How to Align DYMO printer label 30346, my barcode is cut off

[Seastar]

I am trying to print my bar code labels, using label 30346 and DYMO 450 turbo with a direct print from my MacBook.  Label is cut off on right side.  How can I correct this?  I have selected label 30346 in paper size drop down.

[LocavoreStore · Accepted solution]

My experience with all Dymo printers is that the margins are drunk... All the time. Sometimes I've had luck by just removing the label roll, and putting it in again. Other times I adjust the barcode in a graphics editor to compensate for whichever margin is the drunkest at the time. That's a big let down when it comes to Dymo printers... There is no way to offset the margins/alignment or to set a custom page size.

Getting it right with a label that is only 1/2" wide can be frustrating. The easiest solution would be to shrink the size of your barcode so that it does not even come close to your Dymo's ambiguous page margins. 

I've had limited success by fooling the Dymo into thinking that I'm using a different label roll than the one I am actually using. Say your label is 1.75" x .5"... If you can find another label template that is 1.75" x 1", tell the printer that you're using the bigger label, but actually, have the smaller label (30346) on the spool when you print... This would eliminate your left and right margins because the printhead is now going to print for a wider template, but since it's the same hight the sensor marks will still line up. That way you can effectively print edge-to-edge (You can do this with the top and bottom margins too, but it's a little trickier). It takes a bit of measuring and adjusting w/ your graphics editor, but it works if you've got the time to figure it out.

[LocavoreStore · Accepted solution]

My experience with all Dymo printers is that the margins are drunk... All the time. Sometimes I've had luck by just removing the label roll, and putting it in again. Other times I adjust the barcode in a graphics editor to compensate for whichever margin is the drunkest at the time. That's a big let down when it comes to Dymo printers... There is no way to offset the margins/alignment or to set a custom page size.

Getting it right with a label that is only 1/2" wide can be frustrating. The easiest solution would be to shrink the size of your barcode so that it does not even come close to your Dymo's ambiguous page margins. 

I've had limited success by fooling the Dymo into thinking that I'm using a different label roll than the one I am actually using. Say your label is 1.75" x .5"... If you can find another label template that is 1.75" x 1", tell the printer that you're using the bigger label, but actually, have the smaller label (30346) on the spool when you print... This would eliminate your left and right margins because the printhead is now going to print for a wider template, but since it's the same hight the sensor marks will still line up. That way you can effectively print edge-to-edge (You can do this with the top and bottom margins too, but it's a little trickier). It takes a bit of measuring and adjusting w/ your graphics editor, but it works if you've got the time to figure it out.

[mimsylu]

Were you able to figure this out? We are having the same exact issue! It prints brand name and price but no bar code at all. So frustrating!

[_Violet]

Hi @mimsylu - Thanks for reaching out to us here in the Square Seller Community! 👋😊

I moved your question over to this thread where other sellers have shared their experiences with label printing and troubleshooting. See the marked best answer from LocavoreStore.

Feel free to tag any of the sellers you see above to ask them additional questions regarding their setup. They may have some new suggestions for you!~

[pbreit · Accepted solution]

I'm having the same issue printing supposedly supported Dymo 30346 1/2" x 1 7/8" direct from Square web site (Mac Chrome). On the top half the price is cut off. I did manage to get the whole thing printed OK by choosing "Scale to Fit" which auto scaled 80% but the result is very small.

Not very happy with Square's Dymo options. Would like to see the ultra-common-in-retail 1" x 1 1/2" supported.

[redstickspice]

We are having to throw out half of the sheet of labels because of spacing issues. I've set the scaling to 100 in the advanced options in the properties section of my printer. I've seen this same issue posted by others with zero response from Square. Any solutions?

[Tom]

Thanks for flagging this and sorry to hear about the trouble, @redstickspice. Is there any chance you're printing these labels to a standard printer? If so, these troubleshooting tips may help resolve the issue: Windows Troubleshooting. Hope that helps clear things up; if not, please feel free to reply and we'll take a closer look!

[Battlefish]

What is the resolution for this error?  No matter how I scale the barcode, it does not print properly and is not read by the scanner.  

Using:

Dymo Lablewriter 450 Turbo

Dymo Label 1738595

[EJ_]

Hi @Battlefish

I've moved your post over to this existing thread. 

It sounds like @LocavoreStore has had similar issues and mentioned a workaround that might help. 

Unfortunately there's not much we can control around this, but we've definitely flagged this to our Product Teams so hopefully there's something in the works. 

[OddbirdGifts]

Hi.  Mine is cutting off the price.  Which is unfortunate because well - customers want to know how much.  Odd how retail works that way. 

This issue of margins, and different label size needs to seriously pushed to the top.   I have smaller items that don't warrant a GIANT address label.  

My old inventory that I imported from Shopkeep, will print & scan to a 1" x1.5" label and that proves that it is possible to have that size.  My issue is that new items with a self generated SKU  (should be an option to self-generate or auto-generate) will not scan with on the 1x1.5 in label. 

Back to the cutting off the price issue - my workaround, is getting creative with SKU and elminating the item name/variation from the label & just keeping the price, barcode & SKU.  

Sigh.  Fix it.  It can't be too hard. 

