Can't write special characters

[angelod1as]

I have:

• [X ] searched open and closed issues for duplicates

Bug description

When trying to print special characters, an error is thrown.

Code:

from escpos.printer import Usb

""" Seiko Epson Corp. Receipt Printer (EPSON TM-T88III) """
p = Usb(0x0416, 0x5011, 0 , 0x81, 0x03)

p.text("À noite, vovô Kowalsky vê o ímã cair no pé do pinguim queixoso e vovó põe açúcar no chá de tâmaras do jabuti feliz\n")
p.cut()

Error:

  File "index.py", line 6
SyntaxError: Non-ASCII character '\xc3' in file index.py on line 6, but no encoding declared; see http://python.org/dev/peps/pep-0263/ for details

Steps to reproduce

• Insert a string with special characters into p.text, as seen above
• See error

Device info

Printer: POS-5890C

python-escpos version: 2.2.0

python version: 2.7.18

operating system: Pop!_OS 20.04 LTS x86_64

[belono]

Hi @angelod1as

Maybe you need to set the encoding at the start of your script, or encode the string in utf-8 or latin-1.

You can also try updating python-escpos to version 3 (pre-release) and run your script in python3 which defaults to utf-8 encoding.
Additionally you can add p.charcode(yourcharcode) and p.codepage(yourprintercodepage) to the commands sent to the printer before p.text().

[angelod1as]

Sorry if they're silly questions, I'm not a python programmer and I'm swimming in unknown waters here.

I thank you, @belono, for your patience in advance.

---

First, I don't know how to update to version 3.

---

When you say charcode you mean like UTF-8?

Is there a place to find a list of available charcodes (and how to write them in this function)? I searched the code but couldn't find the answer.

When I try p.charcode('latin-1') or p.charcode('utf-8') this error is thrown:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "index.py", line 9, in <module>
    p.charcode('latin-1')
  File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/escpos/escpos.py", line 293, in charcode
    raise CharCodeError()
escpos.exceptions.CharCodeError: Valid char code must be set

---

Is there a place or source I can find about yourprintercodepage?

I tried running this example but got the following error:

  File "codepage.py", line 8, in <module>
    from escpos.constants import CODEPAGE_CHANGE, ESC, CTL_LF, CTL_FF, CTL_CR, CTL_HT, CTL_VT
ImportError: cannot import name CODEPAGE_CHANGE

The I removed CODEPAGE_CHANGE from the code and it printed the following on my console:

BUSA


B  0123456789abcdef
     
B� b
B !"#$%&'()*+,-./
B0123456789:;<=>?
B@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO
BPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_
B`abcdefghijklmno
Bpqrstuvwxyz{|}~
B����������������
B����������������
B����������������
B����������������
B����������������
B����������������
B����������������
B����������������

V

---

When trying # -*- coding: latin-1 -*- or # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-, the following errors is thrown:

  File "index.py", line 9, in <module>
    p.text("À noite, vovô Kowalsky vê o ímã cair no pé do pinguim queixoso e vovó põe açúcar no chá de tâmaras do jabuti feliz\n")
  File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/escpos/escpos.py", line 437, in text
    self._raw(txt.encode())
UnicodeDecodeError: 'ascii' codec can't decode byte 0xc3 in position 0: ordinal not in range(128)

[belono]

Don't worry, I'm glad to help if I can.

To upgrade to python-escpos v.3.0a just:

• Install python3-pip if you don't have it already:
  sudo apt install python3-pip

• Then install python-escpos pre-release:
  pip3 install -U python-escpos --user --pre

• Now you can run your script in python3:
  python3 yourscript.py

• Or try your commands in the interactive interpreter:
  python3

>>> from escpos.printer import Usb
>>> p = Usb(0x0416, 0x5011, 0 , 0x81, 0x03)
>>> p.charcode('ISO_8859-15')  # latin-1
>>> p.text('yourstring')

This should avoid the UnicodeDecodeError but your printer has to understand the charcode you send to it.
Get the full list of charcodes at our friend escpos-printer-db

Hope it helps, and fell free to ask whatever you need.

[angelod1as]

This is my printer. I see it has all those pages, I just don't understand which one I should choose or how to make the change.

I tried to run your code in python3 interactive interpreter but it threw an error. I then tried to run it in a file, same error:

from escpos.printer import Usb
p = Usb(0x0416, 0x5011, 0 , 0x81, 0x03)
p.charcode('ISO_8859-15')  # latin-1
p.text('yourstring')

Error:

raceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/usb/core.py", line 223, in get_interface_and_endpoint
    return self._ep_info[endpoint_address]
KeyError: 1

