How to choose a bill printer for your shop

A bill printer, also called a thermal receipt printer or POS printer, prints the bill your customer takes home. Most shops buy one without much thought, then live with its quirks for years. A few minutes of checking before you buy saves a lot of trouble later.

Here is what matters, in the order we would check it.

1. How it connects to your till

Start with what your till or billing software can talk to. The printer has to match.

• USB is the simplest. Plug it into the computer or POS box and it works. Best for a fixed counter.
• LAN (Ethernet) lets several tills or a kitchen share one printer over the network. Good for restaurants.
• Bluetooth suits tablets and phones, and counters where you do not want a cable. Pairing can be fussy, so test it with your device before paying.
• Wi-Fi is similar to LAN without the cable. Check that your router setup allows it.

Many models offer two or three of these. Choose the one your software supports, not the one that sounds newest.

2. Paper width: 58 mm or 80 mm

This choice decides how much text fits on each line and which rolls you buy for years. We cover it in detail in 58mm vs 80mm receipt printers. In short: 58 mm is compact and fine for simple bills, 80 mm gives room for item names, tax lines and a logo or QR code.

3. Print speed

Speed is quoted in millimetres per second (mm/s). Entry-level printers are often in the low hundreds. For a quiet shop that is plenty. If you have a queue at lunchtime, a slow printer makes it longer, so ask for a higher speed rating and watch it print a long bill in the shop before you buy.

4. Auto-cutter

An auto-cutter slices the bill after printing. It saves staff from tearing paper by hand and gives a cleaner finish. Cheaper models skip it. If your staff print dozens of bills an hour, a cutter is worth having. Ask whether the cutter is a normal wear part and whether spares are available.

5. Software compatibility

This is where most bad purchases happen. Before buying, confirm:

• Your billing or POS software lists the exact printer model, or says it supports ESC/POS commands, the common standard for receipt printers.
• A driver exists for your operating system (Windows, Android, macOS).
• Any special features you need, such as printing a logo or a QR code, work with your software and not only with the printer.

If you are unsure, ask your software provider which models they have tested. Their answer is worth more than a product page.

6. Cash drawer connection

Many bill printers have a port that opens a cash drawer when a sale prints. If you use a drawer, check that the printer has this port and that the drawer cable type matches.

7. Build quality, service and spare parts

A printer is only as good as the support behind it. Ask:

• What is the warranty, and who honours it locally?
• Are spare parts (print head, cutter, power adapter) available in Sri Lanka?
• Where do you buy matching paper rolls, and can you get them regularly?

A cheap printer with no local support can cost more than a better one with a good dealer.

A simple buying checklist

Check	Your answer
Connection your till supports (USB / LAN / Bluetooth / Wi-Fi)
Paper width (58 mm or 80 mm)
Printer model confirmed with your software provider
Auto-cutter needed?
Cash drawer port needed?
Local warranty and spare parts
Where to buy paper rolls, and at what price

Questions to ask the seller

1. Will this exact model work with my billing software, and have you seen it working with it?
2. What roll size does it take, and where do I buy rolls?
3. What does the warranty cover, and where do I send it for repair?
4. What are the common faults, and what do they cost to fix?

Think about the paper, not only the printer

The printer is a one-off cost. The paper is a cost you pay every month for as long as you print. Many owners compare printer prices and never work out what rolls cost over a year. Our guide to the real monthly cost of a bill printer shows how to do it in a few minutes.

Do you need to print every bill?

For many shops, a printed bill is still needed for some customers. For others, a share of customers would happily skip it. If you want to cut paper without taking away the choice, a digital receipt is an option. See how tap-to-receive digital receipts work.