Flutter Bixolon Printer Plugin

A Flutter plugin for connecting to and printing with Bixolon thermal printers. This plugin provides a comprehensive interface for discovering, connecting to, and using Bixolon printers across multiple connection types.

🚨 Platform Support Notice

IMPORTANT: This plugin SUPPORTS ANDROID ONLY

Currently compatible with Android devices
NOT supported on iOS, Web, or other platforms

Features

Device Discovery: Scan for Bixolon printers via Bluetooth, WiFi, or Ethernet
Connection Management: Connect to printers with timeout handling and status monitoring
Basic Printing:
- Text printing with various formatting options
- Image printing (from file path or image data)
- QR code and barcode printing
Advanced Printing:
- Multi-column text layouts
- Formatted receipts with headers and footers
- Support for international text
- Tables and structured layouts
Printer Controls:
- Paper cutting
- Status checking
- Feed to black mark
- Transaction mode

Supported Printer Models

SPP-R200II, SPP-R200III
SPP-R210, SPP-R215, SPP-R220
SPP-R300, SPP-R310
SPP-R400, SPP-R410, SPP-R418
SPP-C200, SPP-C300
And other Bixolon printers supported by the Bixolon SDK

Installation

Add this to your package's pubspec.yaml file:

dependencies:
  flutter_bixolon_printer: ^0.0.1

Android Setup

Add permissions to your AndroidManifest.xml:

<!-- Bluetooth permissions -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.BLUETOOTH" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.BLUETOOTH_ADMIN" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.BLUETOOTH_CONNECT" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.BLUETOOTH_SCAN" />

<!-- Location is required for Bluetooth scanning on Android 6.0+ -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION" />

<!-- For USB connection -->
<uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.usb.host" />

<!-- For Wi-Fi connection -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />

<!-- For file access -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />

Minimum SDK version should be 21 or higher in your app's build.gradle:

minSdk = 21

The plugin requires Bixolon SDK JAR files. These are included in the plugin's android/libs directory, so you don't need to add them separately.

Quick Start

Scanning for Printers

// Scan for Bluetooth printers
List<PrinterDevice> bluetoothPrinters = await FlutterBixolonPrinter.scanBluetoothPrinters();

// Or scan for network printers
List<PrinterDevice> networkPrinters = await FlutterBixolonPrinter.scanNetworkPrinters();

// Or scan all types
List<PrinterDevice> allPrinters = await FlutterBixolonPrinter.scanPrinters(ConnectionType.bluetooth);

Connecting to a Printer

// Initialize the printer
await FlutterBixolonPrinter.initialize(
  deviceName: 'BixolonPrinter',
  address: printer.address,
  connectionType: printer.connectionType,
  model: 'SPP-R400',
);

// Connect to the printer
bool connected = await FlutterBixolonPrinter.connect(timeout: 5000);

Basic Printing

// Print text
await FlutterBixolonPrinter.printText("Hello World!\n");

// Print QR code
await FlutterBixolonPrinter.printBarcode(
  "https://example.com",
  BarcodeType.qrCode,
  height: 200,
  width: 6,
  alignment: Alignment.center,
  textPosition: BarcodeTextPosition.below,
);

// Print image from file
await FlutterBixolonPrinter.printImage(
  "/path/to/image.png",
  width: 576,
  alignment: Alignment.center,
);

Advanced Printing

// Multi-column text
await FlutterBixolonPrinter.printFormattedText(
  columns: [
    TextColumn(text: 'Item', x: 10, align: TextAlign.left),
    TextColumn(text: 'Qty', x: 300, align: TextAlign.center),
    TextColumn(text: 'Price', x: 500, align: TextAlign.right),
  ],
);

// Sample receipt
await FlutterBixolonPrinter.printReceipt(
  header: 'RECEIPT',
  items: [
    {'product': 'Coffee', 'qty': '2', 'price': '\$3.99'},
    {'product': 'Sandwich', 'qty': '1', 'price': '\$5.99'},
  ],
  columnWidths: {
    'product': 300,
    'qty': 100,
    'price': 176,
  },
  footer: 'Thank you!',
  fontSize: 20,
);

Permissions

This plugin requires several permissions to function properly:

Bluetooth permissions: For discovering and connecting to Bluetooth printers
Location permissions: Required for Bluetooth scanning on Android
Network permissions: For connecting to network printers
Storage permissions: For reading image files to print

Make sure to request these permissions at runtime using the permission_handler package:

await [
  Permission.bluetooth,
  Permission.bluetoothConnect,
  Permission.bluetoothScan,
  Permission.location,
  Permission.storage,
].request();

SDK Requirements

This plugin requires the Bixolon UPOS SDK for Android. The necessary JAR files are included in the plugin, so you don't need to add them separately.

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

Ensure Bluetooth is enabled on the device
Check that the printer is powered on and in discoverable mode
For network printers, verify the IP address is correct and the printer is on the same network
Ensure all required permissions are granted

Printing Issues

Check printer status for errors (paper out, cover open, etc.)
Verify correct printer model is specified during initialization
For image printing issues, check image format and size

Android Build Issues

Ensure your Android app's minSdkVersion is at least 21
Check that all required permissions are in your AndroidManifest.xml

API Reference