B4A Library SD: BT Printer Bluetooth

Star-Dust · Nov 4, 2017

ANNOUNCEMENT
Starting today, this library will be abandoned and will no longer be distributed.
A new, more comprehensive Android library for ESC/POS thermal printers will be released. (BT, BLE, LAN, USB) (here)

(No WRAP, No Java Only B4A)
BT_Printer library allows you to print text and image to a
thermal printers (Bluetooth and BLE) with ESC/POS language
(For B4J versione see Here, for B4i versione see Here, for ZEBRA printer Here)

To print the QR CODES with your BT thermal printer you can create an image containing the QR code with the help of the @Erel library (here) or can use library of @Johan Schoeman (here)

WARNING: Make sure the library meets all your needs, is compatible with the printer you need to use.
To try print with the demo version (rel. 0.21) you can only use the FlushAndClose command which lasts 14 days and then disables.
The full version of the library will be issued to those making a donation (Contact me in private before making a donation). In the donation indicate the library you want and your NickName. Those requesting the full version will receive updates for 3 months.

SD_BT_Printer

Author: Star-Dust
Version: 0.21

BLE_Printer
- Events:
  - Connected (services As List)
  - Disconnected
  - ImageWriteComplete
  - PrinterFound (Name As String, ID As String)
  - StateChanged (msg As String)
  - WriteComplete (Characteristic As String, Success As Boolean)
- Fields:
  - CharatteristicName As String
  - currentState As Int
  - ServiceName As String
- Functions:
  - AddTab (ArrayTab As Int()) As String
    Add Tab
    eg. PrinterBLE.AddTab(Array As Byte(100,150,121))
  - CenterJustify As String
    after this command calls SendBufferToPrinter
  - Class_Globals As String
  - Connect (ID As String) As String
  - Initialize (CallBack As Object, EventName As String, EncodingType As String) As String
    Initializes the object. You can add parameters to this method if needed.
  - InitializePrinter As String
  - IsInitialized As Boolean
    Verifica se l'oggetto sia stato inizializzato.
  - LeftJustify As String
    after this command calls SendBufferToPrinter
  - PrintBitmap (bmp As Bitmap)
  - RightJustify As String
    after this command calls SendBufferToPrinter
  - ScanPrinter As String
  - SetCodePage (Code As Byte) As String
    es. Printer.SetCodePage(06) for umlauts char
  - Write (Text As String) As String
    Write (Print) a Text
  - Write_ArrayByte (B As Byte()) As String
    Write (Send to Printer) a Array of Byte
    eg. PrinterBLE.Write_ArrayByte(Array As Byte(0x1D,150,23))
    eg. PrinterBLE.Write_ArrayByte("Text".GetBytes("UTF8"))
  - WriteBarCode (Code As String) As String
  - WriteLine (Text As String) As String
    Write (Print) a Text + CHLF
  - WriteList (list As List) As String
    Write (Print) a List
- Properties:
  - CodeTable
    es. printer.setCodeTable(Ecoding.Code_WPC1252)
    aftet this command calls SendBufferToPrinter
  - isConnect As Boolean [read only]
  - isScanning As Boolean [read only]
  - Spacing
    after setSpacing command calls SendBufferToPrinter
BT_Printer
Note: AddPermission(android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION)
- Events:
  - BluetoothIsDisabled
  - ConnectedToPrint (Success As Boolean)
  - DataReceived (Buffer() As Byte)
  - DisconnectToPrint (Mac As String)
  - DiscoveryComplete (Printers As Map)
  - DiscoveryFinished
  - DiscoveryNewPrinter (PrintedFound As Map, DeviceClass As Int)
  - DiscoveryNoDeviceFound
  - ErrorDiscovery
  - ListPrinterAssociated (ListNameAndMac As Map)
  - SendingError (Mac As String)
  - SendTerminated
- Fields:
  - Const_AUDIO_VIDEO As Int
  - Const_COMPUTER As Int
  - Const_HEALTH As Int
  - Const_IMAGING As Int
  - Const_MISC As Int
  - Const_NETWORKING As Int
  - Const_PERIPHERAL As Int
  - Const_PHONE As Int
  - Const_TOY As Int
  - Const_UNCATEGORIZED As Int
  - Const_WEARABLE As Int
- Functions:
  - AddBuffer_ArrayByte (B As Byte()) As String
  - AddBuffer_BarCode (Code As String) As String
  - AddBuffer_Bitmap (Bmp As Bitmap, ShiftLeft As Int) As String
  - AddBuffer_BitmapAlternativeCoding (Bmp As Bitmap) As String
  - AddBuffer_List_Write (list As List) As String
  - AddBuffer_List_WriteLine (list As List) As String
  - AddBuffer_Tab (ArrayTab As Int()) As String
  - AddBuffer_Write (Text As String) As String
  - AddBuffer_WriteLine (Text As String) As String
  - AddPrintDefineImage As String
  - CenterJustify As String
    after this command calls SendBufferToPrinter
  - ChangeEncoding (EncodingType As String) As String
  - Class_Globals As String
  - ClearBuffer As String
  - Close As String
  - Connected As Boolean
  - DefineImage (Image As Bitmap)
  - flushAllAndClose
  - Initialize (CallBack As Object, EventName As String, EncodingType As String) As String
    Initializes the object. You can add parameters to this method if needed.
  - InitializePrinter As String
  - IsInitialized As Boolean
    Verifica se l'oggetto sia stato inizializzato.
  - LeftJustify As String
    after this command calls SendBufferToPrinter
  - Preview As Bitmap
  - ResetPreViewWidth (NewWidth As Int) As String
  - RightJustify As String
    after this command calls SendBufferToPrinter
  - SearchNewPrinter As String
    select --------------------------------------------
  - SelectFromAssociatedPrinter As String
  - SelectFromMac (Mac As String) As String
  - SendBufferToPrinter
  - SetCodePage (Code As Byte) As String
    es. Printer.SetCodePage(06) for umlauts char
- Properties:
  - CodeTable
    es. printer.setCodeTable(Ecoding.Code_WPC1252)
    aftet this command calls SendBufferToPrinter
  - Spacing
    after setSpacing command calls SendBufferToPrinter
ESC_POS
Code module
Subs in this code module will be accessible from all modules.
- Fields:
  - BoldOff As String
  - BoldOn As String
  - DoubleOff As String
  - DoubleOn As String
  - FontA_Bold As String
  - FontA_DoubleHight As String
  - FontA_DoubleWide As String
  - FontA_DoubleWideHeight As String
  - FontA_Normal As String
  - FontB_Bold As String
  - FontB_DoubleHeight As String
  - FontB_DoubleWide As String
  - FontB_DoubleWideHeight As String
  - FontB_Normal As String
  - Horizzontal As String
  - InitializePrinter As String
  - ItalicFontOff As String
  - ItalicFontOn As String
  - NoUnderline As String
  - QueryErrorCauses As String
  - QueryOfflineCauses As String
  - QueryPaperStatus As String
  - QueryPrinterStatus As String
  - Underline1 As String
  - Underline2 As String
  - Vertical As String
- Functions:
  - Process_Globals As String
Encoding
Code module
Subs in this code module will be accessible from all modules.
- Fields:
  - Chinese As String
  - ChineseS As String
  - Code_PC437 As Int
  - Code_PC850 As Int
  - Code_PC857 As Int
  - Code_PC858 As Int
  - Code_PC860 As Int
  - Code_PC863 As Int
  - Code_WPC1252 As Int
  - DOS_Latin_1 As String
  - IBM_PC As String
  - ISO8859 As String
  - UTF8 As String
  - Windows1252 As String
- Functions:
  - Process_Globals As String

Star-Dust · Mar 16, 2021

Bob Spielen said:
To speed up processing I just placed the command: Printer.SelectFromMac("00:08:1B:95:42:BD") in B4A and the flow goes to Printer_ConnectedToPrint (Success As Boolean) as true.

1. In B4J (Printer.SelectFromMac("00081B9542BD")) it doesn't work, I have to search first. Is it possible to connect directly without have to search the device?

Thank you for the question. It is possible to do it.
However, questions concerning B4J should be asked on the forum relating to the library in the B4J version.
This thread is dedicated to the B4A version. See the link below.

jSD: Bluetooth Printer

BT_Printer library allows you to print text and image to a bluetooth thermal printers It is similar to the BT_Printer library for Android (BLE_Printer for iOS), and implementations, events and methods are almost identical. We are working to have the same library for all platforms. On iOS it will...

www.b4x.com

Bob Spielen said:
2. Is it possible to keep printing from both devices -Mobile and PC? . Do I have to logout the printer with "close" and search the printer again when I change the sender?

Tks a lot for the reply

The Bluetooth SPP opens a connection and maintains it unlike BLE which sends a Message but does not maintain the connection.
So it is not possible, the printer does not accept two connections.
If the printer is connected to a device it will not accept another connection.
It is necessary to close the channel with the first to make the printer available to another connection

lelelor · Mar 29, 2021

Star-Dust said:
(No WRAP, No Java Only B4A)

BT_Printer library allows you to print text and image to a bluetooth thermal printers
(Here for B4J, Here for B4i)

To print the QR CODES with your BT thermal printer you can create an image containing the QR code with the help of the @Erel library (here) or can use library of @Johan Schoeman (here)

Required: B4A 8.8+ and Serial Library 1.30+

To try print with the demo version you can only use the FlushAndClose command which lasts 14 days and then disables.
The full version of the library will be issued to those making a donation (Contact me in private before making a donation). In the donation indicate the library you want and your NickName. Those requesting the full version will receive updates for 3 months.

View attachment 71755 View attachment 71781

SD_BT_Printer

Author: Star-Dust
Version: 0.19

BT_Printer
AddPermission(android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION)

Events:

BluetoothIsDisabled

ConnectedToPrint (Success As Boolean)

DataReceived (Buffer() As Byte)

DisconnectToPrint (Mac As String)

DiscoveryFinished

DiscoveryNewPrinter (PrintedFound As Map, DeviceClass As Int)

DiscoveryNoDeviceFound

ErrorDiscovery

ListPrinterAssociated (ListNameAndMac As Map)

SendingError (Mac As String)

SendTerminated

Fields:

Const_AUDIO_VIDEO As Int

Const_COMPUTER As Int

Const_HEALTH As Int

Const_IMAGING As Int

Const_MISC As Int

Const_NETWORKING As Int

Const_PERIPHERAL As Int

Const_PHONE As Int

Const_TOY As Int

Const_UNCATEGORIZED As Int

Const_WEARABLE As Int

Functions:

AddBuffer_ArrayByte (B As Byte()) As String

AddBuffer_BarCode (Code As String) As String

AddBuffer_Bitmap (Bmp As Bitmap, ShiftLeft As Int) As String

AddBuffer_BitmapAlternativeCoding (Bmp As Bitmap) As String

AddBuffer_List_Write (list As List) As String

AddBuffer_List_WriteLine (list As List) As String

AddBuffer_Tab (ArrayTab As Int()) As String

AddBuffer_Write (Text As String) As String

AddBuffer_WriteLine (Text As String) As String

AddPrintDefineImage As String

CenterJustify As String
after this command calls SendBufferToPrinter

ChangeEncoding (EncodingType As String) As String

Class_Globals As String

ClearBuffer As String

Close As String

Connected As Boolean

DefineImage (Image As Bitmap)

flushAllAndClose

Initialize (CallBack As Object, EventName As String, EncodingType As String) As String
Initializes the object. You can add parameters to this method if needed.

