diff --git a/addons/hw_escpos/escpos/printer.py b/addons/hw_escpos/escpos/printer.py
index 4207919cbc100..7d9e7027e3a04 100644
--- a/addons/hw_escpos/escpos/printer.py
+++ b/addons/hw_escpos/escpos/printer.py
@@ -211,6 +211,8 @@ def open(self):
 
 
     def _raw(self, msg):
+        if isinstance(msg, str):
+            msg = msg.encode('utf-8')
         self.device.send(msg)