Skip to content

Decision Tree: Labels Not Printing

Use this when labels are not printing, the print button does nothing, or labels print with wrong data. This applies primarily to Teasdale sites using BarTender label printing.

Step 1: Is the printer powered on and showing "Ready"?

Check the physical printer for power lights and a "Ready" status indicator.

  • YES -- Go to Step 2
  • NO -- Check the printer power cable and turn it on. If the printer shows an error (paper jam, ribbon empty, etc.), fix the physical issue first.

Step 2: Is BarTender running on the label PC?

BarTender Integration Platform must be running for labels to print. Check the taskbar or system tray for the BarTender icon.

  • YES -- Go to Step 3
  • NO -- Start the BarTender application. After it starts, try printing again.

Step 3: Is the printer showing "Online" in Windows?

Open Settings > Printers & Scanners (or Control Panel > Devices and Printers) and check the printer status.

  • YES (printer shows "Ready" or "Online") -- Go to Step 4
  • NO (printer shows "Offline" or "Error") -- Right-click the printer and select "Use Printer Online." If that does not help, restart the Windows Print Spooler service (see below).

To restart the Print Spooler: 1. Open Windows Services (type services.msc in the Start menu). 2. Find Print Spooler. 3. Right-click and select Restart. 4. Try printing again.

Step 4: Is a job loaded in GateKeeper?

Labels only print when there is an active job with production data.

  • Teasdale: Check the pallet display -- it should show "Pallet X of Y."

  • YES -- Go to Step 5

  • NO -- A job must be loaded before labels can print. See Data Import Issues.

Step 5: Is automatic label printing enabled?

Check appsettings.json for: - "EnableAutomaticLabelPrinting": true

  • YES -- Go to Step 6
  • NO -- If automatic printing is disabled, labels must be printed manually using the Print button. Enable the setting and restart the application if automatic printing is desired.

Step 6: Is the BarTender URL configured correctly?

Check appsettings.json BartenderSettings section: 

"BartenderSettings": {
    "BartenderUrl": "http://localhost:5154/api/btxml",
    "DocumentFile": "C:\\Labels\\template.btw",
    "Printer": "Zebra ZT411"
}

  1. Verify BartenderUrl points to the correct BarTender Integration server.
  2. Verify DocumentFile points to an existing label template file (.btw).

  3. Verify Printer matches the exact printer name in Windows.

  4. Configuration looks correct -- Go to Step 7

  5. Configuration has errors -- Fix the settings in appsettings.json and restart the application. See Verify Configuration.

Step 7: Check the log file for print errors

Open the log file and search for "BarTender" or "Print" or "Label."

Common log messages: - Connection refused to BarTender URL -- BarTender Integration is not running or the URL is wrong. - Template file not found -- The .btw file path is incorrect. - Printer not found -- The printer name in appsettings.json does not match the Windows printer name.

Resolution: Fix the issue identified in the log and restart the application.

Labels print but with wrong data

If labels are printing but the data on them is incorrect:

  1. Check that the job file contains the correct production data (GTIN, Lot, dates).
  2. Check that the BarTender template (.btw) has the correct field mappings.
  3. Verify that the GatewayExtras fields from the import are being passed through correctly.

Resolution: Contact the data source provider if the import data is wrong, or the label design team if the template mapping is incorrect.

Still not resolved?

If labels still will not print after following these steps, see When to Escalate and collect diagnostics using the Collecting Diagnostics guide.