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smokeydoe01/21/20253 repliesview on HN

This is really cool. I used to enjoy toying with thermal printers until I found out the paper is coated with a very fine dust of BPA. Still they sell thermal printer cameras on Amazon marketed for children


Replies

madphilosopher01/21/2025

Look for kitchen printers. They're dot-matrix / ink ribbon receipt printers for use in restaurant kitchens, where the plate warmers and other sources of heat will turn thermal paper completely black. So, instead, they use rolls of ordinary bond paper.

The fact that they make a loud noise every time an order comes through is useful for a restaurant kitchen, too.

The Epson TM-U220 is one model to consider.

lionpixel01/21/2025

Indeed. But there are some good BPA-free alternatives on the market

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detritus01/21/2025

Yeah, I've had a couple of odd looks from other people in the supermarket when my daughter's piped up about not being allowed to touch the shopping receipts, haha.

I do get the impression companies are beginning to move back to traditional printed receipts, at least a bit, here in the UK.