Receipt Width (80mm vs 57mm)

80mm and 57mm are the two near-universal thermal receipt paper widths. The 80mm format gives roughly 32 characters per line in most monospace fonts, while 57mm gives about 24.

80mm is what you’ll see at grocery stores, big-box retailers, fast food, and most restaurants. It’s wide enough for a typical line item (15-20 character description + price + tax flag) plus a header with full store address.

57mm is reserved for tighter footprints: gas pump receipts (Shell, Chevron, BP), ATM slips, parking tickets, kiosk receipts, and the small POS terminals you sign at coffee shops.

Some specialty receipts use 110mm (large format, less common in the US) or 44mm (very narrow, used for minimal receipts).

When recreating a receipt, matching the width is the single most important authenticity detail — a Walmart receipt printed at 57mm width looks immediately wrong.