InitializePrinter As String

IsInitialized As Boolean
Verifica se l'oggetto sia stato inizializzato.

LeftJustify As String
after this command calls SendBufferToPrinter

Preview As Bitmap

ResetPreViewWidth (NewWidth As Int) As String

RightJustify As String
after this command calls SendBufferToPrinter

SearchNewPrinter As String
select --------------------------------------------

SelectFromAssociatedPrinter As String

SelectFromMac (Mac As String) As String

SendBufferToPrinter

SetCodePage (Code As Byte ) As String
es. Printer.SetCodePage (06) per dieresi char

Proprietà:

CodeTable
es. printer.setCodeTable (Ecoding.Code_WPC1252)
dopo che questo comando chiama SendBufferToPrinter

Spaziatura
dopo che il comando setSpacing chiama SendBufferToPrinter

Modulo codice ESC_POS I sottotitoli in questo modulo codice saranno accessibili da tutti i moduli.

Campi:

Grassetto come stringa

BoldOn As String

DoubleOff As String

DoubleOn As String

FontA_Bold As String

FontA_DoubleHight As String

FontA_DoubleWide As String

FontA_DoubleWideHeight As String

FontA_Normal As String

FontB_Bold As String

FontB_DoubleHeight As String

FontB_DoubleWide As String

FontB_DoubleWideHeight As String

FontB_Normal As String

Orizzontale come stringa

InitializePrinter As String

NoUnderline As String

QueryErrorCauses As String

QueryOfflineCauses As String

QueryPaperStatus As String

QueryPrinterStatus As String

Sottolineato1 come stringa

Sottolineato2 come stringa

Verticale come stringa

Modulo di codifica del
codice I
sottotitoli in questo modulo di codice saranno accessibili da tutti i moduli.

Campi:

Cinese come stringa

ChineseS As String

Code_PC437 As Int

Code_PC850 As Int

Code_PC857 As Int

Code_PC858 As Int

Code_PC860 As Int

Code_PC863 As Int

Code_WPC1252 As Int

DOS_Latin_1 As String

IBM_PC As String

ISO8859 come stringa

UTF8 As String

Windows1252 come stringa

[/CITAZIONE]
Premetto che sono nuovo di B4A, ho scaricato gli esempi da stampare sulla stampante BT ma mi chiede la libreria byteconver.jar, mi potete aiutare? Grazie

Star-Dust · Mar 29, 2021

You can find the ByteConverter library here

ByteConverter library

It's occasionally useful to be able to poke around in things as arrays of bytes so this library lets you do it. It can transform arrays of primitive types to and from arrays of bytes with the "endian-ness" of the conversion specified. If you need endian-ness you will either know about it or...

www.b4x.com

Kevin Hartin · Apr 4, 2021

This is an interesting option for me in printing to a BT printer for a new Invoicing app I am making, however....

There seems to be some inconsistency in connecting to a BT device. about 60% of the time when I see the trying to connect message in the log, nothing happens and the other 40% I get the Connected popup and all is good. I feel this may be because something else is going on the the background.
When I scan for Printers I get my printer listed twice.
Once connected, I can print text fine, but when I send the QRcode from the assets dir, it prints about half of it then stops.
When I try the mixed it prints even less of the QRcode and then launches into about 30cm of junk.
It seems to disconnect the printer after every print job as I have to reconnect before testing again. I cannot see a close in the code, so suspect that it is part of the library. Is it possible or feasible to connect and keep a session open indefinately? Is there a means to check the connections status and automatically connect if needed?
Is it feasible to select a printer and store it's details in a txt file or sqlite DB for automatic connection at a later time? The environment where this will be used will not change unless another printer is installed.

NOTE: I am testing with a very cheap chinese receipt printer that I have previously used sucessfully for receipt and image printing. This printer does not have the ESC/POS codes to generate a QRcode, but as stated, it has previously printed QRcodes generated by a Web app and sent to it by USB.

Thanks,
Kev

Star-Dust · Apr 4, 2021

Most of the problems you have listed depend on the quality of the printer. None of these depend on the library

1) There is no background element. Makes a simple Bluetooth SPP connection. Some inexpensive printers are not immediately ready when they receive a connection request.

2) When the search is started, only the underlying serial library is performed. Whenever a new printer is discovered it raises the event. If the event is raised multiple times it is a printer or Android device problem.

3) It's a printer problem. The carriage does not drag the paper and everything is printed on the last line. Try to pull the paper lightly as it comes out and it should print everything. It also may not keep the buffer

4) As specified along the thread if there are images you have to print them immediately, this is because the android device may have a small cache and alter the commands. Then in mixed contents send to printer right after inserting the image

5) The bluetooth printer often loses the connection, especially if it is cheap. My library automatically reconnects when you relaunch the print. You don't need to. Not all printer models send the disconnect signal, so it becomes obvious at the time of printing that it generates an error.
My library autonomously in the presence of this error reconnects.

6) Yes, it is possible, you must enter the MAC code already stored in the selected printer. (see here)

7) To generate QR codes there is an Erel library that produces an image with the QR code. This image (which respects the dimensions) can be sent for printing (see here)

In conclusion, the cheap printer saves you money but gives you a lot of headaches.

lelelor · Apr 24, 2021

Star-Dust said:

Sample:

B4X:

Sub Process_Globals
    'These global variables will be declared once when the application starts.
    'These variables can be accessed from all modules.
    Dim Stampa As BT_Printer
End Sub

Sub Globals
    'These global variables will be redeclared each time the activity is created.
    'These variables can only be accessed from this module.
    Private Label1 As Label
    Private ListView1 As ListView
    Private RadioButton1 As RadioButton
    Private RadioButton2 As RadioButton
    Private RadioButton3 As RadioButton
End Sub

Sub Activity_Create(FirstTime As Boolean)
    'Do not forget to load the layout file created with the visual designer. For example:
    'Activity.LoadLayout("Layout1")
    Activity.LoadLayout("MAIN")
    ListView1.SingleLineLayout.Label.TextSize=14
    ListView1.SingleLineLayout.ItemHeight=30dip

    Stampa.Initialize(Me,"Stampa",Encoding.Windows1252)
End Sub

Sub Activity_Resume

End Sub

Sub Activity_Pause (UserClosed As Boolean)

End Sub

Sub Button1_Click
    ListView1.Clear
    Stampa.SelectFromAssociatedPrinter
End Sub

Sub Button2_Click
    ListView1.Clear
    Stampa.SearchNewPrinter
End Sub

Sub Stampa_ListPrinterAssociated (ListNameAndMac As List)
    ListView1.Clear
    For Each BT As NameAndMac In ListNameAndMac
        ListView1.AddSingleLine2(BT.Name,BT.Mac)
    Next
End Sub

Sub Stampa_DiscoveryNewPrinter (Print As NameAndMac, DeviceClass As Int)
     Log("DevCl: " & DeviceClass)
     ListView1.AddSingleLine2(Print.Name,Print.Mac)
End Sub

Sub Stampa_DiscoveryFinished
    Log("Fine ricerca")
End Sub

Sub ListView1_ItemClick (Position As Int, Value As Object)
    Stampa.SelectFromMac(Value)
End Sub

Sub Stampa_ConnectedToPrint
    Printer
End Sub

Sub Stampa_Send_Terminated
    Log("Finish!!")
    Stampa.Close
End Sub

Sub Printer
        Stampa.AddBuffer_Writeline(ESC_POS.BoldOn & "Hallo dear" & ESC_POS.DoubleOff)
        Stampa.AddBuffer_Writeline("How are you?")
        Stampa.AddBuffer_Writeline("Fine thank's")
        Stampa.AddBuffer_Bitmap(File.DirAssets,"qr.jpg",0)

        ' if AddBuffer_Bitmap don't work
        'Stampa.AddBuffer_Bitmap2(File.DirAssets,"qr.jpg")

        ' If you wont add a BarCode Image
        'Stampa.AddBuffer_BarCode("123456/A")
    End If

    Stampa.SendBufferToPrint
    'Stampa.flushAllAndClose
    Label1.Text = Stampa.Preview
End Sub

The library is equipped with a series of ESC commands, you can use them by listening to ESC_POS.

For example, if you would like to reset the printer:

B4X:

Printer.AddBuffer_ArrayByte(ESC_POS.InitializePrinter.GetBytes("UTF8"))
'or
Printer.AddBuffer_Write(ESC_POS.InitializePrinter)

Those who have a Chinese printer sometimes have difficulty printing the Euro (€) character. By setting the Code Page PC858 and Chinese (or simplified Chinese) Encoding you will be able to print it

B4X:

Printer.CodeTable=Encoding.Code_PC858
Printer.ChangeEncoding(Encoding.Chinese)
Printer.AddBuffer_WriteLine("10 €.")

hello, it does not work, on the contrary the printer stops responding to the "€" character but if I do print it from the printer it prints correctly.

sorry but it has become a matter of principle hihihi

Star-Dust · Apr 24, 2021

lelelor said:
hello, it does not work, on the contrary the printer stops responding to the "€" character but if I do print it from the printer it prints correctly.

sorry but it has become a matter of principle hihihi

this works on my printer.
You need to try other encodings to find the correct one for your printer. I don't know how to give you any further help

james_sgp · May 6, 2021

Hi, I`m trying to figure out how to print in larger text; has anyone been able to do that?

