Bixolon SRP-330III setup guide: from unboxing to first receipt

This guide takes a new Bixolon SRP-330III from the box to its first receipt. It is written for our model SRP-330IIIESK/BEG, which connects over USB, Ethernet or RS-232 serial, and also covers the USB and serial version SRP-330IIISK/BEG.

Before you start

Check which model you have

Bixolon names the interface version with letters after the model name. In the user manual, ES stands for USB, Ethernet and serial, and S for USB and serial. So SRP-330IIIESK has an Ethernet port and SRP-330IIISK does not. Everything else in this guide is the same for both.

The SRP-330III prints at 180 dpi with 42 characters per line in the standard font. Its sister model, the SRP-332III, is the 203 dpi version and shares the same manual.

Check the box

Bixolon lists these items:

• The printer
• The AC/DC adapter and the power cord
• A USB A-B cable (1.8 m)
• A paper roll
• The cable cover
• A 2-inch (58 mm) partition
• The installation guide

Keep the partition even if you print on 80 mm paper today. Something missing or damaged? Contact us before you set up the printer.

Choose a spot

• Use a flat, level surface with space around the printer for ventilation. Keep the back and bottom clear.
• Avoid damp, dusty places and places where the temperature changes a lot.
• Keep it between 0 and 40 °C and 10 to 80 % relative humidity.

Connect the power and the cables

Bixolon asks you to connect and disconnect cables only while the printer is switched off.

1. Make sure the power switch is off.
2. Plug the adapter's DC plug into the power port with the flat side of the plug facing the bottom of the printer.
3. Connect the interface cable you will use: USB, network cable (SRP-330IIIESK only) or serial cable. Tighten the screws of a serial connector.
4. Connect the cash drawer cable now if you use one (see the drawer step below).
5. Fit the cable cover over the connectors.
6. Plug the power cord into the adapter and then into a wall socket.

Use only the power supply that came with the printer. If the printer makes a strange sound, smells of burning or smokes, switch it off and unplug it at once.

Load the paper roll

1. Push the cover-open lever and open the printer cover. Remove the empty core of the old roll, if there is one.
2. Drop the new roll into the paper compartment. Check the direction against the picture in Bixolon's manual: the coated, heat-sensitive side of the paper must face the print head.
3. Pull out a little paper past the tear bar.
4. Close the cover by pressing firmly on its centre, so the roll is held correctly.
5. Tear off the extra paper.

Use thermal paper 79.5 ± 0.5 mm wide, 50 to 80 µm thick. Bixolon recommends papers of 60 to 75 µm and warns that other paper can wear the cutter and print head faster. Avoid rolls whose paper end is glued to the core: the printer may not detect when the roll is empty.

Run a self-test

The self-test shows that the printer, paper and cutter work before you involve a computer. It prints the firmware version and the memory switch settings.

1. Check that paper is loaded and the cover is closed.
2. Hold down FEED and switch the printer on. Release FEED when printing starts.
3. The printer prints its status, then "SELF-TEST PRINT COMPLETE" and "SELECT MODES BY PRESSING FEED BUTTON", and waits.
4. Press FEED briefly (less than one second) to finish the self-test.

If you hold FEED for one second or longer instead, the printer opens the virtual memory switch menu (VMSM). There you can change print density, print speed, cutting mode and the buzzers. Press FEED as many times as the menu number, then hold it for one second to select. Your changes are saved only when you choose "0: Exit and reboot printer". If you are not sure, switch the printer off: nothing is changed.

Install the Windows driver

Bixolon's Windows driver for this printer is the "Software POS Windows Driver". It supports Windows 11, Windows 10 and earlier versions, and Windows Server.

1. Open the Bixolon download page for the SRP-330III and download the Software POS Windows Driver.
2. Run the installer with administrator rights and click "Install".
3. Choose the installation option, then select your printer model, SRP-330III, and click "Next".
4. Choose the connection type that matches your cable: USB, serial (with the COM port of your computer) or network.
5. Complete the installer with "Next" and "Finish".

The same download page has OPOS and JavaPOS drivers, virtual COM port drivers for USB and network, Linux and Mac CUPS drivers, and the BIXOLON Utility for Windows and macOS. Your POS software supplier will tell you which one it needs.

Connect by USB or serial

USB

1. Connect the USB A-B cable to the printer and to the computer.
2. Switch on the printer. Windows uses the Bixolon driver you installed.

Serial (RS-232)

1. With the printer off, connect the serial cable and tighten the connector screws.
2. Switch on the printer.
3. Set the same baud rate, parity and handshaking in the driver or POS software as in the printer. Bixolon's manual does not list the default serial values; check your self-test printout or contact us.

Connect to the network (SRP-330IIIESK)

The Ethernet port works at 10 or 100 Mbit/s. From the factory, the printer gets its IP address automatically from your router (DHCP) and prints on port 9100.

1. With the printer off, connect a network cable from the Ethernet port to your router or switch, then switch the printer on and wait until it has started.
2. Open the printer cover, hold FEED for about five seconds, then close the cover. The printer prints the "Checking Interface Setting" menu.
3. Press FEED once briefly, then hold it for more than one second to choose "1: LAN Information Print".
4. The "LAN SETTING" printout shows the MAC address, IP address, subnet mask, gateway, port and DHCP mode. If no IP address is printed, the printer has not received one: check the cable and the router.

A POS printer should keep the same address. Ask whoever manages your network to reserve this IP address for the printer's MAC address in the router, or set a fixed address with Bixolon's network tools. In the Windows driver installer, choose the network connection, click "Add TCP/IP Port" and enter the IP address and port 9100.

Connect a cash drawer (optional)

Plug the drawer cable into the drawer kick-out port at the back of the printer. The printer drives the drawer with 24 V. Use a drawer with a coil resistance of at least 24 Ω (maximum 1 A), and never connect a telephone line to this port. Two drawers can share the port with a Y-type adapter cable. You choose when the drawer opens in your POS software or the printer driver.

Print a test receipt

1. On Windows 11, open Settings › Bluetooth & devices › Printers & scanners and select the SRP-330III.
2. Open the printer properties and click "Print Test Page". It prints as a receipt.
3. Print a receipt from your POS software to check the layout, the cut and the drawer.

Problems? See SRP-330III lights and printing problems, or all SRP-330III guides.

Using 58 mm paper

The SRP-330III can print on 2-inch (57.5 mm) rolls. Fit the included partition in the paper compartment in the direction of the arrow shown in Bixolon's manual. Bixolon says the printer switches the media width automatically when the partition is fitted. Also select 58 mm paper in your driver or POS software so receipts fit. The printable width is then 48 mm instead of 72 mm.