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "new.py", line 3, in <module>
    p.charcode('ISO_8859-15')  # latin-1
  File "/home/angelo/.local/lib/python3.8/site-packages/escpos/escpos.py", line 295, in charcode
    self.magic.force_encoding(code)
  File "/home/angelo/.local/lib/python3.8/site-packages/escpos/magicencode.py", line 240, in force_encoding
    self.write_with_encoding(encoding, None)
  File "/home/angelo/.local/lib/python3.8/site-packages/escpos/magicencode.py", line 287, in write_with_encoding
    self.driver._raw(
  File "/home/angelo/.local/lib/python3.8/site-packages/escpos/printer.py", line 100, in _raw
    self.device.write(self.out_ep, msg, self.timeout)
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/usb/core.py", line 940, in write
    intf, ep = self._ctx.setup_request(self, endpoint)
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/usb/core.py", line 102, in wrapper
    return f(self, *args, **kwargs)
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/usb/core.py", line 215, in setup_request
    intf, ep = self.get_interface_and_endpoint(device, endpoint_address)
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/usb/core.py", line 102, in wrapper
    return f(self, *args, **kwargs)
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/usb/core.py", line 231, in get_interface_and_endpoint
    raise ValueError('Invalid endpoint address ' + hex(endpoint_address))
ValueError: Invalid endpoint address 0x1

I thought I had the wrong IN and OUT codes, but running lsusb it seems I do got the correct ones.

Bus 003 Device 009: ID 0416:5011 Winbond Electronics Corp. Virtual Com Port
Device Descriptor:
  bLength                18
  bDescriptorType         1
  bcdUSB               2.00
  bDeviceClass            0 
  bDeviceSubClass         0 
  bDeviceProtocol         0 
  bMaxPacketSize0        64
  idVendor           0x0416 Winbond Electronics Corp.
  idProduct          0x5011 Virtual Com Port
  bcdDevice            2.00
  iManufacturer           1 STMicroelectronics
  iProduct                2 POS58 Printer USB       
  iSerial                 3 Printer
  bNumConfigurations      1
  Configuration Descriptor:
    bLength                 9
    bDescriptorType         2
    wTotalLength       0x0020
    bNumInterfaces          1
    bConfigurationValue     1
    iConfiguration          5 (error)
    bmAttributes         0xc0
      Self Powered
    MaxPower              100mA
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        0
      bAlternateSetting       0
      bNumEndpoints           2
      bInterfaceClass         7 Printer
      bInterfaceSubClass      1 Printer
      bInterfaceProtocol      2 Bidirectional
      iInterface              4 (error)
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0040  1x 64 bytes
        bInterval               0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x03  EP 3 OUT
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0040  1x 64 bytes
        bInterval               0
can't get device qualifier: Resource temporarily unavailable
can't get debug descriptor: Resource temporarily unavailable
Device Status:     0x0000
  (Bus Powered)

---

Researching here I found that portuguese charcode is CP860. In the aforementioned link about my printer, I see that CP860 is page 3, so I tried running (using python and python3):

from escpos.printer import Usb
p = Usb(0x0416, 0x5011, 0 , 0x81, 0x03)
p.codepage(3)
p.text('yourstring')

The error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "new.py", line 3, in <module>
    p.codepage(3)
AttributeError: 'Usb' object has no attribute 'codepage'

---

Fidling with [this example as basis], I wrote the following code:

#!/usr/bin/python
# -*- coding: ISO_8859-15 -*-

from escpos import printer

dummy = printer.Dummy()
dummy.hw('init')
dummy.set(height=2, width=2)
dummy._raw("À noite, vovô Kowalsky vê o ímã cair no pé do pinguim queixoso e vovó põe açúcar no chá de tâmaras do jabuti feliz\n")
dummy.cut()

print(dummy.output)

And it print the string perfectly into my console.

I don't know if this sheds any light but, as you can see, I'm trying real hard here.

[belono]

I think we're close.

Remember that to print via the USB device you need libusb-1.0-0 installed in your distro

Now, based on your last code:

#!/usr/bin/python
# -*- coding: ISO_8859-15 -*-

from escpos import printer

# We use Dummy printer to pre-process commands
dummy = printer.Dummy('POS-5890')  # Select the escpos-printer-db profile for your printer
dummy.charcode()  # Automatic selection of the charcode thanks to the profile, if fails then set the charcode CP860 manually
dummy.hw('init')
dummy.set(height=2, width=2)
dummy.text("À noite, vovô Kowalsky vê o ímã cair no pé do pinguim queixoso e vovó põe açúcar no chá de tâmaras do jabuti feliz\n")  # text() method should work and is more intuitive
dummy.cut()

# Then we send the raw output to the real printer
p = printer.Usb(0x0416, 0x5011, 0 , 0x81, 0x03)
p._raw(dummy.output)

Hope it works!

[angelod1as]

libusb-1.0-0 is properly installed.