[Tom]

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience, @OddbirdGifts, and sorry for the frustration. I went to check for an update on additional sizing options, though there isn't a specific timeline that I can access. I'll be sure to surface your post with our Retail Team and point out the need for additional size options.

Another workaround that may help: print out a handful of barcodes and keep a master list at your checkout. Then, you can scan them as you complete the sale with your customer. Hope this works as a temporary solution. Thanks for your patience as we make improvements and let us know if anything else comes up.

[Doris1]

Tom,

We are all having the same issue with Dymo and 30346 labels. The LocavoreStore workaround is not acceptable because we've all tried variations of that, and I've yet to print a lable that looks close to what what Square Retail is producing. I agree with OddBirdGift that this issue is a priority 1 issue and must be hot-fixed ASAP. I've must have wasted many hours and hundreds of labels trying to get a supported printer with supported paper type to work as specified, and we have hundreds of labels to do.

Because of this issue:

1.  I don't have professional looking labels for a high end boutique
2.  Scanner can't read the barcodes due to truncation, leading to staff and checkout delays
3.  Misalignment and off-center print of text and barcode

Unlike an obscure bug, this happens everytime I use this feature - how did this feature get past your QA?

Please have them test on Dymo Mac Driver 8.7.2, with 30346 labels (I have 2 dozen rolls), thank you!

PS:Once this issue is fixed, there are a couple of enhancements that would be critical to have:

1. When a SKU is too long, the generated barcode will not be recognized by the scanner. This is usually not discovered until the tags are on the product and being scanned at the checkout time. There should be a warning when this happens before labels are printed. 
2. Auto-generated SKU option (based on category, vendor, variation:color/size) would be a nice to have.
3. Give user more control over the print frame and process. This include positioning/centering, alignment, line feed, font size, and preview.

[Tom]

Thanks for reaching out to the seller community, @Doris1. I'm really sorry to hear about your experience with this.😕 I don't have an immediate solution on hand, but I'm going to ask a team member to follow up with you directly—they'll be able to take a deeper dive into specifics. In addition, we'll be back to this thread as any other developments come through.

[BookshopMeg]

Hi - I'm having the same issues printing barcodes as mentioned here in posts from June/July/August.  Is there a fix yet to prices being cut off at the top of the label?  I specifically bought a Dymo 450 printer and the 30346 library labels because they are supported by Square, but the printing does not work.  I need to include product names, because if I take products off site for a popup shop (festival or farmers market) and don't have power, I can't use my Square Retail POS or scanner, so I need to type in the name of the product.  My staff and I cannot be expected to remember names of hundreds of variants, nor can customers be presented with labels which do not clearly show the price.  Please advise.  Thanks.

[Helen]

I'm sorry to hear that you're also experiencing this issue @BookshopMeg. 

I checked for an update and our engineering team is still investigating the root cause with Dymo.

In the meantime, you could try the following steps which have helped some sellers:

• Use Adobe Reader or Adobe Reader for Windows to edit and print your barcodes (rather than using a browser to edit/print).
• Print bar code labels from your opertating system's print dialog and instead of your web browser's dialog. (To do this click print > and then look for the option to 'Print from system dialog').

If the labels are still printing incorrectly and without all of the the information you need it would be great if you could call our Customer Success team to report this. They can file a ticket to our engineers who can investigate this further. We definitely want to resolve this issue! 

[Doris1]

I was able to get the printer to behave enough for what I need when using Dymo and 30346 labels:

1. When printing the label from Inventory Mgmt, from the Action drop down box, select "print label".

2. Then from "select label type" ,  select "Dymo 30346 ...1/2 x 1 7/8. Then check the boxes: SKU, Price Item, name, and barcode

3. Select "Create Label"

4. Select "Print Label Now"

5. Then Select "Paper Size" as "30330 Return Address"

6. Finally type "Scale" as "100" to "145" as needed.

7. Now hit Print - the labels should work well enough - not centered, but left justified.

LMK if there are problems!

[rtd16]

I have the exact same problem as everyone else here. Dymo 450 trying to print on 3/4" x 2-1/2" labels but half cuts off. It's been almost 2 years... why is this still a problem?!

Also, why are there not more DYMO labels sizes available as an option?

[JustinC]

Hey @rtd16 - Have you tried reaching out to CS as Helen suggested above your post? They'll be able to walk through troubleshooting and discuss the sizing options for Dymo labels. 

[Doris1]

How about just buying a DYMO and testing/making the SW works like you claim? It's only been a year and a half.

[LoveOS]

I've tried this too. I'm only printing Variation name, price, and barcode. It's cutting off the price. The frustrating part is it was doing it fine forever and then I had other issues with it. I took care of that and when I went to print again with the EXACT same settings, it cuts off price. I hate this printer with a passion. It's one thing after another. I want to throw it into traffic and watch it die. lol.

[Helen]

@LoveOS Oh no, I'm very sorry that this printer is frustrating to work with! If you're still having trouble with the formatting I recommend calling the CS team - we have Retail specialists on hand who might be able to help troubleshoot this.

In the meantime, I'll share your experience with this printer with the Retail team - thanks for letting us know!