Thermal Receipt Printer lines are very faint (Item 600)

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DAbdi
 
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Thermal Receipt Printer lines are very faint (Item 600)

Post by DAbdi »

Hello, I recently purchased the Mini thermal receipt printer starter pack and the printer is not printing correctly. With the given 5V supply plugged in, when attempting to do the self test the printer just repeats the start of the self test over and over. When using a 9V supply, it manages to get through the self test but the text is unbelievably faint and practically unreadable. Is there any way I can fix this? I'm using CircuitPython and a Raspberry Pi to interface with it outside of these things but even then when using the 5V supply it stops printing in the middle of a print. The 9V supply works but the text is still faint. Due to the 1MB size limit on the files they don't show exactly like they do in real life but they are much more faint than they show. Is there any way to fix this or get a replacement?
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5V Supply
5V Supply
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9V Supply
9V Supply
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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Thermal Receipt Printer lines are very faint (Item 600)

Post by mikeysklar »

This is usually a power supply issue.

What are the specs on the 9v?

What else do you have power supplies?

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DAbdi
 
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Re: Thermal Receipt Printer lines are very faint (Item 600)

Post by DAbdi »

The specs on the 9V is 9V 1A, but I have tested on a 5A adjustable bench supply at 9V with barely better results. The QR code and barcode do not scan at all and the ASCII samples are barely legible. It also does not seem to draw more than 1A from the supply during the test sequence. Please note that my camera ups the contrast a bit and what is shown in the photo is much darker than what I see in real life.
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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Thermal Receipt Printer lines are very faint (Item 600)

Post by mikeysklar »

Your testing on a benchtop power supply is ideal. The guide suggestion 9v/1.5A or 5v/2A.

Adafruit can do a replacement for this unit. In the meantime feel free to open it up and look for anything of interest.

Please send an e-mail to [email protected] requesting a replacement with this forum thread link as authorization and your order#.

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