James

Kevin Hartin · May 6, 2021

Double High on Char a is ESC!w or send Chr(27) & "!" & Chr(16)
Double High on Char b is ESC!x or send Chr(27) & "!" & Chr(17)

I use the following for text receipt printing

escpos:

    Dim aNormal As String = Chr(27) & "!" & Chr(0)
    Dim aBold As String = Chr(27) & "!" & Chr(8)
    Dim aDoubleWide As String = Chr(27) & "!" & Chr(32)
    Dim aDoubleHigh As String = Chr(27) & "!" & Chr(16)
    Dim aDoubleWideHigh As String = Chr(27) & "!" & Chr(48)
    Dim bNormal As String = Chr(27) & "!" & Chr(1)
    Dim bBold As String = Chr(27) & "!" & Chr(9)
    Dim bDoubleWide As String = Chr(27) & "!" & Chr(33)
    Dim bDoubleHigh As String = Chr(27) & "!" & Chr(17)
    Dim bDoubleWideHigh As String = Chr(27) & "!" & Chr(49)
    Dim cut As String = Chr(27) & Chr(105)

I also set the num of printing cols for each char in globals
<code>
Dim bCols As Int = 42 'for 78mm 32 for 58mm
Dim bCols As Int = 56 'for 78mm 42 for 58mm
[/CODE]
and also have a few subs that help me format stuff across the page;

subs:

Sub headingLine(fill As String,text As String,width As Int) As String
    Dim filltext, returntext As String
'    Log("headingline: " & width & "|" & text.Length & "|" & ((width - text.Length)/2) & "|" & Floor((width - text.Length)/2))
    Dim padding As Int = Floor((width - text.Length)/2)
    For x = 1 To padding
        filltext = filltext & fill
    Next
    returntext = filltext & text & filltext
    If returntext.Length < width Then returntext = returntext & fill
    Return returntext.SubString2(0,width)
End Sub

Sub LeftRight(fill As String,leftText As String,rightText As String,width As Int) As String
'    Log("LeftRight: " & width & "|" & leftText.Length & "|" & rightText.Length)
    Dim filltext, returntext As String
    Dim padding As Int = width - leftText.Length - rightText.Length
    For x = 1 To padding
        filltext = filltext & fill
    Next
    returntext = leftText & filltext & rightText
    Return returntext
End Sub

Sub LeftDwRight(fill As String,leftText As String,rightFormat As String,rightText As String,width As Int) As String
    Log("LeftDwRight: " & width & "|" & leftText.Length & "|" & rightText.Length)
    Dim filltext, returntext As String
    Dim padding As Int = width - leftText.Length - rightText.Length
    For x = 1 To padding
        filltext = filltext & fill
    Next
    returntext = leftText & filltext & rightFormat & rightText
    Return returntext
End Sub

Sub leftRightRight(fill As String,leftText As String,middleText As String,rightText As String,middleCol As Int,width As Int) As String
    Dim newleftText, filltext1, filltext2, returntext As String
    Log("leftRightRight: " & leftText.Length &"|"& middleText.Length &"|"& rightText.Length &"|"& middleCol &"|"& width)
    Dim padding1 As Int = middleCol - (leftText.Length + middleText.Length)
    For x = 1 To padding1
        filltext1 = filltext1 & fill
    Next
'    newleftText = leftText & filltext1 & middleText
'    Dim padding2 As Int = width - newleftText.Length
    Dim padding2 As Int = width - (leftText.Length + filltext1.Length + middleText.Length + rightText.Length)
    For x = 1 To padding2
        filltext2 = filltext2 & fill
    Next
    returntext = leftText & filltext1 & middleText & filltext2 & rightText
    Log("leftRightRight: " & width & "|" & leftText.Length & "|" & filltext1.Length & "|" & middleText.Length & "|" & filltext2.Length & "|" & rightText.Length)
    Return returntext
End Sub

Sub leftRightRightRight(fill As String,leftText As String,middleText1 As String,middleText2 As String,rightText As String,middleCol1 As Int,middleCol2 As Int,width As Int) As String
'    Log("leftRightRightRight: " & leftText.Length &"|"& middleText1.Length &"|"& middleText2.Length &"|"& rightText.Length &"|"& middleCol1 &"|"& middleCol2 &"|"& width)
    Dim filltext1, filltext2, filltext3, returntext As String
    Dim padding1 As Int = middleCol1 - leftText.Length - middleText1.Length
    For x = 1 To padding1
        filltext1 = filltext1 & fill
    Next
'    leftText = leftText & filltext1 & middleText1
    Dim padding2 As Int = middleCol2 - (leftText.Length + filltext1.Length + middleText1.Length + middleText2.Length)
    For x = 1 To padding2
        filltext2 = filltext2 & fill
    Next
    
    Dim padding3 As Int = width - (leftText.Length + filltext1.Length + middleText1.Length + filltext2.Length + middleText2.Length + rightText.Length)
    For x = 1 To padding3
        filltext3 = filltext3 & fill
    Next
    Log("leftRightRightRight: " & leftText.Length &"|"& filltext1.Length &"|"& middleText1.Length &"|"& filltext2.Length &"|"& middleText2.Length &"|"& filltext3.Length &"|"& rightText.Length &"|"& middleCol1 &"|"& middleCol2 &"|"& width)
    
    returntext = leftText & filltext1 & middleText1 & filltext2 & middleText2 & filltext3 & rightText
    Return returntext
End Sub

this way I can generate good looking receipts quickly;

receipt:

    inv = headingLine("="," FISCAL INVOICE ",bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & LeftRight(" ","TIN:",TIN,bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & LeftRight(" ","Company:",Company,bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & LeftRight(" ","Store:",Store,bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & LeftRight(" ","Address:",Address,bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & LeftRight(" ","District:",District,bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & LeftRight(" ","Cashier TIN:",UserName,bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & LeftRight(" ","POS Number:",InvoiceID,bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & LeftRight(" ","POS Time:",InvoiceTS,bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & headingLine("-","NORMAL SALE",bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & LeftRight(" ","Items"," ",bCols) & CRLF

    inv = inv & headingLine("=","=",bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & leftRightRightRight(" ","Name","Price","Qty","Total",16,28,bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & LeftRight(" ",ItemName,"",bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & leftRightRightRight(" "," ",Round2(ItemPrice,2),ItemQty,Round2(ItemAmount,2),16,28,bCols) & CRLF

    inv = inv & headingLine("-","-",bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & LeftRight(" ","Total Purchase:",Round2(ItemAmount,2),bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & LeftRight(" ","Payment Method:","Cash",bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & headingLine("=","=",bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & leftRightRightRight(" ","Label","Name","Rate","Tax",16,28,bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & leftRightRightRight(" ","A","VAGST","15.00%",Round2(ItemAmount-(ItemAmount/1.15),2),16,28,bCols) & CRLF

    inv = inv & headingLine("-","-",bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & LeftRight(" ","Total Tax:",Round2(ItemAmount-(ItemAmount/1.15),2),bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & headingLine("=","=",bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & LeftRight(" ","SDC Time:",TIMSts,bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & LeftRight(" ","SDC Inv No:",TIMSref&TIMScounter,bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & LeftRight(" ","Invoice Counter:",TIMScounter&"/"&TIMScounter&"NS",bCols) & CRLF
    inv = inv & headingLine("=","=",bCols)

sorry about the messy code, but it works for me and I am yet to find a receipt printer that this doesnt work on...

Kev

james_sgp · May 7, 2021

Awesome, thanks for sharing Kevin.

james_sgp · May 7, 2021

Kevin, this isn`t using the SD BT-Printer library....

Star-Dust · May 8, 2021

james_sgp said:
Hi, I`m trying to figure out how to print in larger text; has anyone been able to do that?

In the ESC POS commands of the library you will find how to double width and double height, as well as other commands.

B4X:

Printer.AddBuffer_Writeline(ESC.FontA_DoubleHight & "Hallo dear" & ESC_FontA_Normal)

or

B4X:

Printer.AddBuffer_Writeline(ESC.FontA_DoubleOn & "Hallo dear" & ESC_BoldOff)

You should not post sources that do not pertain to the library this THREAD is aimed at. The question was specific to this library, it is not a post on the QUESTION section but a post on the LIBRARY section
You're off the topic. Please stay in the thread topic.

Kevin Hartin said:
here is my BT Receipt Printer test app adapted from the various published samples for BT, QR Codes and printing.

Star-Dust · Sep 14, 2021

Update 0.21

Added DiscoveryComplete (Printers As Map)

DiscoveryComplete which will make DiscoveryNewPrinter, DiscoveryFinished and DiscoveryNoDeviceFound unnecessary.

After the search, you can only wait for DiscoveryComplete and it will return a map with the printer name as keys and MacAddr as the value. If the Map is empty it will not have found devices

B4X:

Printer.SearchNewPrinter
   
Wait For Printer_DiscoveryComplete(Printers As Map)
For Each Name As String In Printers.Keys
        Log($"${Name}: ${Printers.Get(Name)}"$)
Next

santiago · Sep 28, 2021

Please, How can I print barcodes ?
I used
Addbuffer_Barcode( code) with code=number o text but nothing happens

I added other lines before with addbuffer_writeline and are printed. I added another lines after Addbuffer_Barcode and are printed too

Thanks in advance

Star-Dust · Sep 28, 2021

santiago said:
Please, How can I print barcodes ?
I used
Addbuffer_Barcode( code) with code=number o text but nothing happens

I added other lines before with addbuffer_writeline and are printed. I added another lines after Addbuffer_Barcode and are printed too

Thanks in advance

Much depends on the type of printer. Some use their own commands. Which printer do you use?

Kevin Hartin · Sep 28, 2021

james_sgp said:
Kevin, this isn`t using the SD BT-Printer library....

not directly, it is just how I go about preparing the ESCPOS commands that I send to the receipt printer, be it BT or via USB. I have to use both 58 and 80mm printers so formatting the typical receipt text is easy using this...

tinos · Oct 6, 2021

Star-Dust said:
(No WRAP, No Java Only B4A)

BT_Printer library allows you to print text and image to a bluetooth thermal printers with ESC/POS language
(Here for B4J, Here for B4i)

To print the QR CODES with your BT thermal printer you can create an image containing the QR code with the help of the @Erel library (here) or can use library of @Johan Schoeman (here)

Required: B4A 8.8+ and Serial Library 1.30+
Make sure the library meets all your needs, is compatible with the printer you need to use.

To try print with the demo version you can only use the FlushAndClose command which lasts 14 days and then disables.
The full version of the library will be issued to those making a donation (Contact me in private before making a donation). In the donation indicate the library you want and your NickName. Those requesting the full version will receive updates for 3 months.

View attachment 71755 View attachment 71781

SD_BT_Printer

Author: Star-Dust
Version: 0.21

BT_Printer
Note: AddPermission(android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION)

Events:

BluetoothIsDisabled

ConnectedToPrint (Success As Boolean)

DataReceived (Buffer() As Byte)

DisconnectToPrint (Mac As String)

DiscoveryComplete (Printers As Map)

DiscoveryFinished

DiscoveryNewPrinter (PrintedFound As Map, DeviceClass As Int)

DiscoveryNoDeviceFound

ErrorDiscovery

ListPrinterAssociated (ListNameAndMac As Map)

SendingError (Mac As String)

SendTerminated

Fields:

Const_AUDIO_VIDEO As Int

Const_COMPUTER As Int

Const_HEALTH As Int

Const_IMAGING As Int

Const_MISC As Int

Const_NETWORKING As Int

Const_PERIPHERAL As Int

Const_PHONE As Int

Const_TOY As Int

Const_UNCATEGORIZED As Int

Const_WEARABLE As Int

Functions:

AddBuffer_ArrayByte (B As Byte()) As String

AddBuffer_BarCode (Code As String) As String

AddBuffer_Bitmap (Bmp As Bitmap, ShiftLeft As Int) As String

AddBuffer_BitmapAlternativeCoding (Bmp As Bitmap) As String

AddBuffer_List_Write (list As List) As String

AddBuffer_List_WriteLine (list As List) As String

AddBuffer_Tab (ArrayTab As Int()) As String

AddBuffer_Write (Text As String) As String

AddBuffer_WriteLine (Text As String) As String

AddPrintDefineImage As String

CenterJustify As String
after this command calls SendBufferToPrinter

ChangeEncoding (EncodingType As String) As String

Class_Globals As String

ClearBuffer As String

Close As String

Connected As Boolean

DefineImage (Image As Bitmap)

flushAllAndClose

Initialize (CallBack As Object, EventName As String, EncodingType As String) As String
Initializes the object. You can add parameters to this method if needed.

