Troubleshooting Quality Issues with Shipping Labels

The steps below will help you fix the various issues you may find when attempting to print a carrier shipping label when using Buy Shipping services. These are general guidelines, and you may need to consult the user manual for your printer to complete some of the steps listed below:

1. Ensure you have selected the correct label format and print orientation on the buy shipping function on Seller Central. The label format will be either ZPL, PNG, or PDF depending on the kind of printer you use and the carrier chosen.
2. Poor label quality can be improved by:
   • Reducing the print speed
   • Cleaning the printer head
   • Adjusting the printer heat
3. If your barcode appears to be “wavy”, you must set your printer dithering settings to none.

   To do so, follow these steps: Devices and Printers > Right Click on the Printer > Printer Preferences> Graphics.

4. If your label is too small:
   • Go to Devices and Printers > Right Click on the Printer > Printer Preferences> Page Setup.
   • Stock Name: User > For 4 x 4 labels the setting are width 105mm & Height 102mm. Then click OK > Apply > OK.
5. If you are printing in the wrong format:

   If you are using a thermal label printer and shipping labels, you must print labels in ZPL format. Printers such as TSC, Zebra and Citizen support this.

6. Your label does not have the correct dimensions:

   Quiet Zones too small:

   • Ensure labels are minimum 101.5mm (full 4 inches) wide.
   • Label paper/ printer adjustments:

     1) Ensure the spool is set straight.

     2) Label positioned too far left inside printer Reset printer settings to default. To do so, follow these steps: Open the Utility > Navigate to Tools > Actions > Load Factory Defaults.

     3) Check left position adjustment. To do so, follow these steps: Go to Device Printers > Printer Preferences > Adjustment Left Position (a negative number moves the layout to the right)

     If your barcode is too small, it is likely that you are printing in PNG on a thermal printer

7. If Amazon Print Connect does not work:
   • Uninstall and reinstall
   • Check you are using compatible operating systems and web browsers (detail found on the Amazon Print Connect help page)
   • Go through the troubleshoot steps here.
     Note: When changing printing emulations/formats to ZPL, on some printers this will download a new driver (e.g. Citizen CLS-521Z for ZPL). Please ensure this driver/printer is selected as the default on Amazon Print Connect.