Printing high quality self-adhesive labels on a laser printer is simple. All you need to do is to put them in the paper tray so they will print portrait, set your printer software on the “labels” setting and then print as normal. For better positioning of the print you can use the media bypass slot usually located above the paper tray, this reduces the number of rollers the label sheet passes through and helps to prevent the print from slewing left at the top and right at the bottom of the A4 label sheet.

The labels setting on your printer driver software is usually in the “settings” or “properties” section, and these options are on that rather annoying page that pops up every time you print something. Some of the more expensive or modern laser printers have auto sensing, which means they automatically sense the thickness of the media they are loaded with.

You do have to print A4 labels in a portrait direction; this is because, like wood, paper has a grain direction. The grain direction is from the top to the bottom of the sheet rather than side to side. The effect of this is that the paper is more rigid along its length; this means that the labels are better supported on the backing paper and less likely to peel off the backing paper while printing.

Laser printers are not designed to print labels, they are designed to print thinner A4 sheets, so it is always a wise idea to look in the printer manufacturer’s manual to see what they advise for label printing. To enable the printers to print labels well you need to use laser labels made from laser grade paper and cut in a layout that also reduces the chances of separation from the backing during printing. Laser grade paper has a specified smoothness so that the laser toner can achieve the resolution you require.

Laser labels also have a specified water content this is essential and helps the toner to key into the paper when it goes through the fuser in your printer. (The fuser is like a heated mangle with the paper passing between two rollers one of which is heated.) If the labels dry out then the laser print will smudge so always keep unused labels in their packaging. Laser labels also have a [particular|certain} type of backing paper which provides enough friction so that the rollers in the printer can move it accurately.

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