This is an open-source extended implementation of the EPSON Send Data Tool (or, "senddat") for ESC/POS printers. It is designed to send raw data to printers using the ESC/POS command set.

It supports parsing *.dat files, and a subset of Senddat commands discovered in the documentation:

• '// ... - comment
• *N - delay N milliseconds
• .text - output text and wait for "any key" press. In this implementation, it waits for the user to press Enter.
• !text - output text without waiting for a key press.

Senddat commands are read till the end of line. Maximum line length is 250 chars.

In addition to the standard set of senddat functions, this version is extended to support the following:

• Go templating language preprocessor (template files up to 1MB)
• File inclusion via @file.txt directive
• TODO: Bitmap data inclusion via #image.png (must be monochrome)

Following functions are predefined:

• Range "helpers":
  • count m n - returns an iterator that returns all numbers in range $[m..n]$
  • count_step m n s - self-explanatory
• String functions:
  • strcat s1 s2 - concatenates strings "s1" and "s2"
  • strlen s - returns a length of a unicode string "s"

go install github.com/rusq/senddat/cmd/senddat@latest

'// Initialise printer
    ESC "@"

'// Print Printer intitialised and wait for key press
.Printer initialised, press Enter to continue

`// Prints hello world on the printer.
    "Hello world!" LF

`// Wait for 2 seconds
*2000

`// Print some graphics
    ESC "*" 0 8 0

    0x01 0x02 0x03 0x04 0x05 0x06 0x07 0x08

'// Line feed test, output a line in the ESC * mode and see if it connects
    ESC "@"
'// Unidirectional
    ESC "U" 1

'// open source senddat extension, ranges through counter from 15 to 16.
{{ range $n := count 15 16 }}
	"Spacing: {{$n}}" LF
	ESC "*" 0 5 0
	0xFF 0x00 0xFF 0x00 0xFF
	ESC "J" {{ $n }}

	ESC "*" 0 4 0
	0x00 0xFF 0x00 0xFF
	ESC "J" {{ $n }}

	LF
{{end}}

    ESC "@"
    ESC "E" 1 "END OF TEST" LF ESC "E" 0

For more examples, check the "examples" directory.

This project was created to provide an open-source alternative to the EPSON Send Data Tool, which is not available for all platforms and has limited functionality. The goal is to provide a flexible and extensible tool for sending raw data to ESC/POS printers, with support for templating and other features that make it easier to work with printers in various environments.

go install github.com/rusq/senddat/cmd/senddat@latest

• dotprint - A command line tool to render ESC/P files.
• ESCParser - Another great command line tool to convert ESC/P files to postscript or pdf.
• Send Data Tool - The original EPSON Send Data tool.

Senddat-OS is BSD licensed.

ESC/POS is a registered trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation.

The following examples in testdata/POS are taken from ESC/POS manual, and are (c) Seiko Epson Corp.:

• label.dat
• page_mode.dat
• graphics.dat
• receipt.dat

they are used for unit testing only.