Whether you can't get remote printing to work or if the resulting document prints off-page, perpendicular, or of poor quality all of these issues are easily resolved.
Step 1a. Disable "Skip Printer Prompt"
If you're seeing "printed" but nothing is printing, the first step is to go to settings, then click printing, and disable the "skip printer prompt" toggle on every user with printing issues.
Even for print quality issues, the rest of these debugging steps will require you disable the option to skip the printer selection prompt.
Step 1b. Verify that you are selecting the correct printer profile from the dropdown.
If your computer has "copy" profiles of a printer, you may be attempting to select the incorrect printer. Make sure to choose the correct printer.
Step 2. Verify the "Local View/Print PDF" print option works for you
The Local View/Print PDF print option is prompt is made available when Skip printer prompt selection is disabled per user in the Printing settings page.
Does the "View Local PDF" print option reveal a PDF that looks correct prior to printing? If not, you may have a template configuration issue.
Does the print preview look correctly oriented and correctly sized prior to printing? If not, please correct the settings including unchecking "allow app to override these settings" if you're in Microsoft Edge.
When you print, does the orientation and size still appear correct as in the preview? If not, your printer's paper size is misconfigured and can be corrected with the solutions below.
Step 3. Verify that the SKULabs Print and Scale Client is installed correctly
The SKULabs Print and Scale client allows us to send a link to a PDF / ZPL file directly to your computer. The client then uses your system default printer settings to print that file directly on your computer from any device using SKULabs.
Make sure the SKULabs Print & Scale client is running.... see the PrintNode Troubleshooting area
For most users, you can install and start printing out of the box. Occasionally, your printer may require additional configuration on-site to get up and running. This process can take some time, and may require some back and forth with our team but once configured it is rare to have to revisit these settings.
(Windows users only) Verify you did not install as a service
Do you remember if the SKULabs Print & Scale client was installed as a service? If you think it was installed as a service and you're not comfortable using the windows registry to change your printer settings (advanced IT staff only), you should uninstall then re-install the client as a standalone.
Step 4a. If your print client is installed and you're having "computer offline" issues, make sure you're signed in to the SKULabs Print and Scale Client.
Log in using the username and password you see under Settings -> Printers DO NOT use your SKULabs password here!
Step 4b. If your print client is installed and you're having double-printing issues, see our double-printing article.
Step 5. Ensure your OS paper size and printing preferences are correct.
Ask yourself "Have I verified my operating system and SKULabs print and scale client have the correct paper size configured for the type of paper I have in my printer?"
You must ensure your paper size is configured within your operating system. This is by far the most common cause for print quality and size issues. You must configure your system's default printer settings for SKULabs to work properly with your printer. See the instructions above to configure your paper type and other settings if your labels or documents are not printing properly.
Paper size configuration for Windows
You need to configure your Windows "default printer settings". The SKULabs Print and Scale Client uses your system default printer settings for each printer. By default, windows may not properly select the correct paper type for most label printers even if you install their drivers. Additional windows Zebra and Dymo configuration options are available that control page margin and print quality. Creating a custom paper size may help solve the issue.
If you're having issues with the sequence or direction of printed pages, the best place to look is in your device's print settings. SKULabs does not control the order in which pages print. That is handled by the computer's default printer settings. Here are a couple of articles you may find helpful: Mac and Windows.
Paper size configuration for Mac
For Mac, you need to configure SKULabs Print Client and your Zebra or Dymo system printer settings. Similar options should be available for other printer types. We use these system settings when printing using your printer.
On Mac, in the Printers tab of the SKULabs Print Client, ensure you've typed in the correct page dimensions...
Additional Page Size / Cut off Printing Troubleshooting:
If you have configured your systems page size settings, as well as the Zebra or Dymo configurations and are still noticing issues with page size or cut off print jobs, it is likely the result of calibration. Try the following:
For Zebra Printers:
With the printer powered on, press and hold the feed button.
