web AppFour working ways to print receipts from the browser — QZ Tray, WebUSB, cloud relays, and a LAN print API — with code and honest trade-offs.
- Port 9100 Printing: Raw TCP for POS, ExplainedHow raw port 9100 printing works, why every POS uses it, how to test it with netcat, and its blind spots — status, discovery, and error handling.
- ESC/POS Printer Status: DLE EOT ExplainedThe DLE EOT real-time status commands byte by byte — paper, cover, drawer, errors — plus why many printers lie or stay silent, and what to do about it.
- Test Receipt Printing in CI — No HardwareHow to put receipt printing under CI: render ESC/POS to text, assert on bytes, simulate paper-out and offline faults, and run conformance checks.
- ESC/POS vs ePOS vs CloudPRNT vs StarPRNTThe four receipt-printing protocols compared: how each moves bytes, what hardware it locks you into, latency, status support, and when to use which.
- Cash Drawer Kick: the ESC/POS CommandHow cash drawers really open — the ESC p pulse through the printer's RJ12 port — with the exact bytes, pin timings, and fixes when the drawer won't kick.
- Raspberry Pi Receipt Printer Server — and a $10 AlternativeBuild a Pi-based thermal printer server with python-escpos — real costs, SD-card pitfalls, and when a $10 ESP32 node is the better tool.
- WebUSB and Web Serial Receipt PrintingPrinting to thermal printers straight from Chrome with WebUSB/Web Serial: working code, browser support reality, and where the approach breaks down.
For restaurants & installers
- POS Not Printing When the Internet Is Down?Why cloud POS printing dies with your uplink, what the AWS and Square outages cost restaurants, and how to make receipts print offline — permanently.
- Kitchen Printer Setup: a No-Nonsense GuideSetting up a restaurant kitchen printer: thermal vs impact, Ethernet vs Wi-Fi, static IPs, routing by station, and surviving printer swaps.
- Thermal vs Impact Kitchen PrintersThermal fades in hot kitchens; impact is loud but survives grease. Which to buy per station, what each costs, and how to avoid rewiring your POS.
- Put a USB Receipt Printer on the NetworkTurn a USB-only receipt printer into a network printer: print servers, a Raspberry Pi, or a $10 node that speaks port 9100 and reports printer status.