When using a printer driver on Windows you can access custom printer settings by hovering over the "Info" icon. Clicking "Custom Settings" will open the printer driver's corresponding properties window. 

Each printer driver is responsible for this window – It's not a part of Label LIVE.

Custom printer settings are saved inside the Label LIVE design file (lsc). Therefore, you can maintain different settings for each label design. If these settings cause issues, you can remove them.

How do I change a printer's driver settings in Windows?

Every once in a while a label will find its way stuck to something it shouldn't be. It could be your shoe, the floor, a cat or the inside of your printer.

When a label gets stuck inside the printer it can "clog" the print head. The print head is the hot part of the label printer, and if it's covered it will not transfer enough heat to "print" your labels.

Here's an example of a blank label. Quite ordinary... except, it 

 have something printed on it. What's going on?

It's sometimes handy to print a test label that will have better luck showing a pattern across the label. It can be anything, but try to exercise the full print width of the label with some kind of pattern that let's you locate the issue. Here we use circles across the 4" width of the printer.

Oh... very interesting! It's just part of the print that's missing. This tells us that something is blocking the print head from heating this area of the label.

Open the printer and check the print head. Here's a 

That blue tape is definitely not supposed to be there.

Here's a more detailed photo showing the problem area.

The solution is to remove the plastic tape, taking care to not scuff the print head underneath. 

Find yourself some rubbing alcohol and clean the print head every few weeks. This will keep your thermal printer happy.

How do I fix vertical bars or blank labels?

If your default printer is missing or changes, you can easily set a new one.

Click a new printer and click the star icon.

If your printer is not showing up, please see our troubleshooting guide.

How do I change the default printer?

With Label LIVE it's easy to verify the label design output as a PDF. This gives you the exact rectangle of black/white (or color) dots being sent to the printer.

On any design document click the Print tab, and click the Printer menu. Select 

Choose the DPI. This setting should match your printer specifications as close as possible.

If you are using a thermal printer leave this unchecked. Inkjet and laser printers can benefit from full-color output. Full-color can be faster if sending to a printer driver.

To print just click the blue button. The print files will be generated and, if applicable, opened up using the default PDF reader program on your computer.

Once the PDF is opened you can inspect it for issues. Is the PDF appropriately sized? Does the size match your label dimensions? Does it print correctly using the system printer driver? If not, you might want to check out this FAQ:

If there are any issues with printing this "perfect" PDF, you can confidently contact the printer manufacturer's support to ask them exactly how to fix the issue you're seeing.

The basic idea is that if you have a PDF in hand, you should be able to print to their driver. Label LIVE is effectively removed from the situation.

If you need to create output label files (images or PDFs) with variable names you can click the yellow SAVE + button.

In the case where you need PDFs of single labels, customize your sheet to be the same dimensions as your label and remove all margins (set to zero). This will create a "1 label page."

How do I generate a PDF using Print Preview?

difference between USB Thermal Printers and System Printers

, you know that there are two different ways Label LIVE can print.

This question is for users using a system printer driver.

Label LIVE offers a "Custom Settings" button on Windows. 

These settings are saved per design document (lsc). If you change printers you will need to repeat this process for the new printer.

If all label designs use the same label size, you can change the default within the printer driver itself in Windows Settings.

Some printers require checking "Compatibility Mode"  on the Print tab.

If your label orientation is rotated (points to the right on the Label tab), try swapping the page width/height in the printer settings.

Here's an example of a rotated label orientation.

Printing this 3x1.5" design produces a PDF that is 1.5" wide and 3" high.

The solution is to set the printer settings width and height to match.

Yes... Every Windows driver seems to be different. 

If Custom Settings didn't work for you, please see our other article on printing 

In System Preferences (or Settings) choose Printers and Scanners. Select your printer and choose the Default paper size.

Check out our other answers on skipping labels and printer calibration.

Why is my label printing too small or too large?

Sometimes you might notice your printer skips a label, causing blanks to be ejected without anything printing. Here are the top ways to fix skipping labels:

Every thermal label printer has an internal sensor to align the start of each label. If the printer thinks that a large label is installed but now you're printing on smaller labels, it may still eject the same amount of label material. This causes blanks to be ejected. Frustrating!

 for details on how to calibrate your printer.

If you are telling the printer to print on a label that is just a bit too large, you may find the printer ejects an extra label. It does this because it sensed it tried to print on a 2nd label, so it's ejecting it out of concern that it was "used."

To fix this "edge case," try shortening the label size by a small amount like 2-3mm (1/8").

