How label printing works
When you press Print labels, Material builds your labels as a document sized to the label you chose and hands it to your computer's print window. Your computer, the printer's driver, and the paper size you pick in that window do the rest. This is the same way you print anything else from a web browser, which is why it works with DYMO printers, Zebra printers, and Avery label sheets alike.
Fastest fix for most problems: print from Google Chrome, and in the Chrome print window choose the paper size that matches the label roll in your printer. Details are under "Two settings that must agree" below.
What you need
- A label printer connected by USB to a Mac or Windows laptop or desktop. Label printing runs from your web browser, so it does not work from the iPad app or a phone. We do not recommend Chromebooks.
- Google Chrome. Safari and other browsers often scale or shift the label so text gets cut off.
- The printer maker's driver installed on that computer. Each guide below tells you where to get it.
- Labels in one of the sizes Material supports. Each guide lists them.
Printers we support
- DYMO LabelWriter 450 and 550 series. See Setting Up and Troubleshooting DYMO Label Printers.
- Zebra ZD410 and ZD411. See Setting Up and Troubleshooting Zebra Label Printers.
- Avery 5160 and 5167 sheets on any regular office printer. Pick the Avery template under Printer and label type, choose Letter as the paper size, and use Starting position to begin on a partly used sheet.
Other brands, such as Brother, may work because Material sends an ordinary print job. If the printer's driver offers a paper size that matches one of our label templates, give it a try. We have not tested them and cannot promise results.
Two settings that must agree
There are two places that choose the label size, and they have to match. Neither one has a save button.
- In Material, on the Print labels page, choose your label under Printer and label type. Material remembers your choice the next time you print.
- In the print window, after you press Print labels, click More settings, open Paper size, and choose the size that matches your roll. Chrome remembers this choice for the printer too.
If you have a Zebra printer, step 2 does not apply. Material's Zebra setup puts the label size in the printer instead, and the print window's destination does the choosing. Setting Up and Troubleshooting Zebra Label Printers walks through it.
The yellow notice on the Print labels page, "Ensure your paper size setting matches the label size you're printing", is a reminder that shows every time. It is not an error. For Zebra label types the notice reads differently: it reminds you to run the Printer setup instructions for that label type.
Quick checklist
- The printer is on and the USB cable is plugged into the computer.
- The label roll is loaded the way the printer's guide shows, with the guides snug against the labels.
- You are in Google Chrome.
- Every product on the Print labels page has a quantity greater than 0.
- The template under Printer and label type matches the roll in the printer.
- For DYMO and Avery, the paper size in the Chrome print window matches that same roll. For Zebra on a Mac, the destination is the printer named after your label size. Either way, Scale is Default (100%).
If all six are true and it still does not print, find your symptom below.
The button says "Print 0 labels" or nothing happens when I press print
Material only prints what you ask for. Each product row on the Print labels page has a Quantity box.
- Type a quantity next to each product, or use Set all to 1 or Quantity on hand above the list.
- The button changes to "Print 1 label", "Print 12 labels", and so on. Press it.
When you open Print labels from a purchase order, the quantity defaults to the number you received. From inventory it defaults to the quantity on hand for each variant.
The label prints, but part of it is cut off or sits against one edge
The label design is fine. The print window is fitting the label to the wrong paper.
- Make sure you are printing from Google Chrome, not Safari.
- In the Chrome print window, click More settings and check that Paper size matches your roll.
- Set Scale to Default (100%). Do not use "Fit to printable area".
- Open the printer and confirm the roll cannot wander from side to side. A loose roll prints off-center.
If the whole label is shifted the same amount every time, your printer has a position setting that fixes it. See the DYMO or Zebra guide.
The printer prints across two labels or skips labels
- Check that the paper size in the print window matches the roll. A larger paper size tells the printer to feed farther than one label.
- Check that the template under Printer and label type matches the roll.
- Run the printer's calibration so it learns where one label ends and the next begins. Both guides show how.
The printer acts like it printed, but the label is blank
- The roll is in upside down. Direct thermal labels only print on one side. Turn the roll over and reload.
- The Chrome print window is set to Save as PDF or a different printer. Change the destination to your label printer.
- You are using labels the printer does not accept. The DYMO 550 only prints on DYMO-branded labels.
The printer does not appear in the print window
- Install the printer maker's driver, restart the computer, then add the printer. On a Mac go to System Settings > Printers & Scanners and click Add Printer. On Windows go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners and click Add device.
- If it is listed but nothing prints, open the printer's queue in those same settings and press Resume if it says Paused. Clear any stuck jobs and print again.
- Newer MacBooks only have USB-C ports. The printer's cable is USB-A, so you need a USB-A to USB-C adapter.
Text or barcodes are faint, blurry, or will not scan
- Clean the print head with the printer's cleaning card or a cotton swab lightly dampened with rubbing alcohol.
- Try a fresh roll. Old or sun-exposed thermal labels print faint.
- Confirm Scale is Default (100%) in the print window. Scaled barcodes scan poorly.
- If bars look bold and bleed together, lower the print darkness in the printer driver. The guides show where.
Still stuck?
Reach out to us through the Help Center chat and include two things so we can fix it fast:
- A photo of a printed label held up next to the on-screen preview.
- A screenshot of the Chrome print window with More settings expanded so we can see the paper size and scale.
Help for your printer brand
For help with your specific brand of printer, check these articles for more specific information: