# Non-Latin Receipts

**The symptom:** the receipt looks right on screen, but the paper shows question marks, empty boxes or the wrong letters.

This page is about receipt printers. The **Print Dialog** and office printers use your computer's fonts, so they print every language as it looks on screen.

## Choose a fix[​](#choose-a-fix "Direkter Link zu Choose a fix")

First, see what your printer offers: go to **Settings → Printing** and press **Edit** on the printer's row.

No Edit button? The printer is marked managed by WCPOS

A printer marked **managed by WCPOS** is a cloud printer. It has no **Edit**, because it is set up in **WP Admin → POS → Settings → Cloud Print** by whoever runs your store, not in the app. How cloud printers print is on [Cloud Printing](/de/hardware/receipt-printers/cloud-printing.md).

**Fast, prints as text: [set the receipt language](#receipt-language)** when **Edit printer** shows **Receipt language** and the receipt is in Cyrillic, Greek, Turkish, Vietnamese, or accented Western or Central European letters.

**Slower, works for every language: [print receipts as an image](#print-the-receipt-as-an-image)** when:

* **Edit printer** has no **Receipt language**.
* The receipt is in Chinese, Japanese or Korean.
* The receipt is in Arabic, Hebrew or Thai. These have a receipt language, but print best as an image. Try the receipt language first only if speed matters.
* One receipt mixes two alphabets, such as Greek and Russian.
* A receipt language is set and the letters are still wrong.

Why some printers have no Receipt language

**Receipt language** shows only when **Printer Language** is **ESC/POS**, the command language of Epson and most other receipt printers (see [Supported Printers](/de/hardware/receipt-printers/supported-printers.md)). A Star printer set to **StarPRNT** or **Star Line Mode** has none: for non-Latin text, turn on [Print receipts as an image](#print-the-receipt-as-an-image).

## Set the receipt language[​](#receipt-language "Direkter Link zu Set the receipt language")

Choose the language your receipts are printed in. The receipt still prints as text, so it stays fast.

**For a printer you already have:**

1. Go to **Settings → Printing** and press **Edit** on the printer's row.
2. Open **Receipt language** and choose the entry named for your receipt's language. **Edit printer** saves each change as you make it.
3. Press **Test Print** at the bottom of **Edit printer**. If the letters are still wrong, your printer may not have that language built in: [print as an image](#print-the-receipt-as-an-image) instead.

![Edit printer for a network Epson printer: Printer Language ESC/POS, Paper width 48 — 80 mm, most Epson & Star, Receipt language Automatic, the Auto-cut paper, Auto-open cash drawer and Set as default switches, and Print receipts as an image with its note](/img/2.x/hardware/printers/non-latin-receipts/en/tablet-light-regular--h12-5-edit-printer-sheet.png)1234

1. **Printer Language** — **ESC/POS** here. **Receipt language** shows only for ESC/POS.
2. **Paper width** — the characters per line. See [Receipt Width](/de/troubleshooting/printer-problems/receipt-width.md).
3. **Receipt language** — open it and choose the entry for your receipt's language. Every printer starts on **Automatic**.
4. **Print receipts as an image** — the other fix, for every language. See [Print receipts as an image](#print-the-receipt-as-an-image).

**While adding a printer:** in the **Add printer** panel, press **More options**. **Receipt language** is the fourth setting, under **Printer text width** (the same setting **Edit printer** calls **Paper width**).

The list has eleven entries. Chinese, Japanese and Korean have none: [print those as an image](#print-the-receipt-as-an-image). Some entries are named for a region or an alphabet, not a language: Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian are under **Cyrillic**, and Polish, Czech and Hungarian under **Central European**.

![The Receipt language list open from the top: Automatic ticked, then English, Western European, Central European, Cyrillic, Greek, Turkish and Arabic, above the Receipt language field](/img/2.x/hardware/printers/non-latin-receipts/en/tablet-light-regular--p1-2-receipt-language-list.png)

*The list from the top.*

![The same list scrolled to the end: Central European, Cyrillic, Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Hebrew, Thai and Vietnamese](/img/2.x/hardware/printers/non-latin-receipts/en/tablet-light-regular--p1-3-receipt-language-list-end.png)

*Scroll down for Hebrew, Thai and Vietnamese.*

Which receipt language should I choose?

| Entry                                                                    | For                                                                          |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Automatic**                                                            | The app picks a table line by line. Where every printer starts               |
| **English**                                                              | Plain English text                                                           |
| **Western European**                                                     | French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch and the Nordic languages |
| **Central European**                                                     | Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Croatian, Slovenian                        |
| **Cyrillic**                                                             | Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Serbian                                       |
| **Greek**, **Turkish**, **Arabic**, **Hebrew**, **Thai**, **Vietnamese** | That language                                                                |

**Receipt language** shows only when **Printer Language** in **Edit printer** is **ESC/POS**, which is what Epson and most other receipt printers use.

