Whenever manufacturers and business owners look for label prints, they want the most trouble-free process and of course, a smooth result that will add to their brand identity.
When you finalize a design for your brand label, you should ensure a seamless printing process for high-volume production. Moreover, if the product is meant to be shipped in high volume, it is best to know how to troubleshoot the various obstacles that may come in the way.
We will discuss how you can troubleshoot label printing issues for high-volume shipping, and you will be able to ensure a smooth process.
Troubleshooting Label Printing
No matter how perfect the process may be, some issues are bound to occur and it is wise to know how to correct them. Here are some troubleshooting tips for you.
a. Ink Smearing / Toner Flaking
When producing labels in bulk, some of the commonest issues that arise are related to ink and toner. You may have experienced ink smears, or toner flaking while printing on an inkjet printer, it may be due to ink quantity.
If the ink smears, it may be because it is not drying completely. When a lot of labels are printed, the fast movement and the quick process may not give enough time for the ink to dry on each label. The high print settings cause over-saturation.
You can try reducing the quality setting by opening the printer dialog box. Select the ‘Properties’ or ‘Preference’ tab and look for the ‘Print/Quality’ tab or ‘Quality/Print Quality’ option.
From here, select a lower dpi or make a quality adjustment. For black ink, selecting ‘Print as Image’ in the print dialog may help.
For laser printers, if toner is flaking off, it may not be bonding correctly due to incorrect material settings. You can easily adjust the material set to a thicker option by opening the printer dialog box and clicking on ‘Advanced Options.’ Select ‘Paper Type.’
The toner flaking issue is due to the thickness, and some paper types are such that the toner does not set properly. You can also change the paper type to see what the results are like.
b. Scaling Issues
If labels are printed to an incorrect size, programs may be still adjusting the design.
You can correct this issue as well by simply selecting the ‘Page Scaling’ to ‘None.’ The settings on the printer can be the only problem in many cases that require a small change.
You can also uncheck ‘Auto-Rotate and Center’ or ‘Resize Page to Fit Printer Margins.’ This will ensure that the scaling issue gets resolved. If options are unavailable, install Adobe Reader and select ‘Print to Page’ or ‘Print Actual Size.’
c. Alignment Problems
If labels are printing in the wrong place, shifting may be currently occurring as sheets feed through the printer. In Maestro Label Designer, use the ‘Alignment Wizard’ in the ‘Print’ menu.
If using another program, measure the misalignment and adjust the margins in ‘Page Setup’ in Microsoft Word or use guides for Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator. Whenever you purchase a new printer, it requires some customized settings to suit your requirements.
Alignment is also adjusted when a new printer is bought. However, if you missed this small detail, you can make changes now.
d. Unwanted Outlines Around Images
In case of unwanted outlines around images, or a smudgy use of ink, you can again set the printer to correct the issue.
Moreover, if black boxes or lines appear on the label, you will need to adjust the settings before the next print.
For this, open ‘Advanced Options’ in the print dialog and check the ‘Print as Image’ box to bypass processing issues. In Adobe Photoshop, flatten the image by selecting ‘Flatten Image’ under the ‘Layers’ menu.
e. Paper Jams
This is the most common issue that printers make and the solution is also quite simple. If labels get stuck in the printer, you can change the material setting to ‘Plain Paper.’
Try the new setting and print a blank sheet of paper to check feed path functionality. If streaks appear on prints, clean the print rollers following manufacturer instructions.
Last Words
Manufacturers who have to print high-volume shipping labels must know how to troubleshoot issues that may occur in the daily processes.
We have discussed some of the most frequently witnessed issues and explained ways to troubleshoot them.
Always remember to keep the printer manual handy so that you can check the precise settings for your printer model.
