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Barcode Labels
What This Is For
Some products arrive with no barcode on them: loose goods, repacked items, unbranded stock, and own-brand lines. Label printing lets you make your own barcode stickers for those items so they scan at the POS terminal.
Products that already came with a working manufacturer barcode do not need this. Enter that barcode as the product code and scan the original.
Label printing is available to managers and admins.
What You Need First
A printer. Labels work with whatever printing you already have set up in Settings, so there is nothing extra to install.
Your products also need codes. A product with an empty code field cannot have a label printed, because there is nothing to turn into a barcode.
Setting Your Label Printer
Go to Products and click Print labels. What you see at the top of the page depends on how your printing is set up.
- A printer list: pick your label printer from the dropdown. It is set separately from your receipt printer, so labels never come out on your receipt roll by mistake. If you plug the sticker printer in after opening the page, click the refresh icon and it will appear.
- A paired Bluetooth or USB printer: your labels go to that printer. Click Pair to choose a different one just for labels, or Change to swap the one you have.
- Browser print dialog: your browser asks which printer to use each time you print.
If Your Label Printer Connects Differently
How to print at the top of the page is set to Same as receipts, which suits most shops. Change it only when your label printer connects in a different way to your receipt printer, for example a Bluetooth receipt printer alongside a sticker printer with its driver installed.
Pick the connection your label printer uses and the page updates to match, so you either get a printer list, a pairing button, or the browser dialog. A short note appears telling you labels are now set up separately from receipts.
If you choose Bluetooth or USB, click Pair and select your sticker printer. This is kept separate from your receipt printer, so pairing here never changes what your receipts print on. To go back, open the options icon next to the button and click Use my receipt printer instead.
If pairing succeeds but nothing prints, your label printer may use a different Bluetooth protocol to your receipt printer. Open the options icon next to the pairing button and check the UUID values against your label printer's documentation.
If You Print Through a Bluetooth or USB Receipt Printer
These printers print text and barcodes only, so your labels come out as small slips on receipt paper with a cut between each one. They still scan at the POS terminal.
On this kind of printer the label size and barcode type options do not apply, and every code prints as a Code 128 barcode. The preview still shows you the label, marked Approximate, because the size and spacing on the slip will differ from the picture. Hover the mark to see exactly what changes.
For proper sticker labels, use a label printer with its driver installed on the terminal.
Printing Labels for Products
- Go to Products and click Print labels.
- Choose what you want to print:
- Category prints labels for every product in that category
- Product prints labels for one product
- All variants prints a label for each variant of a product
- Single variant prints one specific variant
- Leave Barcode type on Auto unless you need a specific one.
- Choose your label size, or leave it on Auto.
- Set Copies per item. Copies apply to each item, so a category with 3 copies gives you 3 labels for every product in it.
- Turn on Show price if you want the price on the sticker.
- Check the preview on the right, then click Print underneath it.
Before printing you will see the total, for example "This will print 240 labels". If the total is over 100 you will be asked to confirm, so a large batch cannot happen by accident.
You can also start from a single item: click the label icon on any row in Products and that product is already selected for you. Inside the Variants window, each variant has its own label icon that opens the page with that exact variant chosen.
What a Label Looks Like
Top to bottom: the product name, the barcode, and the code printed as text underneath so it can be typed in manually if a scan fails.
You can add your shop name using the toggle. It comes from your store profile automatically, so there is nothing to type.
Putting the Price on the Label
Turn on Show price and the selling price is added to each label. It comes from the product, or from the variant when you are printing variants, so every label shows its own price.
Choose where it sits with Position: below the code, under the product name, above the product name, or sideways down the right edge. The preview updates as you change it.
Price is off by default. Once a sticker is printed the price on it is fixed, so if you change a price you will need to reprint those labels.
On a Bluetooth or USB receipt printer, and when your printer draws the labels itself, the price is placed automatically and cannot be turned sideways. The page tells you where it will go.
Printing a One-Off Label
Switch to the Custom code tab to type any code, number, or text and print a label for it. This is useful for temporary items or things that are not in your catalogue yet.
