## Before You Start

1. If the POS shows a message on screen, start there instead. See [Printer Error Messages on the POS](/docs/printer-error-messages-on-the-pos).
2. Check the Printer section of POS Settings still shows the label printer as Connected. If it does not, see [Connecting Your Printers to the POS](/docs/connecting-your-printers-to-the-pos).
3. Have a spare label roll and carbon ribbon at the counter. See [Loading Labels and Carbon Ribbon](/docs/loading-labels-and-carbon-ribbon).
4. The power button is on the left side of the printer.

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## The Printer Will Not Switch On

1. Press the power button on the left side of the printer and check the light comes on.
2. Check the wall socket is switched on at the socket itself.
3. Push the power cable firmly into the back of the printer and into the socket.
4. Move the printer to a different socket. If it comes to life, the first socket needs looking at by an electrician.

<Callout type="note" title="📝 Note">
Look at both ends of each cable. A bent or crushed plug is a dead cable, and no setting in the POS can work around it.
</Callout>

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## The Printer Is On but Nothing Prints

1. Check the cable between the printer and the counter computer is firmly in at both ends.
2. Open the cover and check the carbon ribbon is flat, smooth, and sitting in the centre where it touches the print head. If it is creased or off to one side, take it out and load it again. See [Loading Labels and Carbon Ribbon](/docs/loading-labels-and-carbon-ribbon).
3. Check the paper guides are set to the same width as the label roll.
4. Pull the label roll out until it passes the gap sensor and, if your printer has one, the cutter.
5. Close the cover, press until you hear the click, then print one tag from a recent order.

If the label tags print with a white line down them, clean the print head. See [Cleaning Your Label Printer](/docs/cleaning-your-label-printer).

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## The Printer Shows a Red or Flashing Light

A red or flashing light means the printer has stopped itself, usually because it cannot find the next label.

1. Switch the printer off and on again.
2. Check the label roll is seated on the label paper fixing stand, with the paper guides set to the width of the roll.
3. Pull the roll out until it passes the gap sensor and, if your printer has one, the cutter.
4. Check the carbon holder is closed.
5. Close the cover fully and press until you hear the click. A cover that looks shut but is not clicked is the most common cause.

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## Labels Come Out Blank
A blank label is a ribbon problem, not a POS problem. The label roll feeds fine, so the tag was sent, but nothing was transferred onto it. Fit a new carbon ribbon, or join a split one, using [Loading Labels and Carbon Ribbon](/docs/loading-labels-and-carbon-ribbon).

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## When the Printer Itself Has Failed

If power, cables, loading, and the cover are all correct and the printer still will not print, the hardware has failed. Send us the model name from the label on the printer before you buy a replacement. Most label printers of this type work with the POS, but the same model is often sold in several versions, so one message from you confirms it before you spend anything.

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## FAQs

**Can my staff keep taking orders while the label printer is down?**
> Yes. Orders and items are saved without the tag, so keep serving customers and print the tags from the order once the printer is back.

**The receipt prints but the label does not. Is the POS broken?**
> No. The two are separate printers in separate slots, so one can fail while the other works. Nothing on the order is affected.

**Do I need to tell you before I buy a new label printer?**
> Send us the exact model first. Many models are sold in several versions and only some of them connect the way the POS needs, so one message saves you a wasted purchase.

**Will my new printer keep the darkness and alignment settings from the old one?**
> No. Those settings are saved for each individual printer on each counter, so a replacement starts fresh. See [Blurry or Misaligned Labels](/docs/blurry-or-misaligned-labels) to set it up again.

**One counter prints tags and the other does not. Why?**
> Each counter has its own printer, its own cable, and its own pairing, so a working counter tells you nothing about the one that failed. Run through this article at the counter that is not printing.

**Can I print the tags from another counter while this one is down?**
> Yes. Tags belong to the order, not to the counter that took it, so open the order on a counter whose label printer works and print them there.

**Will the tags print by themselves once the printer is back?**
>No. Nothing is held in a queue while the printer is down, so open the order and print the labels again.

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## What's Next

Once tags are coming out again, check how they look. If they print faint, crooked, or cut off at the top, continue to [Blurry or Misaligned Labels](/docs/blurry-or-misaligned-labels).