IBM/Toshiba 4610 SureMark

Python library for IBM / Toshiba 4610 SureMark POS thermal receipt printers, communicating over USB.

There are three communication modes supported:

• Compatibility Legacy 4610
• Native Mode
• EPSON Emulation (RS-232 only)

This library targets the Native Mode which is basically the only viable option for the models with USB interface.

The library has been slop-reverse-engineered from JavaPOS, and then slop-coded into python. It's on the way to getting groomed to be a regular mediocre human-made nonsense.

Communication: Github Issues

Hardware

Installation

pip install py-ibm-4610

pyusb may require libusb to be installed on the system. This needs to be verified.

Also udev features must listed and verified.

Quick start

import logging
from py_ibm_4610 import IBM4610_1NR
from py_ibm_4610 import FONT_A, FONT_B, FONT_C, ALIGN_CENTER, BC_CODE39, QR_EC_H

logging.basicConfig(
    level=logging.DEBUG,
)

# Context manager opens and closes the USB connection automatically
with IBM4610_1NR() as p:
    # Modifying parameters one by one
    p.select_font(FONT_B)
    p.alignment(ALIGN_CENTER)
    p.bold(True)
    p.scale_font(width=1, height=1)
    p.text("py-ibm-4610 works!\n")
    # Print all we've got so far
    p.flush()
    # An easy way to go back to defaults
    p.reinit()
    # Modifying parameters in chain
    second_line = ("That's an example of how to use our library."
                   "The newlines are handled automatically by the printer")
    p.bold(True).text(f"{second_line}\n").bold(False)
    # Showing off with a barcode
    p.barcode(BC_CODE39, "IT-WORKS", height=50, width=4, align=ALIGN_CENTER)
    p.feed(2)
    # Print a QR Code
    url = "https://github.com/printer-stream/py-ibm-4610"
    p.qr_code(url, ec=QR_EC_H)
    p.flush()
    # Feed paper so the print get above the knife
    p.feed(10)
    # Finally cut the paper
    p.cut()

Reference page

There is a ReferencePage() class slop-coded recently. It needs to be refactored.

Usage:

from py_ibm_4610 import IBM4610_1NR, ReferencePage

with IBM4610_1NR() as p:
    ReferencePage(p).enable_all().print()

Available sections: TEXT_FORMATTING, FONT_SCALING, FONT_FACES, ALIGNMENT, FONT_COLOR, ROTATION, LINE_SPACING, FEED, TAB_STOPS, MARGINS, DOT_SPACING, CHAR_SETS, PRINT_QUALITY, BARCODES, BITMAP, PAGE_MODE, BUFFER_CONTROL, STATUS, LINE_COUNT, STATUS_SENT, ERROR_RECOVERY, FEED_BUTTON, CASH_DRAWER, BEEPER, MCT, STATISTICS.

Refer to the source code for more information. Otherwise, please submit a ticket with your question.

API overview

All command methods return self for chaining. Data is buffered until flush() is called (or cut(), which flushes automatically).

p.select_station(STATION_RECEIPT)
p.bold(True).text("Header\n").bold(False)
p.alignment(ALIGN_CENTER).text("Centered\n").alignment(ALIGN_LEFT)
p.barcode(BC_EAN13, "5901234123457", height=60)
p.feed(5)
p.cut()

Buffered workflow

This is not tested well enough, and could be unstable.

p.select_station(STATION_RECEIPT)
p.text("Line 1\n")
p.text("Line 2\n")
total_bytes = p.flush()             # sends everything at once

Printing QR Codes

QR Code printing on IBM/Toshiba 4610 from python is possible now with py-ibm-4610 and IBM4610_1NR.qr_code() method.

Refer to examples for more information.

Print QR Barcode command supported on 4610 models 1NR, 2NR, and 2CR at firmware level OF.xx or above. Command will be rejected on older model printers (4610-TIx) and on 4610-1NR/2NR/2CR that are not at level OF.xx or above.

Building from source

make build        # produces dist/py_ibm_4610-<version>-py3-none-any.whl
make install      # installs the wheel for the current user
make clean        # removes the built wheel

Notes

Reverse-engineered from the IBM JavaPOS driver (posj.jar) sourced out of a random place most probably.

License

GNU General Public License v3.0