Buying replacement paper rolls or thermal till rolls for your point-of-sale equipment ought be a simple process. You don’t need to worry about trying to match the till roll to your particular terminal, or trying to buy by part number. All you need are two basic measurements:
Width: this is the most important measurement, because if this is wrong, the paper simply won’t fit into the terminal. You can of course measure the width at any time from the roll that’s currently in the terminal. Almost all credit card terminals take a 57mm wide roll, and thermal paper receipt printers are 80mm wide.
Diameter: the edge-to-edge measurement across the roll. You’ll only need to know the maximum diameter that will fit in your equipment: this will be the most economical size to buy, but rolls with a smaller dimension will still fit.
Most counter-top credit-card terminals are have a 40mm diameter. Smaller countertop terminals, and mobile terminals will use a 25mm roll - as a guide, this is the diameter of a 2p piece.
Core diameter: this measurement is still used by some paper roll sellers but unless your terminal still has a spindle that goes right through the roll, you won’t need to worry about the core diameter. Coreless till rolls with no cardboard tube to dispose of are also available for some sizes.
Common sizes
There are a few exceptions, but most terminals will take one of three standard sizes, as listed below.
Standard counter-top credit card terminal
Width 57mm, diameter 40mm
Mobile/small credit card terminals
Width 57mm, diameter 25mm
The following terminals take a 57x25mm roll
- Verifone: VX670, VX675
- Dione / Verifone Xplorer
- Verifone Magic C Series:
Thermal paper till receipt printers
(Star, Epsom)
Width 80mm, diameter 80mm
Paper type
Most point-of-sale equipment these day uses thermal paper, which is treated on one side so that it turns black when heat is applied from the print heads in the terminal. The paper is only treated on one side, so you’ll have to make sure it goes in the right way round.
If your equipment has a ribbon or ink cartridge, you’ll need plain paper rolls.
Here at Retail Gurus, we offer a streamlined product range, at competitive prices, but if you do find that you need a non-standard size, just get in touch and we’ll sort it out for you. Click here for Thermal Till Rolls.