Purpose: In this article, we go over some basic troubleshooting steps you can take to help you identify and resolve issues you may be experiencing when trying to automatically print labels on your Windows computer.
Work on a Mac? Click here for our settings and troubleshooting guide for Mac OS. We always advise you to contact the manufacturer of your specific model of printer for additional support and help identifying hardware as opposed to software malfunctions.
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My picking lists/packing slips are not printing on A4
My Zebra printer prints a blank label
Printer Communication Issues
If the printer is not being recognized, please try the following:
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Connection - make sure that the USB cable is firmly connected to the printer and/or try with another USB cable. In case you are using a print server or the printer is being shared from another computer in your local network, please test the printer by connecting it directly to your computer.
- Status Light Indicator - make sure that there is power to the printer and check if the power LED indicator turns on. If the power LED indicator does not turn on, it might be that the power adapter is not supplying power to the printer.
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Printer not found - Go to the ‘Printer & Devices’ or ‘Printer & Scanner’ menu of your computer and search for your printer in the list. If your printer is not found, there is an issue with your device. Please try the following:
- Unplug your printer
- (Re)Install the last driver version of your printer
- Restart your computer
Printer Status
You can check the status of the printer in the system settings under Printers & Scanners.
If the printer is showing as offline, click here to see how to set the status to online. Please contact your printer supplier if the problem persists.
Labels not printing
If you are printing a label and the printer is not responding, then the issue might be related to output data or the printer is not receiving the order accordingly. Kindly check the following:
- Not responding errors - is there any error message/code? If the error message makes mention of Sendcloud or our Print Client App, make a screenshot of the error message/code and contact us for further assistance by opening a support ticket from the Sendcloud platform. If the error message is not related to Sendcloud, please contact the manufacturer of the printer for support.
- Status Light indicator - The status of the LED indicator provides the current status of the printer and will help you to identify and correct problems. In some cases the light indicator can be blinking or static in red, blue or orange. Please check the user manual of the printer or contact the manufacturer for further assistance.
- Self-test printing - In some printer models/brands, it is possible to perform a self-test. By performing this test you can isolate the issues related to communication or printing quality, kindly check the user manual of the printer to see if you have this option available.
Sendcloud Print Client app troubleshooting
Printing Labels in One Click
You can also print labels in one click to avoid downloading the label in pdf format. If you print the label using our Print Client App, you are getting the best quality possible. The steps to install our Print Client App can be found here.
Printer not recognized in Sendcloud Print Client app
- Make sure your printer name doesn’t have non alpha-numeric characters like é è & - etc. You can give your printer a friendly name like ‘Printer for labels’ in your computer settings.
- Your browser version is outdated. We recommend to use Sendcloud and the Print Client app on Chrome.
How to uninstall the Print Client app
- Close the Print Client app (right click the tray icon -> Quit)
How can I get the last version of the app?
First you need to uninstall the old version of the application if you have one using the instructions above.
When uninstalled, in your Sendcloud account go to Shipping > Printing options and click on ‘Download the Print Client’. The latest version of the app will automatically be installed.
Print quality issues
Format
If the label is not being printed in the correct format, make sure you are selecting the A6 format in the Printer Settings section in your Sendcloud panel and in the advanced printer settings of your printer as well.
A6 measurements are 105 × 148 millimeters or 4.13 × 5.83 inches (4x6)
Selecting A6 in Sendcloud panel:
Zebra label printer settings
The settings under the Options tab for your Zebra label printer should be:
- Speed: 2
- Darkness: 30
- Paper Format: inch and portrait
- Size: Width 4,00 and Height 6,00 (make sure to set the paper format to inch)
Click on 'Apply' and 'OK' to save the following settings.
Dymo LabelWriter 4XL settings
Dymo compatibility chart
Make sure you have the Paper/output - Paper Size set to: 744907 4 in x 6 in
- Go to the 'Advanced' settings
- Set the paper size to '1744907 4 in x 6 in' and click on 'OK'
- Lastly, you click 'Apply' and 'OK' to save the changes.