---

When I run this with python:

#!/usr/bin/python
# -*- coding: ISO_8859-15 -*-

from escpos.printer import Usb

p = Usb(0x0416, 0x5011, 0 , 0x81, 0x03)

p.text('My String')
p.cut()

My printer prontly works and prints "y String" (I'll worry with the lack of the first M later)

When I run it with python3, it throws me:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/usb/core.py", line 223, in get_interface_and_endpoint
    return self._ep_info[endpoint_address]
KeyError: 1

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "index.py", line 16, in <module>
    p._raw(dummy.output)
  File "/home/angelo/.local/lib/python3.8/site-packages/escpos/printer.py", line 100, in _raw
    self.device.write(self.out_ep, msg, self.timeout)
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/usb/core.py", line 940, in write
    intf, ep = self._ctx.setup_request(self, endpoint)
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/usb/core.py", line 102, in wrapper
    return f(self, *args, **kwargs)
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/usb/core.py", line 215, in setup_request
    intf, ep = self.get_interface_and_endpoint(device, endpoint_address)
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/usb/core.py", line 102, in wrapper
    return f(self, *args, **kwargs)
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/usb/core.py", line 231, in get_interface_and_endpoint
    raise ValueError('Invalid endpoint address ' + hex(endpoint_address))
ValueError: Invalid endpoint address 0x1

I did this test to make sure basic strings are working, with no fancy stuff, and they are not.

---

Running your script with python:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "index.py", line 8, in <module>
    dummy.charcode()  # Automatic selection of the charcode thanks to the profile, if fails then set the charcode CP860 manually
TypeError: charcode() takes exactly 2 arguments (1 given)

Now with python3:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/usb/core.py", line 223, in get_interface_and_endpoint
    return self._ep_info[endpoint_address]
KeyError: 1

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "index.py", line 16, in <module>
    p._raw(dummy.output)
  File "/home/angelo/.local/lib/python3.8/site-packages/escpos/printer.py", line 100, in _raw
    self.device.write(self.out_ep, msg, self.timeout)
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/usb/core.py", line 940, in write
    intf, ep = self._ctx.setup_request(self, endpoint)
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/usb/core.py", line 102, in wrapper
    return f(self, *args, **kwargs)
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/usb/core.py", line 215, in setup_request
    intf, ep = self.get_interface_and_endpoint(device, endpoint_address)
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/usb/core.py", line 102, in wrapper
    return f(self, *args, **kwargs)
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/usb/core.py", line 231, in get_interface_and_endpoint
    raise ValueError('Invalid endpoint address ' + hex(endpoint_address))
ValueError: Invalid endpoint address 0x1

When I python3 without the last part (after the # Then we send...), and with a print(dummy.output), it consoles:

b'\x1b@\x1b!\x00\x1b!\x00\x1b!\x00\x1b{\x00\x1db\x00\x1bE\x00\x1b-\x00\x1bM\x00\x1ba\x00\x1dB\x00\x1bt\x02\xc7\x1bt\x01\x80 noite, vov\x1bt5\xc7\x1bt\x19\xde Kowalsky v\x1bt7\x8e\xa6 o \x8e\x1bt \xadm\x1bt=\xc7\x9c cair no p\xc7\xb8 do pinguim queixoso e vov\xc7\xfc p\xc7\xe6e a\xc7\xf5\xc7\xd0car no ch\xc7\xad de t\xc7\xbdmaras do jabuti feliz\n\x1bd\x06'

---

At last, I tried commenting every line of the proposed script to see which one would throw the error and didn't have much success, as it's the last one (p._raw(dummy.output)) that does.

[belono]

The printer.Usb() connector takes, at least, the params idVendor, idProduct, usb_args=None, timeout=0, in_ep=0x82, out_ep=0x01.
The two first arguments are mandatory, the rest are optional, so they have a default value assigned, but your printer has a non default configuration, so you need to change the default in_ep and out_ep.

The error is that we are passing the values to the Usb() constructor positional and we forgot an argument, the usb_args param, so the rest values are wrong, and the last is missed.

You can keep all your arguments positional:
p = Usb(0x0416, 0x5011, None, 0 , 0x81, 0x03)

All your arguments named:
p = Usb(idVendor=0x0416, idProduct=0x5011, usb_args=None, timeout=0 , in_ep=0x81, out_ep=0x03)

Or, the preferred way, keep the mandatory arguments positional and name the optional arguments you need to change:
p = Usb(0x0416, 0x5011, in_ep=0x81, out_ep=0x03)

I'm crossing my fingers ;)

[angelod1as]

OH MY GOD IT WORKED!

This was THE ISSUE, this arguments problem.

This code just worked:

from escpos.printer import Usb
p = Usb(0x0416, 0x5011, in_ep=0x81, out_ep=0x03)
p.charcode('CP860')
p.text('À noite, vovô Kowalsky vê o ímã cair no pé do pinguim queixoso e vovó põe açúcar no chá de tâmaras do jabuti feliz\n')
p.cut()

And, as a parallel information: I kid you not, it was playing Darude - Sandstorm when I hit the first enter. Imagine me dancing and screaming here at home.

It's printing a t character before the full string but this is manageable, I'll search around how to kill it.

Holy @belono, you are a saint.

[belono]

Hahaha, I'm happy too.
That's a good song to dance, it recalls me my youth.

I don't like this t character, if you need help fixing it, don't doubt in open a new issue.

Cheers!!

[angelod1as]

Apparently, the p.cut() inserts a t character. Will investigate.