Printer setup
We've built FileLabelPro to work with virtually every printer. But printers can be set up in an enormous number of ways, and three settings decide whether your labels land inside their die-cut. This takes about two minutes, and you only need to do it once per printer.
If you only read one thing: set your print scale to Actual Size or 100%. It is the single most common reason a correct file prints as a misaligned sheet.
The three settings that matter
- 1
Scale
Actual Size, or 100%most importantAnything else resizes the page. “Fit to page” and “Shrink to fit” are the usual culprits, and they are the default in more browsers than not - a few percent is all it takes to walk every label off its die-cut, and the further down the sheet you go the worse it gets.
- 2
Paper size
Letter - 8.5 × 11inA4 is close enough to Letter to print without complaint and wrong enough to shift every row. If your printer defaults to A4, this is worth checking once and forgetting about.
- 3
Quality
Best, or HighDraft mode prints faster and renders small text softly. It will not move a label out of position, so it matters less than the two above - but folder-tab text is small, and draft mode is where it stops being crisp.
Where the scale setting hides
It's in the print dialog your browser opens, usually behind a “More settings” toggle rather than on the first screen.
- Chrome
- More settings → Scale → Custom → 100
- Edge
- More settings → Scale → Actual size
- Safari
- Show Details → Scale → 100%
- Firefox
- More Settings → Scale → 100%
Prove it with one sheet of plain paper
The cheapest way to be certain, and the only one that accounts for your particular printer:
- Print one page onto plain paper with the settings above.
- Hold it against an unused label sheet, up to a window or a lamp.
- Check that the text sits inside the die-cuts - and check the bottom row, not just the top. Scaling errors accumulate down the page, so the top row can look fine while the last one is visibly out.
If it lines up, your printer is set up correctly and stays that way until something changes it.
If the browser settings are right and it's still off
Nearly always, scaling is the browser's doing. Occasionally the printer driver applies its own on top of it - so the browser says 100%, the driver quietly says 96%, and the sheet comes out short anyway.
Open your printer's own properties from the print dialog - usually a Printer properties or Preferences link - and look for anything named Fit to page, Reduce/Enlarge, or N-up. All three should be off.
If you can't find it, send us the make and model rather than hunting through the manufacturer's site - the menus differ by model and we can usually point straight at it.
Still not lining up?
Send us a photo of a test print next to a ruler and tell us which label sheet you're using - the brand and the number on the box. We can usually tell from the photo whether it's the printer or the stock.
support@collegeproduce.com