Shipping Labels Print Improperly

[trailsniffer]

Printing on a Dell Laser using Windows 7.

The EBAY label looks fine in the preview.

Printing on common multipurpose paper the label is fine, dark and as seen in the preview.

Here's where the oddity starts; Printing or reprinting on sticky back shipping labels or heavy laser paper and the printout is light and the writing is oddly spaced with some characters jammed together like a proportional spacing gone wrong. It really not reliably usable like that.

I am printing from the original EBAY page and not downloading the file.

Why would the paper make a difference.

[richard1rst]

It shouldn't. I use Avery type 1/2 sheet peel and stick labels and everything prints just fine.

MAYBE it is because you are still on Windows 7? Yes. I know that shouldn't make a difference either. But what else could it be?

[trailsniffer]

When I used the USPS click and ship it was fine; it's just EBAY and PayPal so I have to think it's their messing around with the files.

[berserkerplanet]

it wouldn't. (and Win 7 has nothing to do with it either)

What happens when you try to print something else (small text file, a saved PDF label if you have one) to a label or heavy laser paper? (trying to determine if some characteristic of the eBay label content or if it's the printer drivers whacking out)

edit: we cross posted and you say USPS label printed fine. So something about the eBay/PayPal (Pitney Bowes) labels.

Try saving one to PDF and see if it prints ok.

[trailsniffer]

I haven't tried to save a label as pdf but will try. I'm not sure if EBAY will allow me back to the label; a cursory attempt seemed to restart the process and it appeared they wanted to be paid again so I bailed out. If I can't get back to the same label it may be a while before I need another label. I should add that the same type disfigurement happened with a PayPal label about a month ago but I let it go.

[trailsniffer]

I  will answer that I have not gotten any odd print results in any other applications, including multiple MS Office programs, several Engineering programs, cadd and even one very very old DOS program. Also cadd files saved as pdf and outside engineering pdf drawings.

[berserkerplanet]

Yeah, you can't get a new label without paying for a new one, but you have 24 hours to do a "reprint label" on the one in question.

How you would do that with your setup I do not know.

For over a decade, I have had no PDF plugins in any of my browsers, and have disabled any browser internal PDF rendering in the newer browsers, such that any PDF content a website presents is downloaded not displayed.

I also have a couple of PDF print drivers installed, the main one being PDFCreator. PDFCreator object is set as my default printer in my browsers (even though system default is laser printer, the browser printers are locked to PDFCreator via browser about:config print.save_print_settings setting set to false to ignore changes to printers). Firefox 2.0.20, FF3.6.24 and FF31 under WinXP.

When I hit the print label button on something like an eBay or PayPal label, it prints to the PDFCreator virtual printer object as a PDF file.

[*smedley*]

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@trailsniffer wrote:

Why would the paper make a difference.

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sounds like your printer is not designed to print on thicker than standard paper... check your manual...

[trailsniffer]

Smedley,

I think I wrote that the USPS app works fine. I guess I omitted that it works fine on the same labels and heavyweight paper. It's a business class printer.

[trailsniffer]

Thanks bers.

I have a couple pdf programs too, one a business paid for item,  but I've always just shot to printer in these circumstances.

I'll have to see if the label is available somewhere. It hasn't bee 24 hours.

[trailsniffer]

OK. Downloaded and opened in Nitro Pro and then PDF X-Change Editor and both print fine.

Also when first shown on the screen from EBAY there is a button to Open in a Different Viewer. Using this and going to NitroPro printing is fine.

So it would seem that whatever the driving program is that first shows the label from EBAY after it's purchased and going to print (without downloading) is the culpret. I don't know if that's an EBAY viewer or a Windows viewer; There is no notification what is being used.

I can't test further as the EBAY reprint limit is apparently 5 because I was given the message that "EBAY can not allow more than 5.......". I laughed at the work "allow" when I'm trying to sort out their apparent issue.

[berserkerplanet]

This is getting into user @rfmtm territory (he's the expert), but many browsers (Firefox for sure) have built in PDF renderers that don't do well with the labels. rfmtm always recommends making sure Adobe (ack, ptooey) is set as the default in the browser (and not the browser built in) to work well with label printing on thermal printers, and it looks like same applies here.

I'm pretty sure Win 7 has no native PDF capability.

You can probably set Nitro (or Foxit, or other plugin) as the default to avoid these issues.

And yes, the reprint limit is 5 (and "allow" 5 is stupid - when having print troubles a lot of testing is sometimes needed)

[trailsniffer]

Yes, using Firefox.

Solved enough for me. Now just to remember always download.

[rfmtm]

You problem is Firefox is using its built in reader.  When you download, and then later open the file to print externally you avoid this.  You just need to change the setting in Firefox.

Go to Tools>Options, and scroll down to Applications.

Here look for Portable Document Format (PDF) and in the drop down menu to the right, change the setting to (preferably) Adobe.

Other readers may work, but Adobe is always best, especially for thermal printers.

If still a problem, post a screen shot of the entire label preview page.

[trailsniffer]

That makes sense; Done and done.