What is Thermal Printer Billing?
Thermal printer billing means printing bills and KOTs on a small printer that uses heat-sensitive paper instead of ink. The printhead darkens the paper chemically, so there are no cartridges or ribbons to replace — the only consumable is the paper roll. Common sizes are 58mm and 80mm width, and printers connect over USB, LAN, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to a POS, computer or even a phone.
This is the standard for Indian retail and restaurants because running costs are tiny: a 58mm paper roll costs ₹15 to ₹30 and prints hundreds of bills, and a decent printer costs ₹2,000 to ₹8,000. Bills print in about two seconds with the shop name, GST details and UPI QR code. The one caveat is that thermal print fades in months, so GST records need digital copies.