Wow, one of the best-paced, well-recorded tutorials I've seen! Thanks for the effort. I got frustrated by running a thermal printer from a Raspberry Pi and put it away--I'm going to get it out now. Love seeing the extra tips like creating a new tab for a .h.
Thank you for your nice words, I´m glad you like it and it was useful. I was quite surprised to find out that the thermal printer is very easy to operate - at least for the basic stuff. Obviously, bar codes, QR codes and images are little bit more involving, but thankfully the library was there. What project are you planning to use the printer for?
@@upir_upir A coin-operated Pi camera printer! There's a Linux print driver that will do it. Logic-level shifts, monitoring for events, it all got past my patience. I'll figure out something simpler for Arduino, it lacking a camera.
Definitely, something useful like logins to your server, texts from your mom, or print items added to shopping cart right before going shopping. I just realized they all require internet which the Arduino doesn't have, maybe use esp32 also?
Thank you, but it was actually quite hard to get a decent writing with that soldering iron. Probably a better handwriting was used in the xmas video here - th-cam.com/video/Zqb2OhphVPo/w-d-xo.html
Hey, do you know if there are sticker rolls for this printer? I was thinking about making a "spool station" (for my 3d printer) that would weigh the filament rolls and print a new QR code sticker for me to put on the spool, to make keeping inventory easier.
Yes, a quick search shows that you can indeed get sticker rolls on AliExpress (and probably elsewhere). Sounds like an interesting project; please feel free to post a link if you do it! Thanks and good luck.
Thank you so much for this video!! Perfect step by step and was able to follow as a beginner. I was wondering if you knew anyway I could alter the printer/arduino program so that the letters print upside down? I was hoping the orientation would be different for the project I am using the printer for. I read online that I can convert all my text to a bitmap, and then change the bitmap's orientation but wanted to ask if you knew a simpler way to do it? Thanks so much! :)
That´s great to hear, thank you for your comment, I really appreciate it! Flipping the bitmap would work for sure, but as you have noted, that might be slightly more involving. I would check the documentation for the printer, there might be an option to rotate the output.
I done some designing parts but im my country i could find some resources...and those are too much expensive...so you can do that im really glad i love to see that❤
hi can you make the a program for qr code with giving a 5volt power supply only to the controller and its print with thermal printer ? and when ever we supply 5 v it will print a qr code
Is there any way to draw lines and pixels on the paper like you can in an AdaFruit TFT display? I'm trying to make a graphing calculator that prints off graphs btw.
Sure, the image that I´m printing is just a set of pixels. You should be able to draw stuff on the Adafruit framebuffer and send that buffer to the printer instead of sending it to the display.
amazing tutorial, but can I convert the image to bytes without a website, in my code? wanna make sth like those Bluetooth/wifi printers but seems like a too complicated kinda project for a beginner like me
Thank you! Converting images to bytes is not that hard, but if you are a beginner, that part will be probably the simplest of the whole project. I would suggest starting with something simpl(er) first.
@@upir_upir haha yea, got experience in C# programming so it should be easier to get the basics, but got a long way to go in electronics. thanks for replying, that was exciting to get one from you!
I had to google that printer, it seemed to be using a very special paper in black color with aluminium foil over it. I would love to see that in person, but I´m slightly worried it would be very hard to get. I´m sure it looked way cooler than the regular thermal paper.
@@upir_upir Hello upir! Yes, thats right! The Sinclair ZX-81 Printer used 2 needles on a "endless-tape" to burn the aluminium foil away. This was really "innovative" - but it worked. More or less. The printings where black on silver and the contrast not so good as an modern printers. But in theses day there was nothing else, especially for this cheap price. Here you can see the construction: th-cam.com/video/RHOXv2exdak/w-d-xo.html :O) I have several spare-printers lying around, if you wish i can send you one, or two? For investigation? :O) Nice greetings from Germany and thanx for your great projects!
Thank you for the additional details. Yes, it looks like very rare technology, it kind of makes sense why it disappeared, but it has that vintage sci-fi futuristic feel, I like it a lot. If you have a spare one that you can miss, I would be very glad if you can send it to me, can you please write me an email to upir (at) upir.org? Thank you very much!
The TTL version. TTL stands for transistor-to-transistor logic, and sets the voltage levels - usually 3.3V or 5V. The RS232 is the same protocol, but the voltages are I believe -15V to 15V, so you would need an additional chip/shield/module to convert RS232 to TTL.
Hi, the link should be in the description. In case you prefer other size than AliExpress, simply search for "DFRobot thermal printer". Note that it does not have to be the "DFRobot", any thermal printer module will work as long as you use the one with TTL UART connection (not the RS232).