InitializePrinter As String

IsInitialized As Boolean
Verifica se l'oggetto sia stato inizializzato.

LeftJustify As String
after this command calls SendBufferToPrinter

Preview As Bitmap

ResetPreViewWidth (NewWidth As Int) As String

RightJustify As String
after this command calls SendBufferToPrinter

SearchNewPrinter As String
select --------------------------------------------

SelectFromAssociatedPrinter As String

SelectFromMac (Mac As String) As String

SendBufferToPrinter

SetCodePage (Code As Byte) As String
es. Printer.SetCodePage(06) for umlauts char

Properties:

CodeTable
es. printer.setCodeTable(Ecoding.Code_WPC1252)
aftet this command calls SendBufferToPrinter

Spacing
after setSpacing command calls SendBufferToPrinter

ESC_POS
Code module
Subs in this code module will be accessible from all modules.

Fields:

BoldOff As String

BoldOn As String

DoubleOff As String

DoubleOn As String

FontA_Bold As String

FontA_DoubleHight As String

FontA_DoubleWide As String

FontA_DoubleWideHeight As String

FontA_Normal As String

FontB_Bold As String

FontB_DoubleHeight As String

FontB_DoubleWide As String

FontB_DoubleWideHeight As String

FontB_Normal As String

Horizzontal As String

InitializePrinter As String

ItalicFontOff As String

ItalicFontOn As String

NoUnderline As String

QueryErrorCauses As String

QueryOfflineCauses As String

QueryPaperStatus As String

QueryPrinterStatus As String

Underline1 As String

Underline2 As String

Vertical As String

Functions:

Process_Globals As String

Encoding
Code module
Subs in this code module will be accessible from all modules.

Fields:

Chinese As String

ChineseS As String

Code_PC437 As Int

Code_PC850 As Int

Code_PC857 As Int

Code_PC858 As Int

Code_PC860 As Int

Code_PC863 As Int

Code_WPC1252 As Int

DOS_Latin_1 As String

IBM_PC As String

ISO8859 As String

UTF8 As String

Windows1252 As String

Functions:

Process_Globals As String

Dear Sir

i want to ask how much for the donation library of BT_Printer library in USD ? i live in indonesia.

sorry cannot do private message because i'm not licensed user.

many thanks
Tinos

Kevin Hartin · Oct 6, 2021

FYI, I am building a POS app and have built on the ESCPOS class to include connecting to IP and USB printers in addition to the Bluetooth that the class uses.

In addition to the Connect method??? I have added ConnectBt, ConnectLan and ConnectUsb which all work really well and enable me to save settings and connect to a pre configured printer saved in my app database. I am yet to try it in B4i and B4j, but for B4a it works well...

B4X:

#IgnoreWarnings: 9
' 9 = unused variable

Sub Class_Globals
    ' 1.0    Initial version
    ' 2.0    Added FeedPaper, changed many WriteString(.." &  Chr(number)) instances to WriteBytes(params)
    '         This is to avoid Unicode code page transformations on some numbers > 32
    '            Added PrintAndFeedPaper, setRelativePrintPosn,
    '            Added user defined characters, DefineCustomCharacter, DeleteCustomCharacter and setUseCustomCharacters
    '            Addedhelper methods CreateCustomCharacter, CreateLine, CreateBox and CreateCircle
    Private Version As Double = 2.0 ' Printer class version
    
    Type AnImage(Width As Int, Height As Int, Data() As Byte)
    
    Private EventName As String 'ignore
    Private CallBack As Object 'ignore
    
    Private Serial1 As Serial
    Private Lan1 As Socket
    Private Usb1 As UsbSerial
    Private Astream As AsyncStreams
    Private Connected As Boolean
    Private ConnectedError As String
    Public PrinterName As String
    
    Dim ESC As String = Chr(27)
    Dim FS As String = Chr(28)
    Dim GS As String = Chr(29)
    
    'Bold and underline don't work well in reversed text
    Dim UNREVERSE As String  = GS & "B" & Chr(0)
    Dim REVERSE As String = GS & "B" & Chr(1)
    
    ' Character orientation. Print upside down from right margin
    Dim UNINVERT As String = ESC & "{0"
    Dim INVERT As String = ESC & "{1"
    
    ' Character rotation clockwise. Not much use without also reversing the printed character sequence
    Dim UNROTATE As String = ESC & "V0"
    Dim ROTATE As String = ESC & "V1"
    
    ' Horizontal tab
    Dim HT As String = Chr(9)
    
    ' Character underline
    Dim ULINE0 As String = ESC & "-0"
    Dim ULINE1 As String = ESC & "-1"
    Dim ULINE2 As String = ESC & "-2"
    
    ' Character emphasis
    Dim BOLD As String = ESC & "E1"
    Dim NOBOLD As String = ESC & "E0"
    
    ' Character height and width
    Dim SINGLE As String = GS & "!" & Chr(0x00)
    Dim HIGH As String = GS & "!" & Chr(0x01)
    Dim WIDE As String = GS & "!" & Chr(0x10)
    Dim HIGHWIDE As String = GS & "!" & Chr(0x11)

    ' Extras
    Dim PARTCUT As String = ESC & Chr(0x1B) & Chr(0x69)
    Dim FULLCUT As String = ESC & Chr(0x1B) & Chr(0x6D)
    Dim OPENDRAWER As String = ESC & Chr(0x1B) & Chr(0x70) & Chr(0) & Chr(50) & Chr(50)
    
    ' Default settings
    Private LEFTJUSTIFY As String = ESC & "a0"
    Private LINEDEFAULT As String = ESC & "2"
    Private LINSET0 As String = ESC & "$" & Chr(0x0) & Chr(0x0)
    Private LMARGIN0 As String = GS & "L" & Chr(0x0) & Chr(0x0)
    Private WIDTH0 As String = GS & "W" & Chr(0xff) & Chr(0xff)
    Private CHARSPACING0 As String = ESC & " " & Chr(0)
    Private CHARFONT0 As String = ESC & "M" & Chr(0)
    Dim DEFAULTS As String =  CHARSPACING0 & CHARFONT0 & LMARGIN0 & WIDTH0 & LINSET0 & LINEDEFAULT & LEFTJUSTIFY _
        & UNINVERT & UNROTATE & UNREVERSE & NOBOLD & ULINE0   
End Sub

'**********
'PUBLIC API
'**********

'Initialize the object with the parent and event name
Public Sub Initialize(vCallback As Object, vEventName As String)
    EventName = vEventName
    CallBack = vCallback
    Serial1.Initialize("Serial1")
    Connected = False
    ConnectedError = ""
End Sub

' Returns any error raised by the last attempt to connect a printer
Public Sub ConnectedErrorMsg As String
    Return ConnectedError
End Sub

' Returns whether a printer is connected or not
Public Sub IsConnected As Boolean
    Return Connected
End Sub

' Returns whether Bluetooth is on or off
Public Sub IsBluetoothOn As Boolean
    Return Serial1.IsEnabled
End Sub

' Ask the user to connect to a printer and return whether she tried or not
' If True then a subsequent Connected event will indicate success or failure
Public Sub Connect As Boolean
    Dim PairedDevices As Map
    PairedDevices = Serial1.GetPairedDevices
    Dim l As List
    l.Initialize
    For i = 0 To PairedDevices.Size - 1
        l.Add(PairedDevices.GetKeyAt(i))
    Next
    Dim Res As Int
    Res = InputListAsync(l, "Choose a printer", -1, True) 'show list with paired devices
    Log("Res: "&Res)
    If Res <> DialogResponse.CANCEL Then
        Log(l.Get(Res))
        Log(PairedDevices.Get(l.Get(Res)))
        Serial1.Connect(PairedDevices.Get(l.Get(Res))) 'convert the name to mac address
        Return True
    End If
    Return False
End Sub

Public Sub ConnectBt (BtAddress As String) As Boolean
    Log("BtAddress: "&BtAddress)   
    If BtAddress.Length = 17 Then
        Serial1.Connect(BtAddress) 'convert the name to mac address
    Else
        Dim PairedDevices As Map
        PairedDevices = Serial1.GetPairedDevices
        Dim l As List
        l.Initialize
        For i = 0 To PairedDevices.Size - 1
            l.Add(PairedDevices.GetKeyAt(i))
        Next
        Dim Res As Int
        Res = InputList(l, "Choose a printer", -1) 'show list with paired devices
        Log("Res: "&Res)
        If Res <> DialogResponse.CANCEL Then
            Log(l.Get(Res))
            Log(PairedDevices.Get(l.Get(Res)))
            Serial1.Connect(PairedDevices.Get(l.Get(Res))) 'convert the name to mac address
            PrinterName = PairedDevices.Get(l.Get(Res))
            Log("PrinterName: "&PrinterName)
        End If
    End If
End Sub

Public Sub ConnectUsb As Boolean
    Log(Usb1.UsbPresent(1))
    If Usb1.UsbPresent(1) = Usb1.USB_NONE Then 
        Log("No device USB NONE")
        Return False
    End If
    If (Usb1.HasPermission(1)) Then   
        Dim text As String = Usb1.DeviceInfo(1)
'        Log(text)
        Dim ProductId As Int = Bit.ParseInt(text.SubString2(text.IndexOf("ProductId :")+11,text.IndexOf("ProductId :")+18).Trim.Replace("0x",""),16)
        Dim VendorId As Int = Bit.ParseInt(text.SubString2(text.IndexOf("VendorId :")+10,text.IndexOf("VendorId :")+18).Trim.Replace("0x",""),16)
        PrinterName = VendorId&","&ProductId
        Log("PrinterName: "&PrinterName)
        Usb1.SetCustomDevice(Usb1.DRIVER_SILABS, VendorId, ProductId)
'        usb1.SetCustomDevice(usb1.DRIVER_SILABS, 0x493, 0x8760)  ' POS58
'        usb1.SetCustomDevice(usb1.DRIVER_SILABS, 0x1a40, 0x0101)  ' TPS320

        Dim dev As Int
        dev = Usb1.Open(9600, 1) 'STMicroeletronics
        If dev <> Usb1.USB_NONE Then
            Log("Connected successfully! 1")
            Astream.Initialize(Usb1.GetInputStream, Usb1.GetOutputStream, "Astream")
            Usb1.SetParameters(9600, Usb1.DATABITS_8,Usb1.STOPBITS_1, Usb1.PARITY_NONE)
        Else
            Log("Error opening USB port 1")
        End If
        Return True
    Else
        Usb1.RequestPermission(1)
        Return False
    End If
End Sub

Public Sub ConnectLan (IPaddress As String) As Boolean
    If Regex.IsMatch("\b((25[0-5]|2[0-4][0-9]|[01]?[0-9][0-9]?)(\.|$)){4}\b",IPaddress) Then
        Lan1.Initialize("Lan1")
        Lan1.Connect(IPaddress, 9100, 0)
        PrinterName = IPaddress
        Log("PrinterName: "&PrinterName)
        Return True
    Else
        Return False
    End If
End Sub

' Disconnect the printer
Public Sub DisConnect
    Serial1.Disconnect
    Connected = False
End Sub

' Reset the printer to the power on state
Public Sub Reset
    WriteString(ESC & "@")
End Sub

'--------------
' Text Commands
'--------------

' Print any outstanding characters then feed the paper the specified number of units of 0.125mm
' This is similar to changing LineSpacing before sending CRLF but this has a one off effect
' A full character height is always fed even if units = 0. Units defines the excess over this minimum
Public Sub PrintAndFeedPaper(units As Int)
    WriteString(ESC & "J")
    Dim params(1) As Byte
    params(0) = units
    WriteBytes(params)
End Sub

' Set the distance between characters
Public Sub setCharacterSpacing(spacing As Int)
    WriteString(ESC & " ")
    Dim params(1) As Byte
    params(0) = spacing
    WriteBytes(params)
End Sub

' Set the left inset of the next line to be printed
' Automatically resets to 0 for the following line
' inset is specified in units of 0.125mm
Public Sub setLeftInset(inset As Int)
    Dim dh As Int = inset / 256
    Dim dl As Int = inset - dh
    WriteString(ESC & "$" & Chr(dl) & Chr(dh))
    Dim params(2) As Byte
    params(0) = dl
    params(1) = dh
    WriteBytes(params)
End Sub

' Set the left margin of the print area, must be the first item on a new line
' margin is specified in units of 0.125mm
' This affects barcodes as well as text
Public Sub setLeftMargin(margin As Int)
    Dim dh As Int = margin / 256
    Dim dl As Int = margin - dh
    WriteString(GS & "L")
    Dim params(2) As Byte
    params(0) = dl
    params(1) = dh
    WriteBytes(params)
End Sub

' Set the width of the print area, must be the first item on a new line
' margin is specified in units of 0.125mm
' This affects barcodes as well as text
' This appears to function more like a right margin than a print area width when used with LeftMargin
Public Sub setPrintWidth(width As Int)
    Dim dh As Int = width / 256
    Dim dl As Int = width - dh
    WriteString(GS & "W")
    Dim params(2) As Byte
    params(0) = dl
    params(1) = dh
    WriteBytes(params)
End Sub

' Set the distance between lines in increments of 0.125mm
' If spacing is < 0 then the default of 30 is set
Public Sub setLineSpacing(spacing As Int)
    If spacing < 0 Then
        WriteString(ESC & "2")
    Else
        WriteString(ESC & "3")
        Dim params(1) As Byte
        params(0) = spacing
        WriteBytes(params)
    End If
End Sub
    
' Set the line content justification, must be the first item on a new line
' 0 left, 1 centre, 2 right
Public Sub setJustify(justify As Int)
    WriteString(ESC & "a" & Chr(justify + 48))
End Sub

' Set the codepage of the printer
' You need to look at the printer documentation to establish which codepages are supported
Public Sub setCodePage(codepage As Int)
    WriteString(ESC & "t")
    Dim params(1) As Byte
    params(0) = codepage
    WriteBytes(params)
End Sub

' Select the size of the font for printing text. 0 = Font A (12 x 24), 1 = Font B (9 x 17)
' For font B you may want to set the line spacing to a lower value than the default of 30
' This affects only the size of printed characters. The code page determines the actual character set
' On my printer setting UseCustomCharacters = while Font B is selected crashes the printer and turns it off
Public Sub setCharacterFont(font As Int)
    WriteString(ESC & "M" & Chr(Bit.And(1,font)))
End Sub

' Set the positions of the horizontal tabs
' Each tab is specified as a number of character widths from the beginning of the line
' There may be up to 32 tab positions specified each of size up to 255 characters
' The printer default is that no tabs are defined
Public Sub setTabPositions(tabs() As Int)
    WriteString(ESC & "D")
    Dim data(tabs.Length+1) As Byte
    For i = 0 To tabs.Length - 1
        data(i) = tabs(i)
    Next
    data(tabs.Length) = 0
    WriteBytes(data)
End Sub

' Set print position relative to the current position using horizontal units of 0.125mm
' relposn can be negative
' Unless I have misundertood this doesn't work as documented on my printer
' It only seems take effect at the beginning of a line as a one off effect
Public Sub setRelativePrintPosn(relposn As Int)
    Dim dh As Int = relposn / 256
    Dim dl As Int = relposn - dh
    WriteString(ESC & "\")
    Dim params(2) As Byte
    params(0) = dl
    params(1) = dh
    WriteBytes(params)
End Sub

' Send the contents of an array of bytes to the printer
' Remember that if the printer is expecting text the bytes will be printed as characters in the current code page
Public Sub WriteBytes(data() As Byte)
    If Connected Then
        Astream.Write(data)
    End If
End Sub

' Send the string to the printer in IBM437 encoding which is the original PC DOS codepage
' This is usually the default codepage for a printer and is CodePage = 0
' Beware of using WriteString with Chr() to send numeric values as they may be affected by Unicode to codepage translations
' Most character level operations are pre-defined as UPPERCASE string variables for easy concatenation with other string data
Public Sub WriteString(data As String)
    WriteString2(data, "IBM437")
End Sub

' Send the string to the printer in the specified encoding
' You also need to set the printer to a  matching encoding using the CodePage property
' Beware of using WriteString2 with Chr() to send numeric values as they may be affected by codepage substitutions
' Most character level operations are pre-defined as UPPERCASE string variables for easy concatenatipon with other string data
Public Sub WriteString2(data As String, encoding As String)
    Try
        If Connected Then
            Astream.Write(data.GetBytes(encoding))
        End If
    Catch
        Log("Printer error : " & LastException.Message)
        AStream_Error
    End Try
End Sub

'-----------------------------------------
' User defined character commands commands
'-----------------------------------------

' Delete the specified user defined character mode
' This command deletes the pattern defined for the specified code in the font selected by ESC !
' If the code is subsequently printed in custom character mode the present code page character is printed instead
Public Sub DeleteCustomCharacter(charcode As Int)
    WriteString(ESC & "?")
    Dim params(1) As Byte
    params(0) = charcode
    WriteBytes(params)
End Sub

' Enable the user defined character mode if custom is True, revert to normal if custom is False
' If a custom character has not been defined for a given character code then the default character for the present font is printed
' FontA and FontB have separate definitions for custom characters
' On my printer setting UseCustomCharacters = while Font B is selected crashes the printer and turns it off
' Therefore the cuatom character routines have not been tested on ont B
Public Sub setUseCustomCharacters(custom As Boolean)
    If custom Then
        WriteString(ESC & "%1")
    Else
        WriteString(ESC & "%0")
    End If
End Sub

' Define  a user defined character
' The allowable character code range is the 95 characters) from ASCII code 32 (0x20) to 126 (0x7E)
' Characters can be defined in either font A (12*24) or font B (9*17) as selected by present setting of CharacterFont
' The programmer must ensure that the correct font size definition is used for the present setting of CharacterFont
' The user-defined character definition is cleared when Reset is invoked or the printer is turned off
' The vertical and horizontal printed resolution is approximaely 180dpi
' Characters are always defined by sets of three bytes in the vertical direction and up to 9 or 12 sets horizontally
' Each byte defines a vertical line of 8 dots. The MSB of each byte is the highest image pixel, the LSB is the lowest
' Byte(0+n) defines the topmost third of the vertical line, Byte(1+n) is below and Byte(2+n) is the lowest
' Set a bit to 1 to print a dot or 0 to not print a dot
' If the lines to the right of the character are blank then there set of three bytes can be omiited from the byte array
' When the user-defined characters are defined in font B (9*17) only the most significant bit of the 3rd byte of data is used
' charcode defines the character code for the character being defined
' bitdata is a Byte array containing the character definitiopn as described above.
' If the length of bitdata is not a multiple of 3 the definition is ignored and a value of -1 returned
Public Sub DefineCustomCharacter(charcode As Int, bitdata() As Byte) As Int
    Dim excess As Int = bitdata.Length Mod 3
    If excess <> 0 Then Return -1
    Dim size As Int = bitdata.Length / 3
    WriteString(ESC & "&")
    Dim params(4) As Byte
    params(0) = 3
    params(1) = charcode
    params(2) = charcode
    params(3) = size
    WriteBytes(params)
    WriteBytes(bitdata)
    Return 0
End Sub

