flutter_thermal_printer

flutter_thermal_printer

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Getting Started

This plugin is used to print data on thermal printers with ease across multiple platforms.

🎉 New Feature: USB Printing Services

✨ Exciting Update! We now support USB printing services across multiple platforms! Connect your thermal printers directly via USB for faster, more reliable printing without the need for wireless connections.

Supported Platforms for USB:

• 🤖 Android - Full USB support
• 🖥️ Windows - Complete USB integration
• 🍎 macOS - Native USB connectivity

Experience enhanced printing performance with direct USB connections!

Currently Supported

Service	Android	iOS	macOS	Windows
Bluetooth	✅	✅	✅	✅
USB	✅		✅	✅
BLE	✅	✅	✅	✅
WiFi	✅	✅	✅	✅

final _flutterThermalPrinterPlugin = FlutterThermalPrinter.instance;

// Enum ConnectionType
enum ConnectionType {
  BLE,
  USB,
  NETWORK,
}

// Additional Functions
// Recommended Function for getting printers
getPrinters(
  refreshDuration: Duration,
  connectionTypes: List<ConnectionType>,
) {
  // Supports WINDOWS, ANDROID , Macos for USB
  // MAC, IOS, ANDROID, WINDOWS for BLUETOOTH.
}

// Refer to Example for Complete code 

---

macOS printer connection types

Installed macOS print queues are classified using their native device URI: usb:// is USB; dnssd://, ipp://, ipps://, http://, https://, socket://, lpd://, and smb:// are NETWORK. Unknown or missing schemes have a null connectionType and display as UNKNOWN.

await FlutterThermalPrinter.instance.getPrinters(
  connectionTypes: [ConnectionType.USB, ConnectionType.BLE, ConnectionType.NETWORK],
);

The default scan includes all three types. An explicit USB-only scan excludes network queues; a NETWORK-only scan returns installed network queues on macOS. Unknown system queues appear when both USB and NETWORK are requested. This does not discover uninstalled LAN printers or identify thermal/ESC/POS compatibility.

Printer.deviceUri preserves the destination URI and Printer.queueName holds the macOS queue ID. System queues continue printing through the native macOS backend, including printWidget; a Bonjour/IPPS URI is not passed to the raw TCP network printer API. The queue's isConnected value still indicates that it is installed, not that the physical printer is reachable. Other platforms retain their existing discovery mechanisms.

Bluetooth Services

Feature	Android	iOS	macOS	Windows
Start scanning	✅	✅	✅	✅
Stop scanning	✅	✅	✅	✅
Connect printer	✅	✅	✅	✅
Disconnect printer	✅	✅	✅	✅
Print data	✅	✅	✅	✅
Print widget	✅	✅	✅	✅

---

USB Services

Feature	Android	iOS	macOS	Windows
Start scanning	✅		✅	✅
Stop scanning	✅		✅	✅
Connect printer	✅		✅	✅
Print data	✅		✅	✅
Print widget	✅		✅	✅

---

WiFi Services

Feature	Android	iOS	macOS	Windows
Connect printer	✅	✅	✅	✅
Disconnect printer	✅	✅	✅	✅
Print data	✅	✅	✅	✅
Print widget	✅	✅	✅	✅

---

Printer Model Class

String? address;
String? name;
ConnectionType? connectionType;
bool? isConnected;
String? vendorId;
String? productId;

---

Additional Features

Screenshot to Printer

Easily capture and print widgets as images using the printWidget method.

Image Cropping for Long Prints

Handles long data by cropping images and printing them in chunks to ensure seamless printing on devices with limited buffer capacity.

Connection Type Validation

• Ensures ConnectionType compatibility and alerts when unsupported combinations are used.

BLE State Monitoring

Provides real-time monitoring for Bluetooth states, ensuring proactive error handling and reconnections.

BLE Connection Configuration

Customize BLE connection behavior to optimize for different printer models:

// Global configuration (applies to all BLE connections)
FlutterThermalPrinter.instance.bleConfig =
    BleConfig(connectionStabilizationDelay: Duration(seconds: 3));

// Per-connection override for specific devices
await FlutterThermalPrinter.instance.connect(
  printer,
  connectionStabilizationDelay: Duration(seconds: 2),
);

// Default behavior (10 seconds) - no configuration needed
await FlutterThermalPrinter.instance.connect(printer);

Configuration	Use Case
Global config	Set once for consistent behavior across all connections
Per-call override	Fine-tune for specific printer models that connect faster/slower
Default (10s)	Backwards compatible, works with most printers

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Notes and Recommendations

• Windows & MacOS Users: Make sure you have the XPrinter driver installed on Windows for printer compatibility.
  Download the driver from XPrinter Driver.

• Cross-Platform Usage: Ensure Bluetooth permissions and configurations are set correctly for Android and iOS.

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Contributing Guidelines

We welcome contributions to enhance the plugin's functionality!
To contribute, please fork the repository, make changes, and submit a pull request.
For bug reports or feature requests, feel free to open an issue.

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Contributors

Feel free to contribute to this project and help make it better for everyone!

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