Printer Paper & Ribbon Buying Guide

Citizen Printer Paper Rolls & Ribbons: Find Your Model

Citizen builds some of the most reliable POS hardware in the industry, from the workhorse CT-S801 thermal receipt printer to the CD-S500 dot matrix line that's been running in kitchens for decades. The hardware rarely fails; running out of the right paper or ribbon is almost always what takes a Citizen printer out of service. Here's the exact roll or ribbon for your model.

First: thermal or dot matrix?

Citizen's lineup splits the same way Epson's does. The CT-S series (CT-S310, CT-S601, CT-S651, CT-S751, CT-S801, CT-S851, CT-E351, and similar) are thermal printers — no ribbon, coated paper. The CD-S series and older iDP models are dot matrix printers that strike an ink ribbon against plain bond paper. If your printer takes a ribbon cartridge, jump to the dot matrix section below.

Citizen thermal printers: CT-S series

Citizen's full-size CT-S thermal receipt printers run 3 1/8" (80mm) thermal paper, the same standard width used by most modern POS systems:

All of our thermal rolls are BPA-free. Note that several CT-S models can be converted between 80mm and 58mm with a partition spacer, so if a previous owner reconfigured yours, measure the roll currently loaded rather than assuming the factory width.

Citizen dot matrix printers: CD-S500 series and iDP models

Citizen's impact printers take plain bond or carbonless paper plus an ink ribbon, and the ribbon part number is what matters most when reordering:

If your ribbon model isn't listed here, check the cartridge itself; Citizen prints the IR part number directly on the plastic housing. Then browse the full Citizen printer ribbons category to match it.

Why the ribbon color matters

Purple ribbons are the traditional choice for kitchen and warehouse impact printers because the dye reads clearly on white and canary bond even as the ribbon ages. Black ribbons produce a crisper, more document-like print preferred for customer-facing receipts. Functionally either works in the same cartridge slot, so choose based on where the printout ends up.

Custom printed rolls for your Citizen printer

Any of our 3 1/8" thermal rolls can be custom printed with your logo, promotional messaging, coupons, or terms and conditions. Start with custom printed 3 1/8" x 230' rolls, one-color logo, sized for the CT-S801 and the rest of the full-width CT-S line.