Continue holding the button until the status light shows a "two flash" sequence. The light will first flash one time, then again two times.
After the second flash of the status light, release the feed button.
For Dymo Printers:
Make sure you are using DYMO-branded labels. The perforated holes between the labels made by other manufacturers are frequently not detectable by DYMO printers. When the perforations are not detected, the labels will not feed correctly.
Perform a Dymo Printer Self-Test:
With a roll of labels in the printer, press and hold the form-feed button on the front of the printer for five to ten seconds.
The printer begins printing vertical lines along the width of the printer. The test pattern automatically changes every 3/4 inch (19 mm).
Once the self-test begins, release the form-feed button. To stop the self-test, press and release the form-feed button.
Reach out to Dymo support with the results.
The self-test will help make sure the printing mechanism and printing head is working as intended.
Reverse printing preference
Printing in reverse order is handled by your devices default settings. See our article on Reverse Printing Order.
Dithering (pixelated unscannable barcodes)
Ensure dithering is disabled in your label printer settings. This can make barcodes appear pixelated when they are provided to us in raster format.
Printer DPI (pixelated unscannable barcodes)
Ensure you've set the correct DPI for your label printer. By default, it's 203 DPI for most label printers but check with your label printer manufacturer.
Step 6. Re-select your printers on the printer settings page.
You must re-select the printer in the printer drop down if you rename your printers. The same applies when you switch USB ports or add a USB hub which can automatically rename the printer e.g. "Zebra ZP400 (3)". The more you switch your printer around, the harder it will become to identify the correct copy in the printer selection list.
Step 7. Try signing out of SKULabs and rebooting your computer.
For optimal performance, the printer list displayed day to day will be locally cached on your device up to 60 minutes. Sign out of SKULabs or visit your printer settings page in SKULabs to force a refresh of your device's local copy of the printer list.
If you have more than 225 printers you will receive a warning indicating a requirement to contact SKULabs to support more than 250 printers. Alternatively, you can delete duplicate deactivated printers from your machine's device manager.
Step 8. (Windows) Restart your print spooler in Windows 10
1. Click the Start button or press the Windows key on your keyboard.
2. Begin typing the word "services"
3. When the Services option appears in the results, press enter or select it.
4. Find Print Spooler in the list of services, right click > Restart.
Step 9. (Mac) Debug/Troubleshoot your CUPS print driver
If you're still having trouble printing on Mac after configuration, here are some additional steps to debug your "CUPS print driver".
This has been used to resolve issues with page size and double-sided or 2 sided printing on macs.
Step 10. Make sure your printer is supported.
Review our supported printers. Printers outside of this list should still work.
Step 11. Check the PrintNode FAQs
Check the PrintNode FAQ for more hints and tips
Step 12. Workarounds
Losing access to your printers remotely doesn't have to halt your fulfillment operation.
Try printing locally temporarily
Print locally using your web browser's print dialog one print job at a time. This is always an option in the short term. For the best and quickest experience with local printing, you can set your printer defaults to "local view/print PDF" and even bypass the default printer selection prompt with Kiosk Printing.
No Pick + Bulk Ship - You can also print multiple orders at a time using the bulk shipment process. Clear sections of orders at a time then follow through with the bulk shipment process, avoiding the overhead of printing each label manually.
Normal pick + Bulk Ship - You can manage multiple orders by navigating to your processing orders page to print multiple packing slips at a time, then processing those orders individually, and finally navigating to your shipments page to print labels for many orders at a time using one PDF.
Step 13. Try a fresh start
We recommend the above steps before resorting to removal and reinstallation of devices or software, but it's possible that a corrupted profile or anomalous OS errors may be the root cause. Reinstallation is a possible solution to issues like printers not receiving print jobs or errors connecting.
If possible, remove and reinstall the printer's profile on your device, then:
Uninstall the Print & Scale client from your device.