Try searchnig for thermal printer from DF Robot, they have a wiki page with a few more examples, and see if those work. Perhaps try a different library?
Your videos have helped me a lot to learn new things, to the point that i am actually going to buy that thermal printer! I don't know that i will do with it but i want to play with it ahaha. One question, Should i use the TTL one or the RS232 version?
Thank you, that’s great to hear. Also, I would recommend getting this printer for a beginner, since it’s really simple to interface. The TTL version is preferred, you can use it directly with Arduino. For the RS232 version, you would need additional shield/ module.
I really like the things you show off in your videos but they're a bit too tutorial-y for me, I don't really need to know that you had to use an adapter to connect the pins or the syntax of the printing library, just my pov
I especially really like the videos about eccentric setups for displays, the custom fonts were dope, I love making custom fonts for my vfds, can be fun to use them as vu meters or spectrum analyzers
Thank you for your feedback! I agree with you, as I was thinking about something related lately. As much as I enjoy recording those full-length tutorials, they take a long time to finish, and I have dozens of other projects in progress - actually on hold. I will try to include more short(er) videos with projects overviews, and probably record tutorials only about those that will get the most recognition. I will still include a lot of VFD displays, I love those!
Do you like the video? Please consider buying me a coffee, thank you! www.buymeacoffee.com/upir
Wow, one of the best-paced, well-recorded tutorials I've seen! Thanks for the effort. I got frustrated by running a thermal printer from a Raspberry Pi and put it away--I'm going to get it out now. Love seeing the extra tips like creating a new tab for a .h.
Thank you for your nice words, I´m glad you like it and it was useful. I was quite surprised to find out that the thermal printer is very easy to operate - at least for the basic stuff. Obviously, bar codes, QR codes and images are little bit more involving, but thankfully the library was there. What project are you planning to use the printer for?
@@upir_upir A coin-operated Pi camera printer! There's a Linux print driver that will do it. Logic-level shifts, monitoring for events, it all got past my patience. I'll figure out something simpler for Arduino, it lacking a camera.
Should I use this printer for some "real" project? Let me know :)
You should try this...we wish to see that too
Definitely, will love to tag along
Definitely, something useful like logins to your server, texts from your mom, or print items added to shopping cart right before going shopping. I just realized they all require internet which the Arduino doesn't have, maybe use esp32 also?
Yes ofcourse
OK OK. I have some ideas :) Let´s see how they turned out..
You have really nice handwriting! ✍️
Thank you, but it was actually quite hard to get a decent writing with that soldering iron. Probably a better handwriting was used in the xmas video here - th-cam.com/video/Zqb2OhphVPo/w-d-xo.html
Hey, do you know if there are sticker rolls for this printer? I was thinking about making a "spool station" (for my 3d printer) that would weigh the filament rolls and print a new QR code sticker for me to put on the spool, to make keeping inventory easier.
Yes, a quick search shows that you can indeed get sticker rolls on AliExpress (and probably elsewhere). Sounds like an interesting project; please feel free to post a link if you do it! Thanks and good luck.
„Samir, print out our speed!“
😀
You know how fast you were going?.
Yes officer here is my speed receipt
Thank you so much for this video!! Perfect step by step and was able to follow as a beginner. I was wondering if you knew anyway I could alter the printer/arduino program so that the letters print upside down? I was hoping the orientation would be different for the project I am using the printer for. I read online that I can convert all my text to a bitmap, and then change the bitmap's orientation but wanted to ask if you knew a simpler way to do it? Thanks so much! :)
That´s great to hear, thank you for your comment, I really appreciate it! Flipping the bitmap would work for sure, but as you have noted, that might be slightly more involving. I would check the documentation for the printer, there might be an option to rotate the output.
I like your videos , thanks for making them
You are welcome, thank you for your comment!
As always amazing man❤
Thank you, I’m glad you like it!
You make such amazing contents and those are very unique...and i love arduino and dispaly....
If you can please bring some car display with speedometer fuel mesurement audio system controller all with raspberry-pi...
I done some designing parts but im my country i could find some resources...and those are too much expensive...so you can do that im really glad i love to see that❤
@@asirisudarshana536 Is that something you would like to put in your car? Some of the pieces are already on my to-do list..
hi
can you make the a program for qr code with giving a 5volt power supply only to the controller and its print with thermal printer ?
and when ever we supply 5 v it will print a qr code
Yes, that should be possible. Which part do you struggle with?
Is there any way to draw lines and pixels on the paper like you can in an AdaFruit TFT display?
I'm trying to make a graphing calculator that prints off graphs btw.
Sure, the image that I´m printing is just a set of pixels. You should be able to draw stuff on the Adafruit framebuffer and send that buffer to the printer instead of sending it to the display.
