#523 JP-QR701 Thermal Printer Basics

Learning how to use the JP-QR701 thermal printer module with an Arduino, including QR codes generated with Python.

Build

Here’s a quick demo..

Notes

I’ve wanted to play around with a thermal printer for a while, now I finally have the chance since I snagged a GOOJPRT QR701 Mini 58mm Embedded Receipt Thermal Printer on aliexpress.

After a bit of investigation, I discovered the OEM is 厦门精普电子科技有限公司 Xiamen Jingpu Electronic Technology Co Ltd, and they specialise in a wide range of thermal printing products. The JP-QR701 is a very similar (idential OEM?) to products available from AdaFruit, Sparkfun and other retailers.

QR701_kit

JP-QR701 Specs

JP-QR701 58mm embedded miniature thermal printer

small size, light weight, fully functional
simple, easy connection
high-speed, high-quality, stylish
standard GB2312 large font
Printing method: Thermal dot line printing
RS232 / TTL interfaces, voltage 5-9V / 12V

Feature	Sepcification
printing method	Thermal line
Print width	48 mm
Dot density	384 points / line
printing speed	90 mm / s
Interface Type	RS232 / TTL
Paper roll diameter	≦ 40mm
Paper thickness	0.06-0.08mm
Paper roll	Width: 57.5 ± 0.5 mm
Character size	ANK character, Font A: 12 × 24 dots, Font B: 9 × 17 dots
Barcode Hard font	GB2312 font
Barcode type	UPC-A / UPC-E / JAN13 (EAN13) / JAN8 (EAN8) / CODE39 / ITF / CODABAR / CODE93 / CODE128
Input buffer	32k bytes
NV Flash	64k bytes
Printer input voltage	DC 5V / 2A
Cash drawer control	DC 5V / 1A
weight	0.183 kg
dimension	109 × 94 × 66mm (depth × width × height)
working environment	Temperature: 0 ~ 45 °C, Humidity: 10 ~ 80%
Storage environment	Temperature: -10 ~ 60 °C, humidity: 10 ~ 90%
Print head life	50 km

QR701_rear

Self-test

Hold down the button on the top of the printer (or on the control board) while plugging in the power. A diagnostic is printed. This worked for me without issue (using a 5V 2A power supply).

Construction

I have the TTL version of the JP-QR701, so driving it from an Arduino presents no problems.

I put together a simple protoboard test base for a Nano, power supply and printer connections:

barrel jack for 5V 2A power supply
mounted the leads for the printer connection
females headers for mounting an Arduino Nano
jumper selects whether to power the Nano from the same supply as the printer, with a couple of bulk caps for the Nano supply to smooth out any power fluctuations caused by the printer.

Breadboard

Schematic

Example Code

The QR701Basics.ino sketch is a simple test of the printer, based on an example from the Adafruit Arduino Library for Small Thermal Printers.

I’ve customised it a bit:

prints the test page on a button press (instead of at startup)
add my own QR code

The QR code data in qrcode.h was generated with a python script from here. I think I need to fiddle with the ESC 7 Setting Control Parameter Command and/or DC2 # printing density settings, because so far while the printer generates a recognizable QR code, I can’t scan it with my phone without first colouring it in with a black pen!