Are you sure your label design is 2x3" and not 3x2"? If your label is coming out sideways, it might just need a rotation. You can change the orientation on the Label tab.

Hint: The arrow on the Label/Print tabs is the direction the label ejects from the printer.

The Label tab sometimes features a checkbox for Continuous media. Only check this box if you are printing the equivalent of non-perforated ribbon that requires you to tear (or your printer to cut) the resulting label.

Hint: If your labels print and are individually removable you should leave 

If you're using the System Printer Driver you should double-check the driver's default paper size. Check out the following FAQ for details.

Why is my printer skipping labels?

Label LIVE has the ability of recognizing and communicating with popular label printers without installing a driver.

This makes it easy to simply install Label LIVE, plug in your printer, and print labels. No fuss.

If you've already installed your printer's driver, you will notice that your printer might be listed twice.

On the Label LIVE Home screen (and on the Print tab) you may see your printer listed twice. You have the option of "USB Thermal Printer" and "System Printer."

If you see your printer listed under "USB Thermal Printer" it means Label LIVE can print without any other software. You will see specific thermal printer settings on the Print tab such as Darkness, Speed, Cutter Options, and Direct Thermal vs. Thermal Transfer modes. Other options such as calibration and factory reset may also be available.

In fact, if you exclusively use Label LIVE to print (no other apps), you can ignore installing drivers for your printer. You're basically done – ready to print.

We recommend USB Thermal Printer if it's available. 

If you see your printer listed under "System Printer" it means Label LIVE can generate a PDF and send this to the printer using the driver.

This is great for inkjet, laser, and color label printers. Label LIVE can work with almost any printer if the driver is installed.

You can tell Label LIVE to not check for printers from certain sources. In Label LIVE Settings, you can enable/disable the following:

If you know that you will always use Label LIVE's USB Thermal Printers, then you can safely disable the unused options. 

What is the difference between USB Thermal Printer and System Printer?

Printing a faded label can be frustrating. Everything was working great the last time you used the printer.

There are three main reasons for a faded print.

Check that the heat or darkness is set to a high enough temperature. Too low a temp can create a faded print. This is especially important for thermal transfer printers, because the ribbon needs enough heat to melt onto the label.

If your thermal transfer printer uses a ribbon to print, you'll want to double-check a few things.

If you have more than one label printer at your location, you might have accidentally swapped power supplies. Some printers will still power-on with the wrong power supply, but it will have trouble reaching full power for your label. Most printers will have the DC power requirements printed on the bottom. Make sure these match the power supply DC output.

Why is my label printing faded?

Is your printer printing extra labels? Is your text mis-aligned? Your printer may need to be calibrated.

It might seem obvious to us humans, but label printers are simple robots. We can easily see where a label starts and stops... but a printer needs a few helpful hints. 

When a printer "knows" the length of the label we can say that the printer is "calibrated." You can easily test this with most printers by pressing the button on the top of the printer.

Does the printer eject exactly one label when you press the button? If not, you need to calibrate.

Most label printers print from a roll and since labels come in different shapes and sizes, the printer needs a way to reliably detect how long each label should be. Inside the printer are sensors. Thermal label printers have at least one kind of label sensor.

 Detects the gap between two labels by sensing the different transparency of label backing vs. the label material. This works for standard die-cut labels.

 Detects a color change on the back of a tag. This works for tags where there isn't a material change between two perforated tags. 

The black-line sensor also works to detect holes in the label where the backing "changes color" based on the absence of the material (hole). We assume the inside of your printer is dark... 

If you are using a thermal label printer supported by Label LIVE then you can often run a calibration from the Print tab. Make sure the "USB Thermal Printer" version of your printer is selected, and then scroll to the bottom. Click Commands and click Calibrate. You may choose between available sensor options or "Automatic."

Automatic label sensing works "most of the time." Shaped labels like barbells (above) can confuse calibration because you could technically use "gap" sensing if you moved the gap sensor to the edge of the label – where the barbell is the thickest. Not all label printers have movable sensors - so you're best to experiment. You can almost always rewind labels that failed to calibrate.

Most printers allow you to trigger a calibration from a combination of button presses on the printer.

 by holding down the top button until you hear a beep, then let go. There are special instructions to 

Hold down the top button until you hear a beep, then let go.

ZEBRA printers can be calibrated by holding down the top button until the light flashes once, then twice, then let go. 

Other models such as TSC, GoDEX, SATO, etc. may require you to power-off and hold the button during power-on for a certain period of time, or until a light changes color... Some printer models have dedicated calibration buttons.

It is always best to search the Internet for your exact model's instruction manual.  You will find a lot of different  functions using these otherwise hidden techniques.

