Every day, retail businesses print thousands — even millions — of receipts. But behind each slip of thermal paper is a hidden cost that adds up fast. From paper usage and branding clarity to environmental concerns and financial impact, here are five must-know facts about receipt printing — and one smart solution that could help your business reduce costs.
1. U.S. businesses will spend $540+ million1 on receipt paper this year
That’s not just paper — that’s time, labor, storage, and waste. The cumulative cost of printing receipts can quietly eat into margins, especially across a large fleet of registers.
2. Americans use 620 million pounds of receipt paper annually1
It’s easy to overlook a six-inch receipt here or a foot-long one there. But nationally, it adds up to 620 million pounds of paper every year — a heavy load for businesses focused on reducing waste.
3. Up to 49% of that paper use could be avoided2
Epson point-of-sale receipt printers offer built-in paper-saving features that can shrink receipt length by up to 49% through smart adjustments like reducing margins, barcode height, line spacing, and character size while maintaining readability.
4. Logo scaling can diminish your brand
Some printers reduce receipt size by shrinking everything, including your logo. The result? Logos that are illegible or don’t properly represent your brand. Epson’s patented technology preserves layout and brand integrity while trimming excess paper.
5. One printer can save $100 per year — 10,000 printers could save $1M
If you’re printing 100 receipts per printer per day, you could be spending about $204 annually on receipt paper per printer. A fleet of 10,000? That’s more than $2 million in paper spend — or $1 million in savings3 if you cut usage by 49%.
Featured Printer: Epson OmniLink™ TM-m50II
Designed for today’s fast-moving retailers, the OmniLink™ TM-m50II combines a sleek design with Epson’s advanced paper-saving technology. It’s compact, modern, and built for easy integration with multiple connectivity options — USB, Serial, Ethernet, and optional wireless modules. And with built-in tools that help reduce paper usage without compromising performance or appearance, it’s a smart upgrade that can help your business save money, time, and paper.
Ready to see what you could save?
Find out how much receipt paper and money you could save with the Epson Interactive Paper-Saving Estimator.
Learn more about Epson’s patented paper-saving technology at Epson.com/papersavings
1 Grand View Research, Thermal Paper Market Forecast, 2025.
2 Paper saving feature of up to 49% on the TM-T88VII model. Paper saving percentage may vary by model.
3 Estimated savings using 49% reduction on 100 printouts per day per printer and a 12-inch receipt, shown in USD. Actual results will vary.
