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Whether you can't get remote printing to work, nothing is printing, or documents print off-page, sideways, or with poor quality, work through these steps in order. All settings below are on the Settings > Printing page in SKULabs.
Step 1. Turn off "Skip printer prompt"
Always start by turning off automatic printer selection. Choosing the printer by hand is needed for the later steps.
Go to Settings > Printing.
Under User Printers, turn off Skip printer prompt for every user with printing issues.
Save your changes.
The Skip printer prompt toggle, turned off.
Step 2. Check that you're selecting the correct printer
If your computer has copies of a printer (for example "Zebra ZP450" and "Zebra ZP450 (2)"), you may be choosing the wrong one. When asked to choose a printer, look through the whole list and pick the correct one.
The printer selection list. Make sure you pick the right copy of your printer.
Step 3. Does the PDF preview look correct?
In the printer list, choose Local (View/Print PDF). This option appears when Skip printer prompt is off (Step 1).
The Local (View/Print PDF) option in the printer list.
The preview is blank: report this as your core issue. Send support the URL and the steps to recreate it. If you can, get the same label from another source (Seller Central, EasyPost, etc.) for the same order and send that too.
The preview content is wrong: you may have a template configuration issue.
The preview is the wrong size or orientation: correct the print dialog settings. In Microsoft Edge, also uncheck "allow app to override these settings".
The preview is right, but the printout isn't: your printer's paper size is misconfigured. See Step 7.
Step 4. Check that the SKULabs Print & Scale client is installed correctly
The SKULabs Print & Scale client lets any device using SKULabs send a PDF or ZPL file to your computer, which then prints it with your system's printer settings.
Make sure the client is running on the computer with the printer. See the PrintNode troubleshooting guide (the client is built on PrintNode).
(Windows only) Make sure it wasn't installed as a service. If it was and you're not comfortable editing the Windows registry (advanced IT staff only), uninstall it and reinstall the client as a standalone app.
Step 5. "Computer offline": make sure the client is signed in
Sign in to the client with the username and password shown on Settings > Printing. Do not use your SKULabs password. The password is temporary, so copy it fresh each time. See Issues logging into SKULabs Print & Scale client.
The print client sign-in window.
Step 6. Double printing
If the client is installed and every job prints twice, see Issue with double-printing after installing the SKULabs Print & Scale client.
Step 7. Check your system's default paper size and printing preferences
Most printers work out of the box, but some need extra setup once. An incorrect default paper size is the most common cause of print size and quality issues. Make sure your operating system and the print client have the correct paper size for the paper in your printer.
Paper size on Windows
The print client uses each printer's Windows default settings, and Windows often doesn't pick the right paper type for label printers, even with their drivers installed. Set the paper size in the printer's default printer settings. More options for Zebra and Dymo printers control page margins and print quality. Creating a custom paper size may also help.
Printer preferences on Windows, where you set the default paper size.
Paper size on Mac
On Mac, set up both the print client and your Zebra or Dymo system printer settings. Similar options exist for other printers. In the print client's Printers tab, make sure you've typed in the correct page dimensions.
Page dimensions in the Mac print client's Printers tab.
Printer settings on Mac.
Labels still cut off or the wrong size
If the paper size is set and labels are still cut off, the printer probably needs calibrating.
Zebra printers:
With the printer on, press and hold the feed button.
Keep holding until the status light flashes once, then twice.
After the second (double) flash, release the feed button.
Dymo printers: use DYMO-branded labels. Dymo printers often can't detect the gaps between other brands' labels, so they don't feed correctly. To run a self-test:
With labels loaded, press and hold the form-feed button for five to ten seconds.
The printer prints vertical lines that change every 3/4 inch (19 mm). Release the button once it starts.
Press and release the form-feed button to stop the test.
Send the results to Dymo support.
Print order and direction
SKULabs doesn't control the order pages print in. That's set in your computer's printer settings. See these guides for Mac and Windows, and our article on pages printing in reverse order.
Print quality (pixelated or unscannable barcodes)
Dithering: turn dithering off in your label printer's settings. It makes barcodes look pixelated.
DPI: set the correct DPI for your label printer. Most label printers use 203 DPI, but check with your printer's manufacturer.
Step 8. Re-select your printers on Settings > Printing
If you rename a printer, move it to another USB port, or add a USB hub, Windows or macOS may rename it (for example "Zebra ZP400 (3)"). You must then select the printer again on Settings > Printing.
Step 9. Rule out hardware issues
Confirm you're using the correct thermal paper type.
Confirm all cables are connected snugly.
Confirm you're using the correctly rated power supply for your printer. The wrong one can cause poor print quality.
Step 10. Sign out of SKULabs and restart your computer
Your device keeps a copy of the printer list for up to 60 minutes. Sign out of SKULabs, or open Settings > Printing, to refresh it.
SKULabs loads up to 250 printers. From 225 printers on, you'll see a warning asking you to contact SKULabs support. You can also delete duplicate or inactive printers from your computer's printer settings.
Step 11. (Windows) Restart the print spooler
Click Start or press the Windows key.
Type "services" and open Services.
Find Print Spooler in the list, right-click it, and choose Restart.
This works the same on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Step 12. (Mac) Troubleshoot the CUPS print driver
If you still have trouble printing on Mac, follow these steps to debug your CUPS print driver. This has fixed page size and double-sided printing issues on Macs.
Step 13. Change the client's printing backend
If print quality doesn't improve, or the client's logs show errors like worker exited with return code xxxxxxxxxx, switch the client's default printing backend to an earlier version (for example Engine4 or Engine5) and try again.
The printing backend (engine) setting in the print client.
Step 14. Check that your printer is supported
Review the supported printers list. Printers not on the list may still work. The PrintNode FAQ has more tips.
Step 15. Start fresh
Try the steps above first. If nothing works, a corrupted printer profile or system error may be the cause, and reinstalling can fix printers not receiving jobs or connection errors. Remove and reinstall the printer on your computer, then:
Uninstall the Print & Scale client from your computer.
Workarounds while you fix printing
Losing remote printing doesn't have to stop fulfillment.
Print locally
Print one job at a time through your browser's print dialog by choosing Local (View/Print PDF). To skip the print dialog in Chrome, see printing locally with kiosk printing in Chrome.
No pick + bulk ship
Clear groups of orders, then use bulk shipping to print many labels at once instead of one by one.
Normal pick + bulk ship
Print packing slips for many orders from the processing orders page, process the orders, then print labels for many orders in one PDF from the shipments page.