Troubleshooting: Labels Are Misaligned
Labels drifting out of their cells is almost always one of four causes. Work through this page top to bottom — each fix links to the relevant guide.
Quick diagnosis
Section titled “Quick diagnosis”| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Everything shifted by the same amount | Print scale not 100% | Fix 1 |
| Whole sheet shifted up/down/left/right | Printer margins / wrong tray | Fix 3 |
| Drift accumulates down the sheet (grows) | Wrong sheet preset (pitch differs) | Fix 2 |
| First labels fine, later ones overlap used cells | Partial sheet start position wrong | Fix 4 |
| Barcode scans but looks “soft” | Driver scaling / resolution | Fix 3 |
| Barcode won’t scan at all | Invalid barcode value | Barcode issues |
Start with a calibration sheet — it prints numbered cell borders on plain paper and shows you exactly where the app thinks the labels are, without wasting label stock.
Fix 1: Print at Actual size
Section titled “Fix 1: Print at Actual size”The single most common cause. Browsers default some print dialogs to “Fit to page” or “Shrink oversized pages”, which rescales the entire PDF.
- In the print dialog, set Scale → Actual size (Chrome/Edge: “Default”; Safari: untick “Scale to fit”; Firefox: 100%).
- Set margins to None or Default — never “Custom” with added margin.
- Turn off headers and footers.
- Print a calibration sheet to confirm before using real labels.
Fix 2: Match the sheet preset exactly
Section titled “Fix 2: Match the sheet preset exactly”A preset that’s close isn’t enough — a few tenths of a millimeter per label accumulates into full-label drift by row 10.
- Check your label packaging for the exact product code (e.g. Avery 5160, not “30-up letter”).
- Compare against the sheet preset table — the page size (Letter vs A4), label size, and count per sheet must all match.
- Set the template’s sheet size to the matching preset and re-print.
Fix 3: Check the printer
Section titled “Fix 3: Check the printer”The same label sheet prints differently on different printers — the app can’t know your printer’s feed margins.
- Use the same tray/path you’ll use for the real labels (manual feed and tray 1 often differ).
- In the printer driver settings, make sure scaling is off and the paper size matches the sheet (Letter vs A4).
- Try another browser if the dialog options look different — Chrome’s print pipeline is the most predictable.
Fix 4: Check the start position
Section titled “Fix 4: Check the start position”Printing a partially used sheet but selected the wrong first empty cell? Labels land on the peeled cells. Re-open the job, tap the correct first unused cell, and print again — the app remembers the position per sheet type, so double-check it if you switched between 30-up and 80-up sheets.
Barcode won’t scan
Section titled “Barcode won’t scan”Alignment is fine but the barcode itself fails:
- “Checksum failed” badge on the job — the variant’s barcode value is invalid for its format. The label still prints, but as SKU text instead of a barcode. Fix the barcode on the variant in Shopify and print again.
- “No barcode — prints SKU text” badge — the variant has no barcode at all. Add one in Shopify, or design the template around the SKU.
- Too small: very dense barcodes on tiny labels (Avery 5167) can be hard for scanners — try a bigger barcode height or a larger sheet preset.
Still stuck?
Section titled “Still stuck?”Use Contact us in the app and include: printer model, label brand/product code, a photo of a printed calibration sheet, and the browser you print from. That’s usually enough for us to pinpoint it.