---
title: "Thermal receipt printers — setup guide"
source: https://www.lskhata.com/integrations/thermal-printer
category: "Hardware"
---

# Thermal receipt printers

Khata does not need a particular printer brand. On a phone it talks to Bluetooth thermal printers directly, which covers most counter printers sold in India and Nepal. On a computer it prints the way every other web page does.

## Before you start
- A Bluetooth thermal printer, 58mm or 80mm, for phone printing.
- Bluetooth permission granted to the app.
- For the dashboard: any printer your computer can already print to.

## Setting it up

1. **Pair the printer with the phone** (You) — Pair it in the phone's own Bluetooth settings first, the same as a speaker or headphones. A printer that will not pair there will not pair in any app.
2. **Select it in Khata** (You) — Choose the paired printer in the app's print settings and print a test receipt. Set the paper width to match the roll you actually use.
3. **On the dashboard, just print** (You) — The dashboard opens your computer's normal print dialog, so anything your computer prints to will work — thermal, laser or PDF.

## What moves, and in which direction
- **App → printer** — The receipt, over Bluetooth. Nothing goes through our servers to print.

## How to know it worked
- Print a test receipt before the first busy hour, not during it.
- Check the width: text spilling off the right edge means the paper width is set wrong.

## What this does not do
- No cloud printing and no network (LAN or Wi-Fi) printer support — Bluetooth on the phone, or your computer's own printer from the dashboard.
- No cash-drawer trigger and no customer-display support.
- Thermal receipts fade with heat and time. They are not a durable record; your Khata data is.

## When it does not work
- **The printer does not appear in the app.** Pair it in the phone's Bluetooth settings first, and check the app has Bluetooth permission. On Android, nearby-device permission is separate from Bluetooth being on.
- **Receipt prints cut off at the right.** The paper width setting does not match the roll. 58mm and 80mm are not interchangeable.
- **Prints blank paper.** Thermal paper has a printable side. If a fingernail dragged across it leaves a grey line, that side faces the head.

## Common questions

**Which printer should I buy?**

Any 58mm or 80mm Bluetooth thermal printer. We do not sell hardware and have no affiliate arrangement with anyone who does, so we have no stake in the answer.

**Can two counters share one printer?**

Only in the sense that Bluetooth allows — one connection at a time. Two busy counters want two printers.