If you are experiencing issues and receiving a "Printing error message", you may find the following article useful: Printing error on a labelwriter 400/450 on Windows.
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Labels are blurry or faded
Make sure that there is no dust inside the printer, check the official manufacturer’s site for advice on how to clean the label printer. Try to print any other document or a test page to see if the issue occurs regardless of the document that is being printed. -
Bars (in barcode) are very thick
Adjust the print speed and darkness in the settings of the printer, kindly check the user manual of the printer to know more about these adjustments. For more information check the printer preference settings we mention above.
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Strange characters when printing
Try to connect the printer using another usb cable, make sure you have installed the latest driver and firmware version available for the model of your label printer. Please note that some manufacturers advise to turn off and disconnect the printer from the computer during a (re)installation. You can also check if the issue persists when you connect the printer to another computer. -
Red blocks are printed instead of bar codes
You are probably using a Canon printer. Please download and install the latest printer drivers from the Canon website.
My picking lists and/or packing slips are printing on my label printer
In your SendCloud account you need to select a different A4 printer for these documents. To do so, go to Shipping > Printing options and select a different printer for your picking lists and packing slips.
*Picking lists and packing slips are only available with the Pack & Go. This option is a part of your Premium plan.
My Zebra printer prints a blank label
There are a number of possible reasons why your Zebra label printer is printing a blank label. A few possible reasons are listed below together with suggested solutions:
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Your Zebra printer does not have the right drivers installed for your operating system
First, delete your current printer drivers from the system and later from the Trash bin on your Windows PC. After you've removed your old printer drivers, download the right driver for your printer. Open the Zebra printers overview and choose your printer model. On the support page for your printer model, you can find a list of drivers for various operating systems. Choose the one suitable for your system, click Download, and install the driver. -
You have a thermal Zebra printer
This means that your labels should be heat sensitive; however, the ones you are using are not. To test if the labels you are using are heat-sensitive, simply apply some heat to the label. If your labels are heat-sensitive, the area you applied the heat to will turn black. If the label does not turn black, you have non-heat-sensitive labels. -
Your printhead needs cleaning
Perform a cleaning procedure on the printhead as described in this Zebra Support article. -
Your labels are printing out fine, but the printer is feeding one extra blank label
This can occur for two reasons. The first reason has been mentioned previously - the driver installed is not correct for your operating system. Follow the instructions above to install the right driver. The second reason might be the incorrect printer settings for a Keyboard Display Unit (KDU). If you are not using a KDU, adjust the settings as follows:
Click on Windows [Start] → [Devices and Printers] → Select [Printer Properties] → [General] → [Preferences] → [Advance Setup] → [Miscellaneous] → Untick "KDU Repeat Prompt".
If none of the above has helped, the printer itself might be at fault. Please reach out to Zebra Customer Service to resolve the issue.
Additional Tips and Tricks
After installing a driver or the last version of the Print Client app we recommend you to log out from your SendCloud account, unplug your printer and restart your computer.
By default with some printers, the last version of the driver isn't installed when you plug them for the first time on your computer. We recommend you to visit your printer supplier website to download the last driver version.
If you are experiencing any issue with the size of the printed label, please check our article Printer settings for Windows.
If you are still having issues connecting your printer or printing labels, we advise that you confirm with the manufacturer of your specific printer brand that the printer is working as intended, and that you have installed the latest version of any available drivers.
For more assistance troubleshooting your settings, once the above information has been checked, contact us by opening a support ticket in your Sendcloud Platform and include the following information:
- Printer mode
- Operating system
- What did you change recently on your computer or environment? E.g. Operating system updates, 3rd party printing programs installed, new hardware or roll labels.
- Environment: Local / print server / Shared on local network
- Issue description: (kindly share screenshots of the error message and describe in detail the steps or workflow you are doing so that we can reproduce the issue.
- Does the issue continue to occur if you quit the Print Client App? Yes/No
- Print client app version installed*: