58 mm vs 80 mm: paper width, dots and image size
The paper width is not the printable width. Getting this number right fixes most cut-off or shifted prints.
Last updated: October 2026
Receipt printers come in two common paper widths, 58 mm and 80 mm. Neither can print to the very edge of the paper: the print head is narrower than the roll. What matters for printing an image is the number of dots the head can fire across one line.
The numbers
Almost all receipt printers have a resolution of 203 dpi, which is 8 dots per millimetre.
| Paper roll | Typical printable width | Dots per line | Bytes per line |
|---|---|---|---|
| 58 mm | 48 mm | 384 | 48 |
| 80 mm (standard) | 72 mm | 576 | 72 |
| 80 mm (narrow head) | 64 mm | 512 | 64 |
Each byte carries 8 dots, which is why the raster command describes width in bytes (see how ESC/POS raster printing works).
The 576 vs 512 question
Many low-cost 80 mm printers, including several POS-8370 variants, use a 64 mm print head. If you send a 576-dot image to one of them, the printer either cuts off the right side, wraps the extra bytes onto the next line (producing diagonal garbage), or prints the image shifted. If that happens, set Elysano's paper width to 80 mm narrow (512 dots).
To find out which one you have, look for "printing width" in the printer's spec sheet, or print the printer's self-test page (usually: hold the FEED button while switching the printer on). The self-test often states the dot width or shows a ruler line across the full head.
How long can a print be?
Length is limited only by the paper roll. Height is measured in dots too, so a 576-dot-wide image that is 576 dots tall prints as a 72 × 72 mm square. A full-width photo with a 3:2 aspect ratio on 80 mm paper is 576 × 384 dots, about 48 mm tall. Elysano keeps the aspect ratio when scaling, so tall images simply produce long receipts.
Preparing images
- Use enough resolution. A source image at least 384 (58 mm) or 576 (80 mm) pixels wide avoids upscaling blur.
- Crop tight. Every pixel of width counts on a 48 mm line; remove empty borders before printing.
- Think in portrait. Receipts are narrow and long. Wide landscape images become very small; rotating them 90° often prints much larger.
- Logos: centre them and leave a little white space; most printers can't print the outermost few dots cleanly.
Choosing a printer
For labels, small logos and QR codes, a 58 mm printer is cheaper and more portable. For photos and anything that needs detail, 80 mm gives you 50% more dots per line and is worth it — just check whether it is a full 576-dot model.