' The third triangle point is hacked into spare bits keeping the generated Int human readable i hex for other shapes
' The shape array contains the character shapes and characterfont is 0 for a 12*24 character andd 1 for a 9*17 character
' Returns a Byte(36) for characterfont = 0 and a Byte(27) for characterfont = 1
' The returned array can be directly passed to DefineCustomCharacter
' To define a custom character requires specifying up to 288 data points
' This is a lot of data and in most cases it is mainly white space
' This method takes a character definition that defines only the shapes in the character that are to be printed black
' It will be easier use the outputs from CreateLine, CreateTriangle, CreateBox and CreateCircle rather then building the actual Int values
' Each shape is defined by a single Int value containing four parameters in hex format plugs some single bit flags
' Taking the representation of the Int as eight hex characters numbered from the MS end as 0x01234567
' 0 contains the shape to draw. 0 = Line, 1 = Box, 2 = Circle, 3 = Triangle
' 1 contains a value between 0 and 0xF. This is either an X coordinate or for a circle the radius
' 2 and 3 contain a value between 0 and 0x1F. This is either a Y coordinate or for a circle the quadrants to draw
' 4 contains a value between 0 and 0xF. This is 0 for an empty shope or 1 for a filled shape
' 5 contains a value between 0 and 0xF. This is an X coordinate
' 5 and 6 contain a value between 0 and 0x1F. This is a Y coordinate
' The coordinate 0,0 is at the top left of the character
' Line
' One point of the vector is contained in the top part of the Int and the other in the bottom half
' To define a single point place its coordinates as both sr=start and end of a line
' Box
' The two X,Y coordinates specify the top left and bottom right corners of the box
' Circle
' The left X parameter is now the radius of the circle, the left Y is the quadrants to be drawn
' The right X and Y parameters are the centre of the circle'
' The quadrants to draw are bit ORed together, UpperRight = 0x1, LowerRight = 0x2, LowerLeft = 0x4, Upper Left = 0x8
' Triangle
' The left X and Y parameters are now one point of the triangle, the right X and Y parameters another point
' The third triangle point is hacked into spare bits keeping the generated Int human readable in hex for the other shapes
' The bit allocations of a shape are as follows. f = fill as 0 or 1, s = shape as 0 to 7, xn as 0 to 15, yn as 0 to 31
' Shape 0 = line, 1 = box, 2 = triangle, 3 = circle, 4 to 7 = unused
'   fsss xxxx -yyy yyyy xxxx xxxx yyyy yyyy
'        0000  220 0000 2222 1111 2221 1111
'         x0   y2  y0    x2   x1  y2   y1
' The shape array contains the character shapes and characterfont is 0 for a 12*24 character andd 1 for a 9*17 character
' Returns a Byte(36) for characterfont = 0 and a Byte(27) for characterfont = 1
' The returned array can be directly passed to DefineCustomCharacter
Public Sub CreateCustomCharacter(shapes() As Int, characterfont As Int) As Byte()
    Dim masks(8) As Byte
    masks(0) = 0x80
    masks(1) = 0x40
    masks(2) = 0x20
    masks(3) = 0x10
    masks(4) = 0x08
    masks(5) = 0x04
    masks(6) = 0x02
    masks(7) = 0x01
    ' rather than try to catch errors whenever we access this array we Dim it to the maximum possible values of X and Y
    ' then copy the top left of it to the final character definition array of the correct size
    Dim points(16,32) As Byte
    ' initialise the character to all white
    For x = 0 To 15
        For y = 0 To 31
            points(x,y) = 0
        Next
    Next
    Dim size As Int = 12
    If characterfont = 1 Then size = 9
    Dim charbyes(size * 3) As Byte
    For c = 0 To charbyes.Length - 1
        charbyes(c) = 0
    Next
    ' set the points array from the shapes provided
    For i = 0 To shapes.Length -1
        Dim fill As Int =  Bit.UnsignedShiftRight(Bit.And(0x80000000, shapes(i)), 31)
        Dim shape As Int = Bit.UnsignedShiftRight(Bit.And(0x70000000, shapes(i)), 28)
        Dim x0 As Int = Bit.UnsignedShiftRight(Bit.And(0x0f000000, shapes(i)), 24)
        Dim y0 As Int = Bit.UnsignedShiftRight(Bit.And(0x001f0000, shapes(i)), 16)
        Dim x1 As Int = Bit.UnsignedShiftRight(Bit.And(0x00000f00, shapes(i)), 8)
        Dim y1 As Int = Bit.And(0x0000001f, shapes(i))
        Dim x2 As Int = Bit.UnsignedShiftRight(Bit.And(0x0000f000, shapes(i)), 12)
        Dim y2 As Int = Bit.UnsignedShiftRight(Bit.And(0x00e00000, shapes(i)), 18) +  Bit.UnsignedShiftRight(Bit.And(0x000000e0, shapes(i)), 5)
        ' The bit allocations of a shape are as follows. f = fill as 0 or 1, s = shape as 0 to 7, xn as 0 to 15, yn as 0 to 31
        ' Shape 0 = line, 1 = box, 2 = triangle, 3 = circle, 4 to 7 = unused
        '   fsss xxxx -yyy yyyy xxxx xxxx yyyy yyyy
        '        0000  220 0000 2222 1111 2221 1111
        '         x0   y2  y0    x2   x1  y2   y1
        Dim logmsg As String = ": Fill=" & fill & " : Points " & x0 & "," & y0 & "  " & x1 & "," & y1 & "  " & x2 & "," & y2
        If shape = 3 Then
            Log("Triangle " & logmsg)
            PlotTriangle(x0, y0, x1, y1, x2, y2, points, fill)
        else If shape = 2 Then
            Log("Circle " & logmsg)
            PlotCircle(x0, y0, x1, y1, points, fill)
        Else If shape = 1 Then
            Log("Box " & logmsg)
            PlotBox(x0, y0, x1, y1, points, fill)
        Else
            Log("Line " & logmsg)
            PlotLine(x0, y0, x1, y1, points)
        End If
        ' map the points array onto the character definition array
        For x = 0 To size -1 ' 9 or 12 horizontal bytes
            For y = 0 To 2 ' 3 vertical bytes
                Dim bits As Byte = 0
                For b = 0 To 7 ' 8 vertical bits
                    If points(x, y*8+b) <> 0 Then
                        bits = Bit.Or(bits, masks(b))
                    End If
                Next
                charbyes(x*3+y) = bits
            Next
        Next
    Next
    Return charbyes
End Sub

' This is a higher level method that builds the Int values to pass to CreateCustomCharacter in the shapes array
' Create the value to draw a line in a custom character
' The line starts at X0,Y0 and ends at X1,Y1
Public Sub CreateLine(x0 As Int, y0 As Int, x1 As Int, y1 As Int) As Int
    Dim line As Int = 0
    line = line + Bit.ShiftLeft(Bit.And(0xf,x0), 24)
    line = line + Bit.ShiftLeft(Bit.And(0x1f,y0), 16)
    line = line + Bit.ShiftLeft(Bit.And(0xf,x1), 8)
    line = line + Bit.And(0x1f,y1)
    Return line
End Sub

' This is a higher level method that builds the Int values to pass to CreateCustomCharacter in the shapes array
' Create the value to draw a circle in a custom character
' The circle is centred on X1,Y1 and the quadrants to draw are bit ORed together
' UpperRight = 0x1, LowerRight = 0x2, LowerLeft = 0x4, Upper Left = 0x8
Public Sub CreateCircle(radius As Int, quadrants As Int, x1 As Int, y1 As Int, fill As Boolean) As Int
    Dim circle As Int = 0x20000000
    If fill Then circle = circle + 0x80000000
    circle = circle + Bit.ShiftLeft(radius, 24)
    circle = circle + Bit.ShiftLeft(quadrants, 16)
    circle = circle + Bit.ShiftLeft(x1, 8)
    circle = circle + y1
    Return circle
End Sub


' This is a higher level method that builds the Int values to pass to CreateCustomCharacter in the shapes array
' Create the value to draw a triangle in a custom character
' The triangles corners are at X0,Y0 X1,Y1 and X2,Y2
Public Sub CreateTriangle(x0 As Int, y0 As Int, x1 As Int, y1 As Int, x2 As Int, y2 As Int, fill As Boolean) As Int
    Dim triangle As Int = 0x30000000
    If fill Then triangle = triangle + 0x80000000
    triangle = triangle + Bit.ShiftLeft(Bit.And(0xf,x0), 24)
    triangle = triangle + Bit.ShiftLeft(Bit.And(0x1f,y0), 16)
    triangle = triangle + Bit.ShiftLeft(Bit.And(0xf,x1), 8)
    triangle = triangle + Bit.And(0x1f,y1)
    triangle = triangle + Bit.ShiftLeft(Bit.And(0xf,x2), 12) ' extra X
    triangle = triangle + Bit.ShiftLeft(Bit.And(0x7,y2), 5) ' extra Y lsbits * 3
    triangle = triangle + Bit.ShiftLeft(Bit.And(0x18,y2), 18) ' extra Y msbits * 2
    Return triangle
End Sub

' This is a higher level method that builds the Int values to pass to CreateCustomCharacter in the shapes array
' Create the value to draw a box in a custom character
' The box top left start is X0,Y0 and bottom right is X1,Y1
Public Sub CreateBox(x0 As Int, y0 As Int, x1 As Int, y1 As Int, fill As Boolean) As Int
    Dim box As Int = 0x10000000
    If fill Then box = box + 0x80000000
    box = box + Bit.ShiftLeft(Bit.And(0xf,x0), 24)
    box = box + Bit.ShiftLeft(Bit.And(0x1f,y0), 16)
    box = box + Bit.ShiftLeft(Bit.And(0xf,x1), 8)
    box = box + Bit.And(0x1f,y1)
    Return box
End Sub

'-----------------------------------------
' Private custom character drawing methods
'-----------------------------------------

Private Sub PlotTriangle(x0 As Int, y0 As Int, x1 As Int, y1 As Int, x2 As Int, y2 As Int, points(,) As Byte, Fill As Int)
    ' This is a pretty crude algorithm, but it is simple, works and it isn't invoked often
    PlotLine(x0, y0, x1, y1, points)
    PlotLine(x1, y1, x2, y2, points)
    PlotLine(x2, y2, x0, y0, points)
    If Fill > 0 Then
        FillTriangle(x0, y0, x1, y1, x2, y2, points)
    End If
End Sub

Private Sub FillTriangle(x0 As Int, y0 As Int, x1 As Int, y1 As Int, x2 As Int, y2 As Int, points(,) As Byte)
    ' first sort the three vertices by y-coordinate ascending so v0 Is the topmost vertice */
    Dim tx, ty As Int
    If y0 > y1 Then
        tx = x0 : ty = y0
        x0 = x1 : y0 = y1
        x1 = tx : y1 = ty
    End If
    If y0 > y2 Then
        tx = x0 : ty = y0
        x0 = x2 : y0 = y2
        x2 = tx : y2 = ty
    End If
    If y1 > y2 Then
        tx = x1 : ty = y1
        x1 = x2 : y1 = y2
        x2 = tx : y2 = ty
    End If
    
    Dim dx0, dx1, dx2 As Double
    Dim x3, x4, y3, y4 As Double
    Dim inc As Int
    
    If y1 - y0 > 0 Then    dx0=(x1-x0)/(y1-y0) Else    dx0=0
    If y2 - y0 > 0 Then dx1=(x2-x0)/(y2-y0) Else dx1=0
    If y2 - y1 > 0 Then dx2=(x2-x1)/(y2-y1) Else dx2=0
    x3 = x0 : x4 = x0
    y3 = y0 : y4 = y0
    If dx0 > dx1 Then
        While
        Do While y3 <= y1
            If x3 > x4 Then inc = -1 Else inc = 1
            For x = x3 To x4 Step inc
                points(x, y3) = 1
            Next
            y3 = y3 + 1 : y4 = y4 + 1 : x3 = x3 + dx1 : x4 = x4 + dx0
        Loop
        x4=x1
        y4=y1
        Do While y3 <= y2
            If x3 > x4 Then inc = -1 Else inc = 1
            For x = x3 To x4 Step inc
                points(x ,y3) = 1
            Next
            y3 = y3 + 1 : y4 = y4 + 1 : x3 = x3 + dx1 : x4 = x4 + dx2
        Loop
    Else
        While
        Do While y3 <= y1
            If x3 > x4 Then inc = -1 Else inc = 1
            For x = x3 To x4 Step inc
                points(x, y3) = 1
            Next
            y3 = y3 + 1 : y4 = y4 + 1 : x3 = x3 + dx0 : x4 = x4 +dx1
        Loop
        x3=x1
        y3=y1
        Do While y3<=y2
            If x3 > x4 Then inc = -1 Else inc = 1
            For x = x3 To x4 Step inc
                points(x, y3) = 1
            Next
            y3 = y3 + 1 : y4 = y4 + 1 : x3 = x3 + dx2 : x4 = x4 + dx1
        Loop
    End If
End Sub

