eBay

73rhc · ‎02-20-2015

I'm not sure if this has been discussed, previously?

When creating a label on Paypal, the page asks for the (in my case) box dimensions. When my box is small, I cannot use the label that prints. The size is bigger than the box's surface area. And it says not fold over the edges of the box. I am not interested in using a larger box, just to accommodate this issue. I can get the proper postage at the post office.

I tried changing the size through my printer preferences. But it didn't print the complete label.

It would be convenient if the label would print referencing the box's dimensions!!!

Or is there another way?

pocomocomputing · ‎02-20-2015

When you print a PayPal label do you get a printer dialog box pop up? Not the PayPal label popup but a printer confirmation window after you select print in the PayPal window.

If you do, then if you look in the printer window, you might see properties button. Click on that and it might give you access to features specific to your printer driver. One is the the ability to shrink the page size from 100% to 1%. I find that shrinking to 85% reduces the PayPal label by 3/4 inch horizontally and vertically making it fit on many smaller packages. The label is trimmed tight to be free of white space. The reduction in page size leaves barcodes still able to be scanned by the post office and the buyer address still large enough to read (i find at full size the address is very small to begin with.)

For my printer, when I print a PayPal the printer dialog box comes up and reduce the page size, it is only in effect for printing that label. As soon as I print, the setting is restored to normal. If it stayed it would be a pain to reset back. So this "trick" works well for me.

Another trick is to switch from portrait mode (11 inches high x 8 1/2 inched wide) to landscape mode (8 1/2 inches high x 11 inches wide). The shorter page height effectively reduces the page size to 75-80% of full size. I find the buyer address really small and the barcode also. Some have reported doing this in these forums in the past without issues.

This might cause issues with staying in landscape mode after printing in the browser setting so you might have to set it back to portrait mode after printing PayPal labels.

Last trick is to have a virtual printer to print a PDF file of the PayPal label. Then open the PDF file, reduce the print size in Adobe Reader or other PDF tool you might have to 85% and print from the PDF tool to the printer. This method is bit more work than the other two but one you got the procedure down pat, it should not be a problem. Unless you print a lot of labels that need to be small then it could be a pain. I have never tried this method but it has been mentioned in these forums a few times.

Post back if you can use one of these methods.

PS To test these methods out, the next time you have a PayPal label to print, use the Sample print to make a label and try reducing it or saving to a PDF file. If it works, then print the real shipping label in a reduced size. If not print in the full size.

73rhc · ‎02-20-2015

Thanks for the reply.

I have gone into the properties. And do not get an option to reduce. I've tried changing the paper size, but that didn't work, either. It printed way too small and omitted the bar code.

I have also tried switching to landscape and that didn't work for me.

I will try the virtual printer suggestion, next time. It might work!?

I just wish that it was within the programming of PayPal's system!

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-20-2015

I dislike fiddling with stuff like that so I'm not sure how I would do it but I've often folded the label and haven't had a problem. When I fold it, I make sure that it is still easy to see the address.

pocomocomputing · ‎02-20-2015

I have been lucky when I print PayPal labels that I get the printer dialog window and the properties with the option to reduce the printer size before printing. it is so easy to do. I did nothing special to have this, it was always there. I read this trick years ago from a topic reply on these forums.

Too bad it is not available for most printers. It is so easy to do the above. It takes not time and does not mess up the printer later for printing other things like packing slips or printing from other web sites.

Maybe the PDF trick will work for you. I will have to try it myself to how to do it and what challenges (lol) it has when using it.

momcqueen · ‎02-21-2015

I hear exactly what you're saying. If you're planning to do a lot of shipping, it might be time to invest in a new printer.

I rarely print my shipping labels at the size paypal shipping coughs out. Usually, I enlarge them to about 121 per cent so that the buyer's address is more visible on a small packet airmail label and does a better job covering the surface of my box which us usually about 22 x 17 x 9 cm. If I'm sliding it into a sleeve for International Xpresspost, I can go as high as 145 per cent.

Sometimes, too, I have reduced it but I am leery of that because the one time I used a box too small for the label, my item was re-routed to Flin Flon instead of heading to Edmonton. I think it literally fell between the cracks somewhere on the truck. Now I am skittish.

momcqueen · ‎02-21-2015

I will add that if you decide to enlarge or shrink any printed Canada Post label, you can double-check it will still scan by downloading the mobile Canada Post app. If you can scan the barcode at home with your iPhone, you can be assured it hasn't been altered in a way that will affect its delivery.

73rhc · ‎02-22-2015

"it might be time to invest in a new printer"

That's not going to happen. My printer is pretty recent. Do I keep buying printers until I find one with the proper preferences?

momcqueen · ‎02-22-2015

I don't know; I've never owned a printer that didn't allow me to enlarge or reduce the print size of a document. As my professional background is print media and design, it is a necessary feature. You might then be best to tinker with the print size of a pdf and double-check with the Canada Post mobile app that your barcode isn't too big or small that way.

73rhc · ‎02-22-2015

Actually, it just dawned on me. I am using my laptop (wireless printing) and got the driver online. I can reduce on my other computer. I think I will use the disk to load the driver.

pocomocomputing · ‎02-22-2015

@73rhc wrote:
"it might be time to invest in a new printer"

That's not going to happen. My printer is pretty recent. Do I keep buying printers until I find one with the proper preferences?

What is brand and model of your printer? I might be able to find out if it has preferences to enlarge or reduce the page size. Most printers have this capability. You might be looking in the wrong place.

One thing I know about my printer (7+ year old Brother laser still going strong, have two of them) is that I have to load the printer software from Brother to get access to all of the features of the printer. If I let Windows install the Brother printer, it loads only the basic driver and it does not have any of the features of the specific model printer I have.

Update

I did not see your post above. I started a reply, then went outside with the dog for 20 minutes and came back and finished so the reply is out of date. You probably need the full software for the laptop to have access to the features as you seem to have discovered.