How do I calibrate my printer?

Some printer drivers behave strangely with transparent PDFs. For these PDFs, the printout will be solid black.

To work around this issue, Label LIVE has the ability to add a solid color background to each label.

Select the Print tab and then ensure "Full Color" and "Background" are both checked.

Why does my label print all black?

Often your spreadsheet will include a column with a quantity of items received. This number might be exactly the number of labels you need to print. How do you setup Label LIVE to print the number of copies from this column?

 is a button. Click it and choose the spreadsheet column that represents the number of copies you need to print.

The column can be named anything. It doesn't need to be 

How can I print the number of copies from an excel spreadsheet?

How to Print Labels From an Excel Spreadsheet

How do I print a barcode using a spreadsheet?

If your Label LIVE app stopped responding there could be something wrong with the printer.

If the freeze happens only when opening certain design documents you should check your spreadsheet for a huge number of rows or columns. Someone may have unintentionally added columns out to ZZZ, or a few hundred thousand rows. Oops!

If the freeze happens when you print, even with Print Preview, check the number of copies. Did you select a variable for the number of copies? If the variable is a serial number (e.g. 123456789123456789)

... that's a lot of copies! Poor Label LIVE! 😅

The exe used to install Label LIVE will automatically launch the app when finished. If you reinstall and try launching Label LIVE before the installer finishes, the installer may abort and the Label LIVE installation may not open properly. To fix, run the installer one more time and let it completely finish.

In 2021, Microsoft released a security patch to fix a "printer nightmare" security vulnerability. This update caused issues with some Zebra printer drivers. It might be worthwhile to temporarily roll back that update if you're having problems printing.

On rare occasions, antivirus software has flagged parts of the Label LIVE app as suspicious. When this happens, we submit requests to the antivirus vendor to whitelist Label LIVE. If this happens, you must manually whitelist Label LIVE, or temporarily disable real-time scanning during the Label LIVE installation process.

Other times, rebooting your computer may fix the issue. Try rebooting without the printer attached or powered on. Launch Label LIVE and then turn on and plugin your printer.

 with details of what you've tried and we will help you out.

How do I fix an app or printer that is not responding?

There are a number of ways to create serial numbers in Label LIVE. Here are three examples. You will need to choose the best one for your needs.

. This will print a simple 1 of X copies. You’ll need to setup the # of copies on the Print tab.

. This will increment a number every time you print. You will need to manually enter in the total.

Import a spreadsheet with a column named 

 and rows containing 1, 2, 3, etc. Then, use this variable in your design.

There are lots of ways to manage sequential serialization. Here's a more in-depth guide:

 if you aren't sure how to achieve your serializing goals.

How do you create a sequence of serial numbers?

Label LIVE supports networked printers that are available as system printers (with drivers). Other label printers without system drivers are supported when plugged directly into the computer’s USB port.

Can I print to a network attached label printer?

Yes, starting with version 1.8 you may design and print full-color labels to inkjet and laser printers.

Label LIVE also works with thermal label printers using built-in drivers. These types of printers use rolls of labels instead of sheets of paper.

Can I use my inkjet or laser printer?

Drivers are not required when Label LIVE is used with supported printers. See all the printers Label LIVE works with 

Do I need to install label printer drivers?

: USB Thermal Printers (built-in support) and System Printers (support provided by manufacturer driver).

These printers print a single color (black) to 

 to directly connect to the printer. You don't need to install printer drivers.

What if my thermal printer isn't supported?

, but it's from a manufacturer that we do support, chances are it will work OK. Printers from the same manufacturer are often perfectly compatible with each other. We invite you to plug it in and 

. Let us know if it works and we'll add the printer to our list. If it doesn't work, we will 

Finally, as a last resort you can try installing the manufacturer driver and use the printer as a system printer (see below). 

These desktop inkjet or laser printers print to sheets of paper, may support color, and will require a manufacturer driver. If you can print a PDF to your existing printer then you can print using Label LIVE. Just select the printer in the drop-down list.

Note: You can also install drivers for thermal printers, but beware that by default, Label LIVE may constantly poll the printer via USB. This can cause issues like app freezes. To remedy, consider turning off "USB Thermal Printer" support in Label LIVE settings. 

Label LIVE supports AirPrint compatible printers. These can be both black and white (e.g. ROLLO Wireless) and color (e.g. HP Color LaserJet). 

If you have a networked label printer setup with a driver, then Label LIVE will list it as a regular System Printer (above). Label LIVE will generate PDFs and submit them to the print queue. The printer driver is responsible for connecting to the label printer. Networked label printers can be challenging (i.e. super frustrating) because of the high variability between operating systems and drivers.

Will my printer work with Label LIVE?

After 14 days, you can choose between a one-time license or an inexpensive monthly label software subscription that you can cancel at any time. Try it out and see how easy label printing can be.

14 Day Free Trial

No risk, no credit card—design labels today

It's easy to learn our software so you can get the job done. Label LIVE has just 4 menus—each with a specific purpose. We've simplified label printing.

Fun and Easy to Learn

Like cooking in your own kitchen—everything has a place

Fun and easy to learn

Label LIVE is the only label printing software that works out of the box on both Windows and Mac. Print labels with flexibility and ease, no matter your operating system or printer model.

Works on Windows and Mac

Finally, effortless labels in both worlds

We are available every day by email and phone. Since we're a small independent shop, you get to talk directly to developers and entrepreneurs who live and breathe label printing.

Dependable Support

Our customers rate our support the best in the industry

Anyone can download and use Label LIVE to print labels. It's easy to use, priced right, always available without Internet, helpfully supported by humans when you need us, and constantly improving based on your feedback.

Trusted Worldwide

The best printing experience starts with the right hardware. Get a mydpi thermal printer, designed for seamless compatibility with Label LIVE - so you can print labels faster, easier, and without restrictions.

Recommended Label Printers

Need a new label printer? Bundle and Save

Bundled with mydpi

It can be a pain to fire up your spreadsheet program to print a set of labels. To work faster, just pop open Label LIVE's built-in spreadsheet editor. Add as many columns and rows as you need.

Built-in Spreadsheet

Edit data and print labels without leaving Label LIVE

Create thousands of label variations based on data from Microsoft Excel, Apple Numbers or plain CSV text files. Use your own serial numbers, prices, descriptions, weights and dates.

Excel and CSV Integration

Turn a spreadsheet into individual labels

Use variables to update text, barcodes, images and even colors across an entire set of unique labels. Label LIVE connects smoothly with your spreadsheets to determine how and where your data gets printed. 

Variables

Data Forms enable operators to get the job done with less error. Each Form is progressively simpler. Choose the level of detail your operators feel the most comfortable using.

Forms

Three different ways to view your data and print labels

When you need a serial number, you can handle it in a few clicks with Label LIVE. Each time a label prints, the number will change by an amount you specify. You can count up or count down.

Serial Number Generation

If your spreadsheet lists time in one format, but your labels need to use another, Label LIVE can translate. Our data tools can even handle adding time onto dates.

Date and Time Support

Calculate and print date and time in the formats you need

Convert effortlessly between weight units and display the weight in a format that makes sense to your customers.

Weight Calculation

Price-computing label machines can be cumbersome to use. Label LIVE makes it easy to set up and maintain beautiful custom label designs that use existing prices for bulk repack.

Price Calculation

Multiply quantity and price-per variables

Round currency, define precision, and format prices with leading or trailing zeros. There's a lot you can do with a spreadsheet and formulas. For everything else, use Label LIVE.

Price Formatting

When data on your label needs to toggle between a few known values, you can add them as a list, making them easily selectable.

Simple Lists

When it's time to print, a simple arrow points in the direction that the label will be come out. Design labels in the orientation that makes sense to you, without waste or confusion.

Size and Orientation

Take the guesswork out of clunky "landscape" and "portrait" modes

Label Size and Orientation

Label LIVE automatically scales text size to fit within your label width, anchors text fields to corners, and deletes blank lines. When you need to incorporate a lot of information into your label, our design tools keep it neat and consistent.

Complex Text

Complex Text Handling

Label LIVE lets you customize your design with squares, circles and lines. Each object has separate fill and outline colors. Outlines can sport custom dash-dot patterns and squares can round their corners for a professional look. Read more in our guide below.

Shapes and Lines

Full control over dashes, dots, thickness and color

Label LIVE handles high-resolution images both large and small. Add any image you want to your design—you can make it work with full-color printers and black-and-white low DPI models alike.

Images

What you see on the label designer screen is what prints on the label

Generate just about any kind of barcode. As you input your data, labels update instantly. All of our supported barcodes integrate seamlessly with your business workflow.

Barcodes

Beautifully boring UPCs to magically mundane QR Codes

Save all of your custom Label LIVE designs to your computer for future printing. Need to make a new label based on an old design? Duplicate a saved design template with a single click, then keep customizing. Read more in our FAQ below.

Saved Label Files

Save and re-use designs on Windows and macOS

Printing Questions

How do I change a printer's driver settings in Windows?

How do I fix white vertical bars or blank labels?