Private Sub PlotBox(x0 As Int, y0 As Int, x1 As Int, y1 As Int, points(,) As Byte, Fill As Int)
    ' This is a pretty crude algorithm, but it is simple, works and itsn't invoked often
    PlotLine(x0, y0, x0, y1, points)
    PlotLine(x0, y0, x1, y0, points)
    PlotLine(x1, y0, x1, y1, points)
    PlotLine(x0, y1, x1, y1, points)
    If Fill > 0 Then
        For x = x0 To x1
            PlotLine(x, y0, x, y1, points)
        Next
    End If
End Sub


Private Sub PlotCircle(radius As Int, quadrants As Int, x1 As Int, y1 As Int, points(,) As Byte, fill As Int)
    ' This is a pretty crude algorithm, but it is simple, works and itsn't invoked often
    Dim mask As Int = 1
    For q = 3 To 0 Step -1
        If Bit.And(quadrants, mask) <> 0 Then
            For i = q*90 To q*90+90 Step 1
                Dim x,y As Double
                x = x1 - SinD(i)*radius
                y = y1 - CosD(i)*radius
                If fill > 0 Then
                    PlotLine(x1, y1, x, y, points)
                Else
                    points(Round(x), Round(y)) = 1
                End If
            Next
        End If
        mask = Bit.ShiftLeft(mask, 1)
    Next
End Sub

' Bresenham's line algorithm - see Wikipedia
Private Sub PlotLine(x0 As Int, y0 As Int, x1 As Int, y1 As Int, points(,) As Byte )
    If Abs(y1 - y0) < Abs(x1 - x0) Then
        If x0 > x1 Then
            PlotLineLow(x1, y1, x0, y0, points)
        Else
            PlotLineLow(x0, y0, x1, y1, points)
        End If
    Else
        If y0 > y1 Then
            PlotLineHigh(x1, y1, x0, y0, points)
        Else
            PlotLineHigh(x0, y0, x1, y1, points)
        End If
    End If
End Sub

Private Sub PlotLineHigh(x0 As Int, y0 As Int, x1 As Int, y1 As Int, points(,) As Byte )
    Dim dx As Int = x1 - x0
    Dim dy  As Int = y1 - y0
    Dim xi As Int = 1
    If dx < 0 Then
        xi = -1
        dx = -dx
    End If
    Dim D As Int = 2*dx - dy
    Dim x As Int = x0
    For y = y0 To y1
        points(x,y) = 1
        If D > 0 Then
            x = x + xi
            D = D - 2*dy
        End If
        D = D + 2*dx
    Next
End Sub
    
Private Sub    PlotLineLow(x0 As Int, y0 As Int, x1 As Int,y1 As Int, points(,) As Byte )
    Dim dx As Int = x1 - x0
    Dim dy As Int = y1 - y0
    Dim yi As Int = 1
    If dy < 0 Then
        yi = -1
        dy = -dy
    End If
    Dim D As Int = 2*dy - dx
    Dim y As Int = y0
    For x = x0 To x1
        points(x,y) = 1
        If D > 0 Then
            y = y + yi
            D = D - 2*dx
        End If
        D = D + 2*dy
    Next
End Sub


'-------------------
' Image commands
'-------------------
' There are two different image printing options with different pixel formats.
' PrintImage prints an entire image at once with a maximum size of 576x512
' PrintImage2 prints a slice of an image with a height of 8 or 24 and a maximum width of 576
' One or other may look better on your particular printer

' Printer support method for pre-processing images to print
' Convert the bitmap supplied to an array of pixel values representing the luminance value of each original pixel
Sub ImageToBWIMage(bmp As Bitmap) As AnImage
    Dim BC As BitmapCreator 'ignore
    Dim W As Int = bmp.Width
    Dim H As Int = bmp.Height
    Dim pixels(W * H) As Byte

    For y = 0 To H - 1
        For x = 0 To W - 1
            Dim j As Int = bmp.GetPixel(x, y)
            ' convert color to approximate luminance value
            Dim col As ARGBColor
            BC.ColorToARGB(j, col )
            Dim lum As Int = col.r * 0.2 + col.b*0.1 + col.g*0.7
            If lum> 255 Then lum = 255
            ' save the pixel luminance
            pixels(y*W + x) = lum
        Next
    Next
    Dim ret As AnImage
    ret.Width = bmp.Width
    ret.Height = bmp.Height
    ret.Data = pixels
    Return ret
End Sub

' Printer support method for pre-processing images to print
' Convert the array of luminance values to an array of 0s and 1s according to the threshold value
Sub ThresholdImage(img As AnImage, threshold As Int) As AnImage
    Dim pixels(img.Data.Length) As Byte
    For i = 0 To pixels.Length - 1
        Dim lum As Int = Bit.And(img.Data(i), 0xff) ' bytes are signed values
        If lum < threshold Then
            lum = 1
        Else
            lum = 0
        End If
        pixels(i) = lum
    Next
    Dim ret As AnImage
    ret.Width = img.Width
    ret.Height = img.Height
    ret.Data = pixels
    Return ret
End Sub

' Printer support method for pre-processing images to print
' Convert the array of luminance values to a dithered array of 0s and 1s according to the threshold value
' The dithering algorithm is the simplest one-dimensional error diffusion algorithm
' Normally threshold should be 128 but some images may look better with a little more or less.
' This algorithm tends to produce vertical lines. DitherImage2D will probably look far better
Sub DitherImage1D(img As AnImage, threshold As Int) As AnImage
    Dim pixels(img.Data.Length) As Byte
    Dim error As Int
    For y = 0 To img.Height - 1
        error = 0 ' reset on each new line
        For x = 0 To img.Width - 1
            Dim lum As Int = Bit.And(img.Data(y*img.Width + x), 0xff) ' bytes are signed values
            lum = lum + error
            If lum < threshold Then
                error = lum
                lum = 1
            Else
                error = lum - 255
                lum = 0
            End If
            pixels(y*img.Width + x) = lum
        Next
    Next
    Dim ret As AnImage
    ret.Width = img.Width
    ret.Height = img.Height
    ret.Data = pixels
    Return ret
End Sub


' Printer support method for pre-processing images to print
' Convert the array of luminance values to a dithered array of 0s and 1s according to the threshold value
' The dithering algorithm is the simplest two-dimensional error diffusion algorithm
' Normally threshold should be 128 but some images may look better with a little more or less.
' Anything more sophisticated might be overkill considering the image quality of most thermal printers
Sub DitherImage2D(img As AnImage, threshold As Int) As AnImage
    Dim pixels(img.Data.Length) As Byte
    Dim xerror As Int
    Dim yerrors(img.Width) As Int
    For i = 0 To yerrors.Length -1
        yerrors(0) = 0
    Next
    For y = 0 To img.Height - 1
        xerror = 0 ' reset on each new line
        For x = 0 To img.Width - 1
            Dim lum As Int = Bit.And(img.Data(y*img.Width + x), 0xff) ' bytes are signed values
            lum = lum + xerror + yerrors(x)
            If lum < threshold Then
                xerror = lum/2
                yerrors(x) = xerror
                lum = 1
            Else
                xerror = (lum - 255)/2
                yerrors(x) = xerror
                lum = 0
            End If
            pixels(y*img.Width + x) = lum
        Next
    Next
    Dim ret As AnImage
    ret.Width = img.Width
    ret.Height = img.Height
    ret.Data = pixels
    Return ret
End Sub


' GS v0 printing
'---------------

' Prints the given image at the specified height and width using the "GS v" command
' Image data is supplied as bytes each containing 8 bits of horizontal image data
' The top left of the image is Byte(0) and the bottom right is Byte(width*height-1)
' MSB of the byte is the leftmost image pixel, the LSB is the rightmost
' Maximum width is 72 bytes (576 bits), Maximum height is 512 bytes
' The printed pixels are square
' Returns status 0 : OK, -1 : too wide, -2 : too high, -3 : array too small
' The printer can take a long time to process the data and start printing
Public Sub PrintImage(img As AnImage) As Int
    ' max width = 72 ' 72mm/576 bits wide
    ' max height = 512 ' 64mm/512 bits high
    If img.width > 72 Then Return -1
    If img.height > 512 Then Return -2
    If img.data.Length < img.width * img.height Then Return -3
    Dim xh As Int = img.width / 256
    Dim xl As Int = img.width - xh * 256
    Dim yh As Int = img.height / 256
    Dim yl As Int = img.height - yh * 256
    Dim params(5) As Byte
    params(0) = 0 '
    params(1) = xl
    params(2) = xh
    params(3) = yl
    params(4) = yh
    WriteString(GS & "v0")
    WriteBytes(params)
    WriteBytes(img.data)
    WriteString(CRLF)
    Return 0
End Sub

' Printer support method for pre-processing images to print by PrintImage
' Takes an array of image pixels and packs it for use with PrintImage
' Each byte in the imagedata array is a single pixel valued zero or non-zero for white and black
' The returned array is 8 x smaller and packs 8 horizontal black or white pixels into each byte
' If the horizontal size of the image is not a multiple of 8 it will be truncated so that it is.
Public Sub PackImage(imagedata As AnImage) As AnImage
    Dim xbytes As Int = imagedata.width/8
    Dim pixels(xbytes * imagedata.height) As Byte
    Dim masks(8) As Byte
    masks(0) = 0x80
    masks(1) = 0x40
    masks(2) = 0x20
    masks(3) = 0x10
    masks(4) = 0x08
    masks(5) = 0x04
    masks(6) = 0x02
    masks(7) = 0x01
    Dim index As Int = 0
    For y = 0 To imagedata.Height - 1
        For x = 0 To xbytes - 1
            Dim xbyte As Byte = 0
            For b = 0 To 7
                ' get a pixel
                Dim pix As Byte = imagedata.Data(index)
                If pix <> 0 Then
                    xbyte = xbyte + masks(b)
                End If
                index = index + 1
            Next
            pixels(y*xbytes + x) = xbyte
        Next
    Next
    Dim ret As AnImage
    ret.Width = xbytes
    ret.Height = imagedata.Height
    ret.Data = pixels
    Return ret
End Sub


