Print failures
Common errors when printing and how to diagnose using the log.
Updated on
Printing can fail for physical reasons (paper, battery, connection) or due to protocol mismatch. EtiquetaChef logs every error for diagnosis.
Common symptoms
- Label comes out blank — wrong protocol. Go to Printers, edit the printer and toggle between TSPL, CPCL and ESC/POS. Test after each change.
- Label comes out with garbled characters — encoding. Usually it’s the wrong protocol, but in some cases it’s the DPI: try switching between 203 and 300.
- Label cropped / misaligned — width or gap configured wrong. Check the actual roll width.
- Printer accepts the command but nothing comes out — check if the roll ran out. Many thermals flash a red LED.
- “Could not print” error — the app lost connection. Wait 3-5s and try again; reconnection is automatic.
See the error log
In Printers → [your printer] → Diagnostics there is a log with the latest events. Each error has timestamp, code and description.
For support, send the log along: Diagnostics → Share log.
When to ask for help
If switching protocol, DPI and width doesn’t fix it, write to help@etiquetachef.com with:
- Printer model.
- Protocols tested.
- Screenshot of the error screen or shared log.