---
type: entity
tags: [parking, hardware, printer, device]
sources: []
updated: 2026-06-14
---

# Rongta 80mm thermal printer

The chosen ticket/receipt printer: a **Rongta RP-series 80mm network thermal printer** (and the
many ESC/POS-compatible OEM clones that share its firmware). Driver `rongta` in
`packages/devices` implements [[device-adapter-pattern|PrinterDevice]].

## Transport & protocol

- **ESC/POS over a raw TCP socket on port 9100** (the JetDirect/RAW convention). The driver
  opens the socket, writes the ESC/POS byte stream, waits for flush, closes.
- **No authentication** on the print socket — anyone who can reach port 9100 can print. Like
  every other field device it must sit on the **isolated device VLAN** ([[network-isolation]]).
  There is no real HTTP/control boundary on the device (same posture as [[dingtian-relay]]).
- **Health check** is a TCP connect probe to 9100. The print socket exposes no status protocol
  we rely on; the print itself is the real reachability test (failover attempts the print).
- **Live status** comes from the device's own web page `http://<host>/prn_stat.htm` (port 80),
  which decodes Cover Open / Cutter Error / Paper End / Paper Near End / Off-Line into Yes/No.
  We scrape that rather than hand-decode `DLE EOT` — this clone's DLE EOT reply bytes do **not**
  match the canonical ESC/POS bit layout (verified on hardware), so trusting the device's own
  decode avoids a false-healthy. Implemented as `readStatus()`; see [[printer-status-monitoring]].

## Deployment (this site)

- First printer verified reachable at **10.0.10.6:9100** from the host (TCP connect OK,
  2026-06-14).
- **Two printers configured (as of 2026-06-18)**, by role — see [[printer-roles-failover]]:
  - **entry-dispenser** — `10.0.10.9`, outside at the lane; the driver takes the entry
    ticket. This unit is a **Cashino**, not a Rongta: it prints the same ESC/POS stream but
    serves no `/prn_stat.htm` status page, so it runs on the `cashino` driver (reachability
    PING only, no paper/cover status) — see [[printer-status-monitoring]].
  - **booth-receipt** — `10.0.10.10`, inside the booth; receipts, AND the backup that prints
    the entry ticket if the outside dispenser is offline. This unit is a **Rongta** (`rongta`
    driver, full status-page monitoring).

## Ticket rendering

`printTicket(TicketData)` builds ESC/POS: `ESC @` init, centered/bold/double-size header,
lane, ticket id, issued-at, feed + partial cut (`GS V B`). CP437/ASCII subset. The entry ticket
encodes the id as a **1D Code128** barcode (`GS k`).

**`printSubscriptionCard(SubscriptionCardData)`** (added 2026-06-18) renders a **2D QR** of the
[[subscription]] code via ESC/POS **`GS ( k`** (model 2, EC level M) — firmware-rendered, no bitmap
dependency — plus the code as text + holder/validity. Used for the auto-printed + reprintable
subscription card. (Verified: the `GS ( k` store/print byte sequences + the embedded code appear on
the wire against a TCP capture.)

**`printReceipt(ReceiptData)`** (added 2026-06-18) — the payment receipt / exit voucher
([[booth-exit-flow]]). Same ESC/POS preamble; figures + amount, optional Code128 + grace.

### CP852 codepage — two gotchas found on a real misprint (2026-06-18)
The driver selects **CP852** (Latin-2) via `ESC t 18` and maps the Albanian letters to their CP852
bytes. A printed voucher surfaced two encoding bugs, both now fixed in `printer-escpos.ts`:
- **Uppercase `Ë` was mapped to `0xEB` — wrong.** In CP852 `0xEB` is `ű`; the correct byte for
  `Ë` (U+00CB) is **`0xD3`**. The title `BILETË DALJE` / `FATURË PAGESE` printed garbled until fixed.
  (Lowercase `ë` = `0x89` was always correct.) Anyone extending the CP852 map must verify bytes
  against the actual Unicode.org `CP852.TXT`, not guess.
- **`Intl.NumberFormat` injects a NO-BREAK SPACE.** Formatting `ALL` money yields `"1000 Lekë"`
  (separator = U+00A0, sometimes U+202F narrow NBSP) — neither is in CP852, so it printed as `1000?Lekë`.
  `line()` now normalises U+00A0/U+202F → a plain space before encoding. Any Intl-formatted value on a
  ticket is affected, not just money.

## Status

Driver written and compiles; entry-ticket layout is a first pass; live status monitoring is
implemented and verified ([[printer-status-monitoring]]). The receipt/exit layout and the
cash-drawer kick (ESC/POS `ESC p`) are **not yet implemented** — they arrive with the
exit/payment flow. Replaces the generic "Epson TM / Citizen" booth-printer line in [[bom]].