Possible, but it would take longer and require more skills. I guess the question is what one's aim is in acquiring a thermal printer. Is it to print thermally?

Possible, but it would take longer and require more skills. I guess the question is what one's aim is in acquiring a thermal printer. Is it to print thermally? Is it to have a Raspberry Pi project? Or is it to learn a load of electronics, a load of low level code, and the minutiae of how to control a thermal printer at the byte level?