---
title: "Vocabulary"
description: "Vocabulary"
type: "docs"
category: "doc"
tags: []
authors: [Anonymous]
date: "2026-09-09"
last_update: "2026-09-09"
time_minutes: 3
draft: false
unlisted: false
url: "https://www.derafu.dev/docs/utils/escpos/vocabulary"
---

# Vocabulary

Every value `EscposPrinter` accepts (justification, print modes, barcode types, etc.) has its own type under `Derafu\Escpos\Enum\*` or `Derafu\Escpos\Constant\*`. You never need to import anything from `Mike42\Escpos\*` to call any method.

These values are **not arbitrary numbers chosen by this library**. They are the ESC/POS protocol itself — the bytes a thermal printer actually expects, defined by the standard and shared by every ESC/POS library regardless of language. That is why they are safe to hardcode here instead of referencing the underlying library's constants: they would not change even if the underlying library were replaced.

## Enum vs. constant

- **Enums** (`Derafu\Escpos\Enum\*`) are used when the values are a mutually exclusive choice — you pick exactly one (e.g. left, center or right justification).
- **Constants** (`Derafu\Escpos\Constant\*`) are used when the values are independent bits meant to be combined with `|` (e.g. font + emphasized + double width at the same time). An enum would force unwrapping `->value` on every term just to combine them, and the combined result would no longer be the enum type anyway — a plain `int` constant says what it is more honestly.

## Enums

| Enum | Cases | Used by |
|---|---|---|
| `Justification` | `Left`, `Center`, `Right` | `EscposPrinter::setJustification()` |
| `BarcodeType` | `Upca`, `Upce`, `Jan13`, `Jan8`, `Code39`, `Itf`, `Codabar`, `Code93`, `Code128` | `EscposPrinter::barcode()` |
| `Pdf417Option` | `Standard`, `Truncated` | `EscposPrinter::pdf417()` |
| `BarcodeTextPosition` | `None`, `Above`, `Below` | *(vocabulary only — no method exposes it yet)* |
| `Font` | `A`, `B`, `C` | *(vocabulary only)* |
| `Color` | `Color1`, `Color2` | *(vocabulary only)* |
| `CutMode` | `Full`, `Partial` | *(vocabulary only)* |
| `Underline` | `None`, `Single`, `Double` | *(vocabulary only)* |
| `QrErrorCorrectionLevel` | `L`, `M`, `Q`, `H` | *(vocabulary only)* |
| `QrModel` | `Model1`, `Model2`, `Micro` | *(vocabulary only)* |

The "vocabulary only" enums exist because they are a small, closed set defined by the protocol — completing them costs nothing and keeps this package generic instead of shaped only around what its first consumer needed. They are ready for the day a `setFont()`, `setColor()`, `setUnderline()`, `setBarcodeTextPosition()` or `qrCode()` method is added to `EscposPrinter`, without needing new vocabulary at that point.

```php
use Derafu\Escpos\Enum\Justification;

$printer->setJustification(Justification::Center);
```

## Constants (bitmask flags)

| Class | Constants | Used by |
|---|---|---|
| `PrintMode` | `FONT_A`, `FONT_B`, `EMPHASIZED`, `DOUBLE_HEIGHT`, `DOUBLE_WIDTH`, `UNDERLINE` | `EscposPrinter::selectPrintMode()` |
| `ImageSize` | `STANDARD`, `DOUBLE_WIDTH`, `DOUBLE_HEIGHT` | `EscposPrinter::image()` |

```php
use Derafu\Escpos\Constant\PrintMode;

// Combine flags with a plain bitwise OR.
$printer->selectPrintMode(PrintMode::FONT_B | PrintMode::EMPHASIZED);
```

## What is deliberately not vocabulary

A few things found in `mike42/escpos-php` are **not** mapped, on purpose:

- **Status request codes and raw control bytes** (`STATUS_*`, `ESC`, `GS`, `LF`, ...): these are not parameters of any command a caller chooses — they are either internal bytes the underlying library uses to build each command, or (for `STATUS_*`) not used by any method in the vendored version at all. Mapping them would be vocabulary for a feature that does not exist.
- **Character tables / code pages**: unlike everything above, the correct table number is not a fixed protocol value — it depends on the specific printer's capability profile. This is a known open item, not yet designed.



---
Last updated on 09/09/2026