@@upir_upir sounds insanely complex yet not exactly impossible
amazing tutorial, but can I convert the image to bytes without a website, in my code? wanna make sth like those Bluetooth/wifi printers but seems like a too complicated kinda project for a beginner like me
Thank you! Converting images to bytes is not that hard, but if you are a beginner, that part will be probably the simplest of the whole project. I would suggest starting with something simpl(er) first.
@@upir_upir haha yea, got experience in C# programming so it should be easier to get the basics, but got a long way to go in electronics. thanks for replying, that was exciting to get one from you!
Looks like ZX-81-Printer for Arduino! :O)
I had to google that printer, it seemed to be using a very special paper in black color with aluminium foil over it. I would love to see that in person, but I´m slightly worried it would be very hard to get. I´m sure it looked way cooler than the regular thermal paper.
@@upir_upir Hello upir!
Yes, thats right! The Sinclair ZX-81 Printer used 2 needles on a "endless-tape" to burn the aluminium foil away. This was really "innovative" - but it worked. More or less. The printings where black on silver and the contrast not so good as an modern printers. But in theses day there was nothing else, especially for this cheap price. Here you can see the construction: th-cam.com/video/RHOXv2exdak/w-d-xo.html :O) I have several spare-printers lying around, if you wish i can send you one, or two? For investigation? :O) Nice greetings from Germany and thanx for your great projects!
Thank you for the additional details. Yes, it looks like very rare technology, it kind of makes sense why it disappeared, but it has that vintage sci-fi futuristic feel, I like it a lot. If you have a spare one that you can miss, I would be very glad if you can send it to me, can you please write me an email to upir (at) upir.org? Thank you very much!
great video! I have problems to print multiple images from a micro sd card to arduino to the adafruit termal printer. Does anyone know how to to it?
Thank you. What part is not working?
hello 👋
is it possible to draw charts??
Probably not with the build-in functions, but you can always draw the chart to the offscreen bitmap and print that bitmap.
Hi
For a esp32 I must use the rs232 or the tll version of the printer?
The TTL version. TTL stands for transistor-to-transistor logic, and sets the voltage levels - usually 3.3V or 5V. The RS232 is the same protocol, but the voltages are I believe -15V to 15V, so you would need an additional chip/shield/module to convert RS232 to TTL.
Hi, where can i purchase that printer. I am really in need of it BIGTIME.
Hi, the link should be in the description. In case you prefer other size than AliExpress, simply search for "DFRobot thermal printer". Note that it does not have to be the "DFRobot", any thermal printer module will work as long as you use the one with TTL UART connection (not the RS232).
aaaah, I didn't expect the paper to rip like that. Now, I have to re-watch the video again.
You cannot say you were not warned! :)
nice video, can you make tutorial how to print qrcode and barcode?
Thank you.Yes, I will try that to see if it works, we will see how it goes..
@@upir_upir thx
Nice video , when I try to print an image and do exactly what you did the printer prints chinese characters how can i fix that ?
Try searchnig for thermal printer from DF Robot, they have a wiki page with a few more examples, and see if those work. Perhaps try a different library?
Your videos have helped me a lot to learn new things, to the point that i am actually going to buy that thermal printer! I don't know that i will do with it but i want to play with it ahaha.
One question, Should i use the TTL one or the RS232 version?
Thank you, that’s great to hear. Also, I would recommend getting this printer for a beginner, since it’s really simple to interface. The TTL version is preferred, you can use it directly with Arduino. For the RS232 version, you would need additional shield/ module.
@@upir_upir thank you so much for the answer! I will get the TTL version!
Could it print faster?
Unfortunately not. This is the one and only printing speed.
Availability?????
You can buy the printer, the link is on the description.
0.5x speed is good enough to understand the speech in this video.
I’m glad you were able to find a speed that works for your.
I really like the things you show off in your videos but they're a bit too tutorial-y for me, I don't really need to know that you had to use an adapter to connect the pins or the syntax of the printing library, just my pov
I especially really like the videos about eccentric setups for displays, the custom fonts were dope, I love making custom fonts for my vfds, can be fun to use them as vu meters or spectrum analyzers
Thank you for your feedback! I agree with you, as I was thinking about something related lately. As much as I enjoy recording those full-length tutorials, they take a long time to finish, and I have dozens of other projects in progress - actually on hold. I will try to include more short(er) videos with projects overviews, and probably record tutorials only about those that will get the most recognition. I will still include a lot of VFD displays, I love those!
LOL...nice ending....thanks
Thank you! I’m glad you made it to the very end 🙂
Amazing
Thank you!