A code you type yourself has no product behind it, so there is no price to look up. Turn on Show price and type the amount you want printed. Your currency symbol is shown inside the box.
If what you type does not match a product, you will see a note. You can still print it.
Label Size
Auto is the default and uses whatever size your printer is set up for. This works for most people.
On Auto, the size shown is nominal rather than exact, because the system cannot read what label stock is loaded in your printer. Pick a specific size from the list if you want the preview to match exactly.
Warnings You Might See
- "This code is too long for this label size": the barcode will not fit clearly and scans will be unreliable. Use a shorter product code or larger labels. You can still print it to test.
- "Close to the smallest readable size": it will probably work, but print one and scan it before running a big batch.
- "Codes need at least 4 characters to scan": barcode scanners ignore anything shorter. The label will print, but it will not scan at the POS terminal. Give the product a longer code.
- "12 products skipped, no code set": those products have no code set. Click the notice to see which ones, then add codes to them in Products.
- "Text is printed smaller than usual" or "The product name is shortened": the label size cannot hold everything at normal size. Only the text is made smaller, never the barcode, so the label still scans. Use a taller label size if you want the full name.
- "This is your receipt printer": you have picked the same printer for labels and receipts. Some small printers do both, so this is allowed, but check it is what you meant.
- "Could not reach the printer": plug the printer in and click refresh.
After Your First Print
Scan the label you just printed at the POS screen and check it selects the right product. Doing this once at the start catches size and print quality problems before you have printed a few hundred stickers.
FAQ
Q: Do I need to print labels for everything?
A: No, and you should not. Products that already came with a manufacturer barcode should keep it. Label printing is for loose goods, repacked items, unbranded stock, and anything that arrived with no barcode on it.
Q: Will this work with my sticker printer?
A: Almost certainly. Labels print through your printer's normal driver, the same way any other program prints, so any label printer with a working driver will work. This includes Zebra, TSC, Godex, Xprinter, Brother, DYMO, and generic units.
Q: Can I print labels on my Bluetooth or USB receipt printer?
A: Yes. They come out as small slips on receipt paper rather than stickers, with a cut between each one, and they scan exactly the same way.
Q: Do I need to know what type of barcode to choose?
A: No. The default works with every barcode scanner and handles letters, numbers, and symbols. If your code happens to be a standard 13 or 12 digit retail barcode number, the system spots that on its own.
Q: Can I print QR codes?
A: Yes, but only choose this if you know your scanner can read them. Most inexpensive barcode scanners use a laser and can only read normal barcodes. QR needs a camera-based scanner.
Q: Should I put the price on the label?
A: Only if your shop needs it, for example open shelves with no shelf-edge tickets. POS sales always uses the current price, so a printed price is for the customer to read. Leave it off if your prices change often, otherwise you will be reprinting stickers.
Q: Why can my cashier not print labels?
A: Label printing is a manager and admin function. If your cashier needs it, they can be given a manager account.
Q: Can I undo a print?
A: No. Once labels are printed they are on paper. This is why the total is shown before printing and why large batches ask for confirmation.
Q: Why did some products get skipped?
A: They have no code set. A barcode is a picture of a code, so with no code there is nothing to print. Add codes to those products in Products and try again.
Q: Why does my code need 4 characters?
A: Barcode scanners send their reading very quickly, which is how the system knows a scan happened rather than someone typing. Very short codes cannot be told apart from normal typing, so they are ignored.
Q: Will labels print on my receipt printer by accident?
A: No. The label printer is set separately from the receipt printer, so the two never get mixed up. If you do pick the same printer for both, you will get a warning first.
Q: My label printer connects differently to my receipt printer. Can I still use it?
A: Yes. Change How to print at the top of the label page to the connection your label printer uses. The two are then set up separately and neither affects the other.
Q: My printer is not in the list.
A: Plug it in, make sure its driver is installed, and click the refresh icon next to the printer name.
Q: Can I print QR codes on a Bluetooth or USB receipt printer?
A: No. That kind of connection prints normal barcodes only. Use a label printer with its driver installed if you need QR.