Square for Retail barcode generation issue.

[teamlovely]

We recently purchased the Bluetooth Socket Mobile 7ci scanner and Dymo LabelWriter 450 printer for use with Square Retail. We have already updated some of our product price tags with the bar codes from Square printed on the Dymo, which has been a very easy and fast process. The persistent issue we are having is with the barcode scanner itself. The scanner connects via Bluetooth to our iPad and to Square, however, it does not scan the barcode!

On a very rare occassion, after multiple attempts, the scanner will scan the barcode and the item appears in the app, but the inconsistency and ineffectiveness of the scanner overall is albeit frustrating. We plan to transitition all of our products to the barcode price label, but need to figure out the issue with the barcode scanner in order to be fully operational with the new system.

Anyone else having a similar issue? I have tried countless troubleshooting suggestions (socket mobile companion app, resetting the scanner, updating the app and iPad, logging off and logging back in, etc, etc.) but to no avail. Would love to know if this is a consistent issue or an isolated incident. 

[LocavoreStore]

I have never used Squares label printing, so I'm not really sure what that looks like. Most all of our barcode labels are printed from a graphics program (photoshop etc). I find that sometimes the margins of a Dymo printer can cut off the sides of a barcode, and make it unreadable. You might try to bring the barcode in from the edges of your label as best you can...

Also, you might need to set your printer preferences advanced settings to a higher resolution 300x600, and set it defaults to printing barcodes and graphics. 

We use Socket Mobile scanners. They are very reliable except for bad print quality.

[RHatch]

Is it the barcode or the scanner?  Is your scanner set up correctly?   Do this take a product that has a UPC on it like a keenex box or something.  Add that upc to an item and scan it.  If it doesn't come up then your scanner is probably not setup correctly.  You can also click the search bar in the item list.  If you can search and find any of your barcodes that you created then again the scanner isn't setup correctly.

Check out this post for programing your scanner.

@LocavoreStore is correct if the barcode is larger then the print area then this will cause issues.  Here are my barcode settings on my Dymo software just in case.  

[teamlovely]

@LocavoreStore + @RHatch

Thanks for the prompt replies! I confirmed that the Dymo Printer is set to print at a resolution of 300 DPI, however, it does seem that the barcode still looks a bit fuzzy. I'm using Square Retail to generate the barcodes and I'm thinking the output from Square is a low resolution, making the printer resolution irrelevant. Are either of you using the barcode generator in the new app to create your barcodes? Or another barcode generator software? I don't see anywhere to adjust the barcode printing preferences within Square. 

@RHatch I can search SKU codes in the search bar just fine--is that what you mean when you say I can check by searching the barcode? 

I really appreciate your help and feedback!!

[RHatch]

I am not using Square Retail, but in Point of Sale if you can scan into the search field your scanner is not setup correctly.  You shouldn't be able to do that.  Retail may be different.  Follow the scanner setup instructions in my previous post and see what happens.

[teamlovely]

Ok, I have confirmed that the scanner is set up correctly. The issue is not the scanner itself, but the barcodes! Goodness, I've been addressing the wrong issue all along. When I create and print a barcode using the Dymo Software, the scanner instantly recognizes it and it shows up within the app. It seems the issue is within the Square Retail barcode generator--the resolution at which our barcodes are being generated in the app is too low for the scanner to recognize. Good grief!

Thank you again for your responses! I'm not sure the solution yet for resolving the printing quality within Square, but I sincerely appreciate your feedback and help as this has given me clarity on the issue at the hand. 

[RHatch]

Have you looked at this help article.  At the bottom is some printer setting information.  Let me know if this helps at all.

[teamlovely]

@RHatch Thanks for the link!!! Unfortunately, I've already adjusted the printer settings as suggested, and the barcodes are still printing fuzzy from Square. The printer and scanner are both great, and the printer does print high quality on its own. It seems the issue is a low quality resolution from Square Retail. Bummer!! I know the Square Retail system is new, so perhaps this will be an issue that is resolved soon. 

[RHatch]

I have flagged this thread.  The Retail team will be looking into this for you.

