Quick answer: KORONA is refreshingly open about hardware — when you add a printer you pick ESC/POS or Epson as the device type, and KORONA's own manual describes these as the most common selections, compatible with most printers. Any standard ESC/POS thermal printer is a candidate, not just one brand's.
The NBTP-8080 (80mm, auto cutter, USB) is the straightforward choice. The one thing to get right is not the printer at all — it is that the printer's name in Windows must match what you enter in KORONA exactly. More on why that trips people up below.
How KORONA addresses a printer
KORONA is a cloud POS with a local client, and that combination shapes the setup. The back office lives in the cloud; the printer sits on the counter. The two are bridged by a device definition in your POS profile.
When you add a printer you choose a device type and a port:
| Setting | Options | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Device type | ESC/POS, Epson | ESC/POS for standard thermal printers — ours included |
| Port | System Printer |
The printer is already installed in Windows |
USB_LPT1 |
USB-connected printer on Linux |
The System Printer route is the common one, and it is where the important detail lives: you assign a Port Parameter that references the printer's name in Windows. KORONA does not find the printer by scanning for it. It looks for a name.
The name mismatch that looks like a broken printer
This is the failure worth knowing before it happens, and KORONA's own troubleshooting guide points straight at it.
When Windows installs the same printer twice — a common outcome of plugging into a different USB port, or reinstalling a driver — it does not overwrite the first entry. It creates a second one with a number appended. You end up with both Epson TM-T20III and Epson TM-T20III (2) in your printer list.
Windows will happily print a test page to whichever one is now the default. KORONA is still looking for the name you typed in, and if the working device is now the one with (2) on the end, KORONA finds nothing.
The symptom: Windows prints a test page perfectly. KORONA prints nothing. No error that points anywhere useful.
The check sequence from KORONA's manual, in order:
- Cabling and power — both ends of the power cord, and the USB cable to the POS.
- The printer itself — power down, hold the Feed button, power up. It should print a self-test sheet. If it does not power on or feed at all, the problem is the hardware, not the software.
- Windows — look for duplicate installations. Run a test page from Printers & Scanners.
- KORONA — under Settings → POS Profile, confirm the printer port is set to ESC/POS or System Printer, and that the Port Parameter matches the Windows name. Then under Sales → Point of Sale, confirm the printer variable name matches Windows exactly, and that the right POS profile is selected.
Step 2 is worth doing first in practice, even though it is listed second. A self-test sheet takes ten seconds and cleanly separates a hardware fault from everything else.
One profile, many shops: device configuration variables
If you are a distributor or integrator rolling out several tills, this is the feature that saves you the most time, and it is easy to miss.
Because KORONA references printers by name, a naive setup needs a separate POS profile per location — every shop's printer might be named differently. KORONA solves this with device configuration variables: you define a variable in the profile, then assign each point of sale its own value.
The result, in KORONA's words, is that a single POS profile can be used on all of the points of sale even if the printers all have different names.
Two practical consequences when you are specifying hardware:
- Standardise the printer model across sites where you can. It is not required — the variables handle differences — but one model means one spare on the shelf and one set of instructions for staff.
- Standardise the Windows printer name at imaging time. If every till calls it the same thing, you may not need per-site variables at all.
If you are buying in volume for a rollout, tell us — we can ship units with consistent configuration so the imaging step is the same at every site.
Other settings you may meet
- Baud rate — only relevant for serial connections. It must match what the printer is set to; a mismatch produces garbage characters rather than silence, which is at least a distinctive symptom.
- Initialization commands — for starting a specific service on the host device. Most installations never touch this.
- Port parameters — the printer name on Windows, or a device IP address for a network printer.
80mm or 58mm?
80mm at 203dpi gives 48 characters per line — the right default for a retail counter, and what we would specify for KORONA's typical user. 58mm gives 32 characters, which suits queue tickets and short dockets but crowds an itemised receipt.
NETBYE models for KORONA
| Model | Paper | Speed | Cutter | Interfaces | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBTP-8080 | 80mm | 160mm/s | Auto | USB / USB+LAN | Standard counter — the default |
| NBTP-8050 | 80mm | 200mm/s | Auto | USB / Serial / Ethernet | Busier checkout |
| NBTP-8020 | 80mm | 180–200mm/s | Auto | USB / USB+LAN | Standard counter, budget |
| NBTP-5880 | 58mm | 90mm/s | Manual | USB / Serial / Ethernet | Queue tickets, short dockets |
All 203dpi direct thermal with ESC/POS — 576 dots per line on the 80mm models (72mm print width), 384 on the 58mm (48mm). Browse the full range of thermal receipt printers or narrow to 80mm.
Ordering advice for KORONA: specify USB for a single till, and make sure the model has an RJ11 drawer port if a cash drawer is in scope — the drawer is fired by the printer, not by KORONA. See the KORONA cash drawer guide.
Frequently asked questions
Which receipt printers work with KORONA POS?
KORONA's device type list includes ESC/POS and Epson, described in their manual as the most common selections and compatible with most printers. Any standard ESC/POS thermal printer is a candidate. KORONA states it integrates with just about every hardware solution rather than locking you to proprietary equipment.
Windows prints a test page but KORONA prints nothing.
Almost always a name mismatch. Check for a duplicate printer installation in Windows — an entry ending in (2) — and make sure the name in KORONA matches the device that actually works.
How do I test whether the printer itself is faulty?
Power it down, hold the Feed button, power it up. A working printer prints a self-test sheet. If nothing happens, it is a hardware problem.
Do I need to install the printer in Windows first?
For the System Printer route, yes — KORONA refers to it by its Windows name, so it must exist there first.
Can one POS profile cover several shops?
Yes, using device configuration variables to give each point of sale its own printer name. That is the intended solution for a multi-site rollout.
Does the cash drawer connect to KORONA or to the printer?
To the printer. Almost all configurations have the drawer connect directly to the back of the receipt printer.
A note on this guide. The printer side above — ESC/POS, interfaces, print widths, self-test behaviour, baud rate symptoms — is what we know from the products we supply. The KORONA-specific configuration, including device types, port options, the Windows name matching and device configuration variables, is drawn from KORONA's published support manual. Menus and options change between releases, so confirm current details with KORONA. If something here did not match your installation, tell us and we will correct this page. We would rather publish something accurate than something impressive.
Get pricing
NETBYE supplies distributors, system integrators and retailers worldwide. Our printers are built by our partner factories in Shenzhen and sold under our own model range — we handle specification, quality control and support, so you deal with one supplier rather than several factories. Direct wholesale pricing, low MOQ on first orders, and OEM/ODM covering branding, packaging and firmware defaults.
Tell us which models, how many sites, what quantity and which country, and you will get an accurate quote in one reply. For a multi-site rollout, ask about consistent pre-configuration — it makes the imaging step identical at every location. Request a quote.
Related guides
These guides form a set. If you are specifying a complete till, the other hardware for KORONA POS is covered here:
- Barcode scanner for KORONA POS
- Cash drawer for KORONA POS
- Label printer for KORONA POS
- POS terminal for KORONA POS
And if you are comparing across POS software, the same hardware for other systems: