If you run a till in Dubai, two roll sizes cover almost everything: 80 mm wide for counter-top POS printers in retail, restaurants and pharmacies, and 57 mm wide for handheld and portable printers used by delivery riders, valet, parking and mobile card machines. Get the width wrong and the printer will not accept the roll at all. Get the diameter wrong and the lid will not close. This guide covers the sizes, the lengths, the paper grades that survive a UAE summer, how back-of-roll branding works, and what the printed books and vouchers that sit alongside your till actually cost — with real store prices.
The two widths that cover 95% of Dubai tills
Thermal rolls are specified as width × diameter, both in millimetres. Width must match the printer exactly. Diameter is how fat the roll is, and it determines how much paper you get and whether the paper compartment closes.
- 80 × 80 mm — the default for fixed POS printers (Epson, Star, Bixolon class). Roughly 70–80 metres of paper. This is the roll most Dubai restaurants, supermarkets and clinics buy.
- 80 × 70 mm — same width, slightly smaller roll for printers with a shallow compartment. About 55–60 metres.
- 57 × 40 mm — the standard for portable and handheld printers and most mobile card terminals. Around 12–15 metres, which is why riders carry spares.
- 57 × 50 mm — the same width with a longer run, used where the terminal has room for it.
- 44 × 70 mm and 76 × 70 mm — older impact and dot-matrix machines, still found in garages, workshops and some government-facing counters.
Before you order a pallet, measure the roll currently in the machine or read the label on the old core. A 79 mm roll and an 80 mm roll are the same product; a 76 mm roll in an 80 mm printer will drift and jam.
Core size matters more than people expect
Rolls come with a 12 mm or 17 mm internal core, and some are coreless. Coreless rolls fit more paper into the same diameter, which is genuinely useful for a busy drive-thru, but they only work in printers designed for them. If your printer has a spindle, you need a core.
How long a roll actually lasts
A standard retail receipt is 15–25 cm long. An 80 × 80 mm roll at roughly 75 metres therefore gives you 300–500 receipts. A café doing 250 transactions a day burns through one roll every working day; a 50-box order (usually 50 rolls per box) is roughly a quarter's supply for a single till.
The practical planning number for Dubai F&B: budget one roll per till per 300 transactions, then add 20% for voided receipts, kitchen copies and test prints. Multi-till retail should hold at least four weeks of stock, because thermal rolls are one of the few items that will stop trade dead when they run out.
Paper grade, and the UAE heat problem
Thermal paper is coated paper that darkens under a heated print head — no ink, no ribbon. Grade is quoted in GSM, usually 48, 55 or 65 GSM:
- 48 GSM — thin and cheap, fine for short-life receipts, tears more easily.
- 55 GSM — the sensible default. Good contrast, handles being folded into a bag.
- 65 GSM — thicker, used for receipts customers keep: warranties, service jobs, clinics.
Two things matter specifically here. First, storage: thermal coating reacts to heat, so boxes left in a van or a rooftop store room in July will grey off and print faint. Keep stock indoors, out of direct sun, away from solvents and PVC sleeves. Second, archive life: a thermal receipt is not a long-term document. Anything you need to keep — delivery notes, invoices, LPOs — should be on an NCR (carbonless) book, not a till roll. That is the single most common printing mistake we see in Dubai retail.
If your customers are health-conscious or you supply clinics and nurseries, ask for phenol-free / BPA-free thermal paper. It is widely available and costs marginally more.
Branding the back of the roll
The face of a thermal roll must stay blank — that is where the printer writes. Branding goes on the reverse, pre-printed in one or two flat colours, and the customer sees it every time the receipt is handed over. Typical uses:
- Logo plus WhatsApp number and Instagram handle
- A loyalty message or QR code to a review page or feedback form
- Return and exchange policy, so it does not have to be printed by the POS software
- A seasonal promo code with an expiry date
Practical rules: keep it to one or two spot colours, keep artwork vector, and leave the reverse at no more than about 40% ink coverage so it does not smudge in a wallet. Back-printed rolls are a made-to-order item — minimum quantities are quoted per design, and lead time is longer than plain stock, so order the next batch while you still have a month of stock left. Send your roll size, GSM, colour count and artwork on WhatsApp +971 52 210 0909 and you will get a quantity-based quote back rather than a guess.
What a VAT-compliant receipt must show
In the UAE, a retail till receipt is usually a simplified tax invoice. At minimum it has to carry the words “tax invoice”, your legal name and address, your TRN, the date, a description of what was sold, and the total with the VAT amount stated. Most of this is configured in the POS software, not printed on the roll — but if your TRN is missing from the header, every receipt you issue is non-compliant, and that is worth checking today. Pre-printing the TRN on the reverse of the roll is not a substitute; it belongs in the printed receipt data. The UAE is also phasing in mandatory e-invoicing for B2B and B2G transactions, so confirm your current obligations with your tax advisor rather than assuming the till covers you.
Real prices: the printed books and vouchers that go with your till
Thermal rolls are consumable stock quoted by size and quantity. The documents that sit next to the till — the ones you actually need a signed, retained copy of — are priced per book on the store. These are live store prices in AED, VAT inclusive:
| Item | Spec | Quantity | Price (AED) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCR Books A5, 1 colour | 1 + 1 part, printed 1 side | 5 books | 265 |
| NCR Books A5, 1 colour | 1 + 1 part, printed 1 side | 10 books | 390 |
| NCR Books A4, 1 colour | 1 + 1 part, printed 1 side | 5 books | 294 |
| NCR Books A4, full colour | 1 + 1 part | 10 books | 500 |
| NCR Books A4, full colour | 1 + 2 part | 10 books | 580 |
| Receipt Vouchers | Custom size, colour & design | From | 145 |
| Payment Vouchers | Custom size, colour & design | From | 145 |
| Petty Cash Vouchers | Custom size, colour & design | From | 135 |
| Invoice Books | Custom size, colour & design | From | 225 |
| Delivery Order Books | Custom size, colour & design | From | 185 |
| A4 Computer Invoices, full colour | 1 + 1 part, continuous | 10 boxes | 2,250 |
| Custom Rubber Stamp | 32 × 32 mm, self-inking | 1 piece | 210 |
The full range sits in NCR Books, and the counter-side marketing material — flyers, brochures, loyalty cards — is in Print & Marketing. If you are setting a numbering sequence for the first time, the detail in our NCR invoice book guide will save you a reprint.
How to order, step by step
- Measure the roll in the machine. Width first (57 or 80 mm), then diameter, then note whether it has a core.
- Count your monthly burn. Transactions per day ÷ 350 × 30 = rolls per month per till. Order three months at a time; plain thermal stock keeps well indoors.
- Decide plain or back-printed. Plain is off-the-shelf. Back-printed needs artwork and a per-design minimum — worth it above roughly 200 rolls a month.
- Send artwork correctly. Vector (AI, EPS or PDF), spot colours named, 3 mm bleed, text converted to outlines. Reverse-side artwork only.
- Order the retained documents at the same time. NCR books run on a 5-working-day production cycle after artwork approval, so bundling them with the roll order avoids two separate deliveries.
- Confirm delivery. Dubai deliveries are routine; Sharjah, Ajman and Abu Dhabi are same-week. Give a receiving contact, because boxes of rolls are heavy and tills are rarely at a loading bay.
Frequently asked questions
Can you print on the front of a thermal roll?
No — and no supplier should offer it. The front is the heat-sensitive coated side; any ink there interferes with the print head and the receipt data. All roll branding is on the reverse, pre-printed in one or two colours.
What is the minimum order for branded rolls?
Back-printing is set up per design, so minimums are quoted by roll size and colour count rather than being a fixed shelf number. Plain rolls have no artwork step and are sold by the box. Send your size and monthly usage on WhatsApp and you will get both options priced side by side.
Why do my old receipts go blank?
Thermal images fade with heat, light, oil and plasticisers. Receipts stored in a car, a PVC wallet or a sunlit drawer in Dubai can be unreadable within months. For anything you must retain — delivery notes, invoices, LPOs, service job cards — use a carbonless NCR book and keep the thermal roll for the customer copy.
Should I use 57 mm or 80 mm rolls?
It is decided by the printer, not by preference. Fixed counter POS printers take 80 mm. Handhelds, mobile card readers and rider terminals take 57 mm. If you run both, stock both and label the storage shelf — mixed boxes behind a busy counter waste more money than the paper costs.
Do you supply BPA-free thermal paper?
Phenol-free and BPA-free grades are available on request and are the sensible choice for clinics, nurseries, pharmacies and any brand making a sustainability claim. Mention it when you ask for a quote, because it changes the paper, not just the label.
How quickly can I get stock?
Plain rolls are a stock item and move fast. Back-printed rolls need artwork approval plus a production run, and NCR books run on a 5-working-day cycle after approval. If you are down to your last two boxes, say so when you message — that changes how the order is handled.
Get a quote today
Send your roll size, monthly usage and artwork (if you want the reverse branded) on WhatsApp +971 52 210 0909 or call 0522100909, and you will get real quantities and real prices back — not a catalogue. To order the books and vouchers that go with your till right now, browse NCR Books and check out online.
