How to print Meesho labels on a thermal printer (4x6) or on A4

Meesho's own shipping page says it plainly: accept the order, download and print the Label and Manifest, pack the product in plain packaging with no branding, and paste the label on the packaging. How you print that label is up to you. Two ways work well.

4x6 thermal printer or A4 printer?

• 4x6 thermal printer. Prints with heat on sticky label rolls or stacks, so there is no ink to buy and no glue or cutting. Use 4x6 inch labels, usually sold as 100 x 150 mm in India. Best once you pack orders every day.
• A4 printer (the normal home or office one). Works fine for a few orders a day. Print at Actual size, cut the label out along its border, and stick it on flat. If you use tape, keep it off the barcode and the QR code.

Many sellers use a TSC, TVS, Xprinter or Zebra thermal printer. Any 4 inch label printer works for this. The steps below are the same idea on all of them; only the buttons differ.

Put the label alone on the page first

A thermal printer needs a PDF with one label per page, at 4x6 size. If your label file has the label and the tax invoice on the same page, cut the label part out first. That is what a label crop tool does. Our free Meesho label crop makes a 4x6 or A4 PDF from your label file, sorted by SKU or courier. It never redraws or edits the barcode, the AWB number or the QR code; it only resizes the label to fit the page.

Print settings that keep the barcode big and sharp

1. Open the PDF and press Print. Pick your label printer.
2. Set the paper to 4 x 6 in or 100 x 150 mm. On many printers this is under Properties or Preferences, in the printer's own settings.
3. Set the size to Actual size. In Adobe Reader it is called Actual size; in other PDF readers and browsers, look for Scale and make it 100%, not "Fit".
4. Keep the label upright (portrait). If it comes out sideways or cut off, check the paper size again, not the scale.
5. Print one label first and scan its barcode with any barcode app on your phone. If it reads, print the rest.

On an A4 printer the same rule holds: Actual size. If the printer cuts a few millimetres off the label's edge, Fit is fine on A4, because an A4 page on A4 paper only shrinks a little. The problem is only Fit from A4 onto a 4x6 label.

Thermal printer setup, in plain words

• Driver. Install the driver from your printer maker's own website, or the CD that came in the box. Then the 4 x 6 in or 100 x 150 mm paper size shows up in the print box.
• Calibration (gap sensor). Labels on a roll have a small gap between them. A sensor in the printer finds that gap so every label starts at the top. Calibrate after you load a new kind of roll, or when the printer prints across two labels or skips one. On many printers it is a long press on the FEED button, but the exact press differs by model, so follow your printer's manual. On Zebra's ZD230d, for example, Zebra says: hold FEED for 2 seconds until the light flashes once, keep holding for two more flashes, then let go. The printer feeds a few labels and is set.
• Darkness. Zebra's advice is to use the lowest darkness that still prints well. Too dark and the bars spread into each other, and the barcode may not scan. Too light and it looks grey. Change it one step at a time and print a test label.
• Speed. Zebra also notes that slower printing usually gives better print quality. If bars look rough, lower the speed a little.

Why a barcode fails at pickup

• The page was shrunk. A whole A4 page printed on a 4x6 label with Fit. Print the label alone, at Actual size.
• Too dark or too light. Fat, smudged bars or faint grey bars. Fix the darkness, then print a test.
• The label is not flat. Folded over a box edge, wrinkled on a loose poly bag, or under shiny tape. Stick it flat on the biggest side.
• Cut or torn. A cut through the barcode or the AWB number when you trimmed an A4 print. Leave a small white margin around the label.
• The label was changed. Don't stretch, redraw or enlarge the barcode or QR code, and don't stick a new label over an old one. Print it as Meesho made it, and peel or cover old labels on a reused box.

Packing a box? The free volumetric weight calculator shows the weight many couriers charge for its size. All our free tools are on one page.