Till Roll Compatibility Guide: Find the Right Roll for Any Till or Printer

Till rolls · Updated 18 June 2026 · 10 min read

How do I know which till roll my machine takes?

There are three reliable ways, in order of speed. First, look at the box your last rolls came in, the size is printed on it, so you can simply reorder. Second, find your printer's make and model and check it against a compatibility list. Third, measure the old roll: the paper width across the roll, then the roll's diameter; the core is almost always 12.7mm.

• The old box. Fastest of all, the size and type are printed on it.
• The machine. Many printers list the roll size in the manual or on a label inside the paper bay.
• Measure it. Width of the paper, then the full roll diameter. Note whether it is thermal (shiny, prints when you scratch it with a fingernail) or plain bond.

How to read a till roll size

Till roll sizes are written as three numbers: width × diameter × core, all in millimetres. Width is the paper width that feeds through the printer, diameter is how big the roll is (which sets how much paper it holds), and core is the centre hole, usually 12.7mm. To be compatible, the width and core must match your printer; a larger diameter just means a longer-lasting roll.

For the full size chart and how to measure an old roll, see till rolls explained. Now to the part most people come for: rolls by machine.

Till rolls by receipt printer brand

Receipt printers, the box that prints the customer's receipt, are overwhelmingly thermal and take 80 x 80mm. The exceptions are older impact printers (commonly used in kitchens), which use bond paper and a ribbon. Use this as your starting point, then confirm against your exact model.

Model-by-model lists are in till rolls for Epson TM printers and till rolls for Star, SAM4s & Citizen printers. Shop the size on the thermal till rolls page.

Rolls for card machines and payment terminals

Card machines are simpler: almost all use 57mm-wide thermal rolls. The common size is 57 x 40mm, and smaller or contactless handsets take 57 x 30mm. The 57mm width is fixed across the major brands (Ingenico, Verifone, Dojo, SumUp, Square), so you only need to pick the roll length that suits how often you want to change it.

Full terminal list and the length differences are in what rolls does my card terminal take, 57 x 40mm vs 57 x 30mm and the card machine rolls guide. Shop them on credit card rolls.

Rolls for app-based and delivery terminals

Newer card readers and delivery-platform devices are still thermal, just in a small format. SumUp, Square and Toast printers and the handsets that come with Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats take a 57mm or 80mm thermal roll depending on the unit, the same paper as any other thermal printer, so once you know the width you are sorted.

• SumUp, Square, Toast: 57mm thermal for the card reader; some countertop printers take 80mm. See rolls for SumUp, Square & Toast.
• Just Eat, Deliveroo, Uber Eats devices: usually a small 57mm or 80mm thermal printer. See rolls for Just Eat, Deliveroo & Uber Eats terminals.

Not sure what "PDQ" means on a spec sheet? It is just the trade name for a card terminal, explained in what are PDQ rolls. New to a machine? See how to put a roll in a card machine.

Kitchen and docket printer rolls

Kitchen printers come in two types. Thermal docket printers use 80mm thermal rolls, the same as a till. Impact (dot-matrix) printers, such as the Epson TM-U220 or Star SP700, use 76mm bond (plain) rolls, frequently 2-ply so the kitchen keeps a copy, plus an ink ribbon. The deciding question is whether your printer prints with heat or with a ribbon.

Why impact printers still earn their place in a hot kitchen, and how to choose, is covered in kitchen printer rolls: impact vs thermal. Shop both on kitchen printer rolls.

Thermal vs bond rolls: which does your printer use?

This is the single distinction that catches people out. Thermal rolls print with heat and need no ink, used by virtually all modern tills, card machines and thermal docket printers. Bond (plain) paper rolls carry no coating and need an ink ribbon, used by older impact printers. A thermal roll in an impact printer prints nothing; a bond roll in a thermal printer prints nothing. When in doubt, do the fingernail test above, or read bond rolls vs thermal rolls.

Ink ribbons: when you need one

If your printer is an impact model, the roll is only half the order, you also need the matching ink ribbon. The common cartridges are the Epson ERC-30, ERC-34 and ERC-38 family (the ERC-38 suits the popular TM-U220) and the Star RC700. Ribbons are inexpensive but easy to forget until the printing fades, so reorder them alongside your bond rolls. Which ribbon fits which printer is set out in ink ribbons explained: Epson ERC-30, ERC-38 & Star ribbons.

Still not sure? Check in 60 seconds

Run through this and you will have your answer:

1. What prints the receipt? A till/receipt printer, a card machine, or a kitchen printer.
2. Heat or ribbon? Do the fingernail test. Thermal needs no ribbon; bond does.
3. What width? 80mm for most tills, 57mm for card machines, 76mm for impact kitchen printers.
4. What diameter? Pick the length that suits your volume, busier tills want a bigger roll.

Where to buy the right till rolls in Ireland

Shop4Rolls supplies every common roll for Irish tills, terminals and kitchen printers, thermal, bond, credit-card, coloured and 2-ply, at wholesale prices with free delivery on qualifying orders from our Cavan warehouse. If you can tell us the machine, we can tell you the roll. Start with thermal till rolls, credit card rolls or kitchen printer rolls.