The other settings in More options

![More options open in the Add printer panel: Printer Name, Vendor with Epson and Star Micronics, Printer text width, Receipt language set to Automatic, Auto-cut paper and Auto-open cash drawer](/img/2.x/hardware/printers/non-latin-receipts/en/tablet-light-regular--p1-1-more-options.png)1234567

1. **More options** — opens the printer's settings in the panel, before the test page. Press it again to close them.
2. **Printer Name** — the name on the printer's row in **Settings → Printing** and in the printer lists. **Receipt Printer** until you change it.
3. **Vendor** — **Epson** or **Star Micronics**. Choosing **Star Micronics** hides **Receipt language**: on a Star printer, [print non-Latin text as an image](#print-the-receipt-as-an-image).
4. **Printer text width** — how many characters fit on one line: 32 for 58 mm paper, 42, 48 or 64 for 80 mm. The test page checks it. See [Receipt Width](/de/troubleshooting/printer-problems/receipt-width.md).
5. **Receipt language** — the character table for the receipt's text. **Automatic** lets the app choose line by line. The list is [above](#receipt-language).
6. **Auto-cut paper** — cuts the paper after each receipt.
7. **Auto-open cash drawer** — opens a drawer plugged into this printer. See [Cash Drawer](/de/hardware/cash-drawer.md).

Below these, **Set as default** makes this the printer for any receipt that isn't sent somewhere else. Everything here can be changed later in **Edit printer**. The rest of the panel is on [Setup Wizard](/de/hardware/receipt-printers/printer-setup-wizard.md).

## Print receipts as an image[​](#print-the-receipt-as-an-image "Direkter Link zu Print receipts as an image")

This fix works for every language, on any receipt printer you added in the app. The app draws the receipt as a picture and sends the picture, so the printer's character tables no longer matter.

Warnung

On an Epson connected by Wi-Fi or network cable, printing as an image needs [Secure Printing](/de/hardware/receipt-printers/epson-secure-printing.md) turned off.

1. Go to **Settings → Printing**.
2. Press **Edit** on the printer's row.
3. Turn on **Print receipts as an image**, the last switch in **Edit printer**. Its note reads: *For scripts the printer cannot render (Arabic, Hebrew, Thai). Slower and larger than text.*
4. Press **Test Print** at the bottom of **Edit printer** to check. The printer's row in **Settings → Printing** has **Test Print** too.

![The settings in Edit printer, with Print receipts as an image the last switch, off, and its note: For scripts the printer cannot render (Arabic, Hebrew, Thai). Slower and larger than text.](/img/2.x/hardware/printers/non-latin-receipts/en/tablet-light-regular--h12-4-receipt-language.png)1234

1. **Printer Language** — **ESC/POS** here. The image works on Star printers too, which have no **Receipt language**.
2. **Paper width** — the characters per line. See [Receipt Width](/de/troubleshooting/printer-problems/receipt-width.md).
3. **Receipt language** — an image doesn't use the printer's character tables, so this no longer matters.
4. **Print receipts as an image** — the switch, off here. Turn it on, then press **Test Print** to check.

The switch is in **Edit printer** only, not in **More options**: add the printer first, then turn it on.

Tipp

An image is much more to send than text, so each receipt takes longer to print. Turn it on only for the printers that need it.

## Why it happens[​](#why-it-happens "Direkter Link zu Why it happens")

A receipt printer doesn't use your computer's fonts. When it has no way to print your letters as text, they come out as question marks or boxes; an image avoids that.

How a receipt printer prints text

It prints text from character tables built into the printer, one table at a time. For each line, the app picks a table that holds its letters. That works for English and most European receipts. For other scripts the printer may not have a table the app can pick, and every letter it can't print comes out as a question mark or a box. **Receipt language** fixes the table for the whole receipt; an image skips the tables altogether.

## Still stuck?[​](#still-stuck "Direkter Link zu Still stuck?")

On the printer's row in **Settings → Printing**, open the **⋯** menu and press **Copy setup report**. In the Android and iOS apps this opens the share sheet instead. Paste the report into your message, with a photo of the printed receipt and the language you're printing.

[Discord Community](https://wcpos.com/discord)<support@wcpos.com>

## Related Documentation[​](#related-documentation "Direkter Link zu Related Documentation")

[Setup WizardAdd a printer and print the test page](/de/hardware/receipt-printers/printer-setup-wizard.md)

[Receipt WidthFix a receipt that wraps or runs short](/de/troubleshooting/printer-problems/receipt-width.md)

[Supported PrintersWhich receipt printers work](/de/hardware/receipt-printers/supported-printers.md)

[Cloud PrintingPrinters set up in WP Admin and managed by WCPOS](/de/hardware/receipt-printers/cloud-printing.md)