' ESC * printing
'---------------

' Prints the given image slice at the specified height and width using the "ESC *" command
' Image data is supplied as bytes each containing 8 bits of vertical image data
' Pixels are not square, the width:height ratio varies with density and line height
' Returns status 0 = OK, -1 = too wide, -2 = too high, -3 = wrong array length
' Line spacing needs to be set to 0 if printing consecutive slices
' The printed pixels are not square, the ratio varies with the highdensity and dots24 parameter settings
' The highdensity parameter chooses high or low horizontal bit density when printed
' The dots24 parameter chooses 8 or 24 bit data slice height when printed
' Not(highdensity)
'   Maximum width is 288 bits. Horizontal dpi is approximately 90
'   MSB of each byte is the highest image pixel, the LSB is the lowest
' highdensity
'   Maximum width is 576 bits. Horizontal dpi is approximately 180
' Not(dots24)
'   Vertical printed height is 8 bits at approximately 60dpi
'   One byte in the data Array represents one vertical line when printed
'   Array size is the same as the width
'   MSB of each byte is the highest image pixel, the LSB is the lowest
' dots24
'   Vertical printed height is 24 bits at approximately 180dpi
'   Three consecutive bytes in the data array represent one vertical 24bit line when printed
'   Array size is 3 times the width
'   Byte(n+0) is the highest, byte (n+2) us the lowest
'   MSB of each byte is the highest image pixel, the LSB is the lowest
Public Sub PrintImage2(width As Int, data() As Byte, highdensity As Boolean, dotds24 As Boolean) As Int
    Dim d As String = Chr(0)
    If Not(highdensity) And Not(dotds24 )     Then
        d = Chr(0)
        If width > 288 Then Return -1
        If data.Length <> width Then Return -3
    Else If highdensity And Not(dotds24)      Then
        d = Chr(1)
        If width > 576 Then Return -1
        If data.Length <> width Then Return -3
    Else     If Not(highdensity) And dotds24      Then
        d = Chr(32)
        If width > 288 Then Return -1
        If data.Length <> width*3 Then Return -3
    Else  ' highdensity And dotds24
        d = Chr(33)
        If width > 576 Then Return -1
        If data.Length <> width*3 Then Return -3
    End If
    Dim xh As Int = width / 256
    Dim xl As Int = width - xh * 256
    Dim params(2) As Byte
    params(0) = xl
    params(1) = xh
    WriteString(ESC & "*" & d)
    WriteBytes(params)
    WriteBytes(data)
    WriteString(CRLF)
    Return 0
End Sub

' Printer support method for pre-processing images to print by PrintImage2
' Takes an array of image pixels and packs one slice of it for use with PrintImage2
' Each byte in the imagedata array is a single pixel valued zero or non-zero for white and black
' The returned array packs 8 vertical black or white pixels into each byte
' If dots24 is True then the slice is 24 pixels high otherwise it is 8 pixels high
Public Sub PackImageSlice(img As AnImage, slice As Int, dots24 As Boolean) As Byte()
    Dim bytes As Int = img.width
    If dots24 Then
        Dim pixels(bytes * 3) As Byte
        Dim slicestart As Int = slice * bytes * 8 * 3
    Else
        Dim pixels(bytes) As Byte
        Dim slicestart As Int = slice * bytes * 8
    End If

    Dim masks(8) As Byte
    masks(0) = 0x80
    masks(1) = 0x40
    masks(2) = 0x20
    masks(3) = 0x10
    masks(4) = 0x08
    masks(5) = 0x04
    masks(6) = 0x02
    masks(7) = 0x01
    ' You could compress this into a single code block but I left it as two to make it more obvious what's happening
    If dots24 Then
        For x = 0 To bytes - 1
            For s = 0 To 2
                Dim xbyte As Byte = 0
                For b = 0 To 7
                    ' get a pixel
                    Dim pix As Byte = img.Data(slicestart + ((b + s*8) * bytes) + x)
                    If pix <> 0 Then
                        xbyte = xbyte + masks(b)
                    End If
                Next
                pixels(x*3+s) = xbyte
            Next
        Next
    Else
        For x = 0 To bytes - 1
            Dim xbyte As Byte = 0
            For b = 0 To 7
                ' get a pixel
                Dim pix As Byte = img.Data(slicestart + (b * bytes) + x)
                If pix <> 0 Then
                    xbyte = xbyte + masks(b)
                End If
            Next
            pixels(x) = xbyte
        Next
    End If
    Return pixels
End Sub

'----------------
'Barcode commands
'----------------

' Set the height of a 2D bar code as number of dots vertically, 1 to 255
' Automatically resets to the default after printing the barcode
Public Sub setBarCodeHeight(height As Int)
    WriteString(GS & "h")
    Dim params(1) As Byte
    params(0) = height
    WriteBytes(params)
End Sub

' Set the left inset of a 2D barcode, 0 to 255
' This does not reset on receipt of RESET
Public Sub setBarCodeLeft(left As Int)
    WriteString(GS & "x")
    Dim params(1) As Byte
    params(0) = left
    WriteBytes(params)
End Sub

' Set the width of each bar in a 2D barcode. width value is 2 to 6, default is 3
' 2 = 0.250, 3 - 0.375, 4 = 0.560, 5 = 0.625, 6 = 0.75
' Resets to default after printing the barcode
Public Sub setBarCodeWidth(width As Int)
    WriteString(GS & "w")
    Dim params(1) As Byte
    params(0) = width
    WriteBytes(params)
End Sub

'Selects the printing position of HRI (Human Readable Interpretation) characters when printing a 2D bar code.
'0 Not printed, 1 Above the bar code, 2 Below the bar code, 3 Both above And below the bar code
' Automatically resets to the default of 0 after printing the barcode
' The docs say this can be Chr(0, 1 2 or 3) or "0" "1" "2" or "3" but the numeric characters don't work
Public Sub setHriPosn(posn As Int)
    WriteString(GS & "H")
    Dim params(1) As Byte
    params(0) = posn
    WriteBytes(params)
End Sub

'Selects the font for HRI (Human Readable Interpretation) characters when printing a 2D bar code.
'0 Font A (12 x 24), 1 Font B (9 x 17)
' Automatically resets to the default of 0 after printing the barcode
' The docs say this can be Chr(0 or 1) or "0" or "1" but the numeric characters don't work
Public Sub setHriFont(font As Int)
    WriteString(GS & "f" & Chr(font))
End Sub

' If given invalid data no barcode is printed, only strange characters
' CODABAR needs any of A,B,C or D at the start and end of the barcode. Some decoders may not like them anywhere else
' Bartype   Code     Number of characters   Permitted values
'       A | UPC-A  | 11 or 12 characters  | 0 to 9 | The 12th printed character is always the check digit
'       B | UPC-E  | 6 characters         | 0 to 9 | The 12th printed character is always the check digit
'       C | EAN13  | 12 or 13 characters  | 0 to 9 | The 12th printed character is always the check digit
'       D | EAN8   | 7 or 8 characters    | 0 to 9 | The 8th printed character is always the check digit
'       E | CODE39 | 1 or more characters | 0 to 9, A to Z, Space $ % + - . /
'       F | ITF    | 1 or more characters | 0 to 9 | even number of characters only
'       G | CODABAR| 3 to 255 characters  | 0 to 9, A to D, $ + - . / : |  needs any of A,B,C or D at the start and end
'       H | CODE93 | 1 to 255 characters  | Same as CODE39
'       I | CODE128| 2 to 255 characters  | entire 7 bit ASCII set
Public Sub WriteBarCode(bartype As String, data As String)
    Dim databytes() As Byte = data.GetBytes("ASCII")
    Dim dlow As Int = databytes.Length
    Log("Barcode " & bartype & ", Size " & dlow & ", " & data)
    WriteString(GS & "k" & bartype.ToUpperCase.CharAt(0))
    Dim params(1) As Byte
    params(0) = dlow
    WriteBytes(params)
    WriteBytes(databytes)
End Sub

' On my printer QR codes don't seem to be able to be decoded and on high ECs look obviously wrong :(
' size is 1 to 40, 0 is auto-size. Successive versions increase module size by 4 each side
' size = 1 is 21x21, 2 = 25x25 ... size 40 = 177x177
' EC is error correction level, "L"(7%) or "M"(15%) or "Q"(25%) or "H"(30%)
' scale is 1 to 8, 1 is smallest, 8 is largest
Public Sub WriteQRCode(size As Int, EC As String, scale As Int, data As String)
    Dim databytes() As Byte = data.GetBytes("ISO-8859-1")
    Dim dhigh As Int = databytes.Length / 256
    Dim dlow As Int = databytes.Length - dhigh*256
    Log("QR Code : Size " & size & ", EC " & EC & ", Scale " & scale & ", Size " & dlow & " " & dhigh & " : Data = " & data)
    Dim params(3) As Byte
    params(0) = scale
    params(1) = dlow
    params(2) = dhigh
    WriteString(ESC & "Z" & Chr(size) & EC.ToUpperCase.CharAt(0))
    WriteBytes(params)
    WriteBytes(databytes)
End Sub

'****************
' PRIVATE METHODS
'****************

'-----------------------
' Internal Serial Events
'-----------------------

Private Sub Serial1_Connected (Success As Boolean)
    If Success Then
        Astream.Initialize(Serial1.InputStream, Serial1.OutputStream, "astream")
        Connected = True
        ConnectedError = ""
        Serial1.Listen
    Else
        Connected = False
        ConnectedError = LastException.Message
    End If
    If SubExists(CallBack, EventName & "_Connected") Then
        CallSub2(CallBack, EventName & "_Connected", Success)
    End If
    Astream.Write((CRLF).GetBytes("UTF8"))
End Sub

'-----------------------
' Internal LAN Events
'-----------------------

Private Sub Lan1_Connected (Success As Boolean)
    If Success Then
        Astream.Initialize(Lan1.InputStream, Lan1.OutputStream, "astream")
        Connected = True
        ConnectedError = ""
    Else
        Connected = False
        ConnectedError = LastException.Message
    End If
    If SubExists(CallBack, EventName & "_Connected") Then
        CallSub2(CallBack, EventName & "_Connected", Success)
    End If
    Astream.Write((CRLF).GetBytes("UTF8"))
End Sub

'-----------------------
' Internal USB Events
'-----------------------

'Private Sub Usb1_Connected (Success As Boolean)
'    If Success Then
'        Astream.Initialize(Usb1.InputStream, Usb1.OutputStream, "astream")
'        Connected = True
'        ConnectedError = ""
'    Else
'        Connected = False
'        ConnectedError = LastException.Message
'    End If
'    If SubExists(CallBack, EventName & "_Connected") Then
'        CallSub2(CallBack, EventName & "_Connected", Success)
'    End If
'    Astream.Write((CRLF).GetBytes("UTF8"))
'End Sub

'----------------------------
' Internal AsyncStream Events
'----------------------------

Private Sub AStream_NewData (Buffer() As Byte)
    If SubExists(CallBack, EventName & "_NewData") Then
        CallSub2(CallBack, EventName & "_NewData", Buffer)
    End If
    Log("Data " & Buffer(0))
End Sub

Private Sub AStream_Error
    If SubExists(CallBack, EventName & "_Error") Then
        CallSub(CallBack, EventName & "_Error")
    End If
End Sub

Private Sub AStream_Terminated
    Connected = False
    If SubExists(CallBack, EventName & "_Terminated") Then
        CallSub(CallBack, EventName & "_Terminated")
    End If
End Sub

Public Sub FlushClose
    Astream.SendAllAndClose
End Sub

Star-Dust · Oct 6, 2021

tinos said:
Dear Sir

i want to ask how much for the donation library of BT_Printer library in USD ? i live in indonesia.

sorry cannot do private message because i'm not licensed user.

many thanks
Tinos

this library only deals with the Bluetooth connection, but there are others you will find in the forum that allow USB connection

asales · Oct 12, 2021

Star-Dust said:
this library only deals with the Bluetooth connection, but there are others you will find in the forum that allow USB connection

He ask about how much to donate in USD (United State Dollar) and not USB connection.

B4A Library SD: BT Printer Bluetooth

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