[LocavoreStore]

You need to be able to access the advanced settings of the Dymo, and change it from 300x300 dpi to 300x600 dpi... Like this.

Also... In the Print features, change the Quality to Barcodes and Graphics... I've noticed that without these settings, barcodes will print unreliably (too fuzzy to scan)... Especially for smaller label sizes. Again, I don't know what it is like to access your printer preferences from an iPad. All I know about are the driver settings in a full OS environment... You might not have access to those parts of the driver from an iPad. If you can set it to that higher resolution (300x600) you will notice that the printer prints really slow now, but the print will be very crisp even when it's a really small label. 

I print all of my labels from Illustrator & Photoshop... It would be really handy to print them from Square, but I just don't trust that it would have its full range of capabilities as when printing from a traditional desktop environment. I find that I have to regularly tweak the margins or the graphic elements of a barcode, so I need to have a little more control. Also, we use a lot of .5"x.5" labels (which is a size not currently supported by Square for Retail). I use the Dymo Twin Turbo, so I can have 2 label sizes ready to print at all times. It's hooked up to a wireless print server so I do not have to plug into the printer, and I can use whatever computer I want/is nearby.

I generate all of our own EAN 13 barcodes in Excel. And w/ the right barcode font, I can print them from any program on my desktop.

If you need to print lots of barcodes, I would shy away from doing it within Square, and use a computer instead. Before I figured out how to generate EAN13 barcodes myself, I used Barcode Producer. It's a bit pricey, but it's intuitive and really easy to use... 

[teamlovely]

Thank you for all the helpful information @RHatch!! This is our first go using / generating barcodes for our inventory, and we were really excited about this feature in Square Retail. Unfortunately, as I've now discovered, the quality truly is not great and I will be using the Dymo software to generate and print my barcodes this week during our inventory update. I tested the Dymo software printed barcode with our Bluetooth scanner and it works great! I really hope the Square Retail team will work on updating this issue, as it is cumbersome to move between Square and the Dymo printing. Really really appreciate all your help, @RHatch! 

[Brad]

 @teamlovely can I get a photo of your barcodes and a screenshot of your printer settings? This will help us to debug the issue. Thanks for the feedback; it makes it a lot easier for us to improve the product.

[teamlovely]

@Brad Here is a photo of different barcodes generated from Dymo software and from Square

Here is a closer side-by-side comparison of the barcodes-- the top is generated from Square and the bottom from Dymo software:

Finally, here are my printer settings for printing from Square using Dymo LabelWriter 450 Turbo:

[RHatch]

In your print dialog box click on layout and select Printer Features.  Might try 300X600 dpi or adjust your print density.  If you haven't already.

[Brad · Accepted solution]

Thanks @RHatch, I believe that is correct.

@teamlovely, see this screenshot for the Printer Features settings:

Here are two labels I printed. The one on the bottom has the default 300dpi, the one on the top has the 300x600dpi setting.

[RHatch]

And did it scan at 300X600

[Brad]

My barcode scanner was able to scan both barcodes, so it will depend on the hardware you are using.

[teamlovely]

@Brad That helped so much! Thank you!! The alignment seems off a bit when I print with these settings, but the label contains all the info I need AND it can be scanned! Thank you!

[Jakits]

At least I know I'm not the only one with this issue.  Guess I need to see if I can find a barcode generating software that will work with square because I need a fix before the 5th and I don't think that is going to happen.

[teamlovely]

@Jakits --You are certainly not alone! We were closed at our retail space last week to update our inventory with barcodes, but due to this issue, we were required to quickly figure out plan B. We ended up using the software provided with the Dymo printer. As long as you attach as SKU code to the barcode, it will scan in Square. It definitely works, but its rather cumbersome and not at all efficient like we had hoped when we subscribed to Square Retail. I hope this helps!

[stitched2]

We use  the Dymo printer with laptop to print barcodes.  No problem.  Have the same problem with the Socket scanners and have returned to our Symbol LS2208 barcode scanners with much more success.  They can connect via bluetooth or USB.  Currently have 3 of them on 3 differente registers.  Works well.