Printing postage onto labels

[RodP]

Hi,

I use Paypal to print postage for all my eBay sales. Currently they print onto one corner of an A4 sheet which I have to trim to size and attach to the parcel with sticky tape- I would like to use labels (those with 4 per sheet). I've given it a try but although it prints in one corner, it ends up overlapping 3 of the labels. Is there anyway to adjust the print margins in PayPal or is there some way of choosing "labels" (like I can on RM's own website). Seems such a waste of paper/labels as it currently stands!

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Rod

[Nebs9999]

An excellent question, and one I was just about to ask myself. There seems to be no Page Setup available for the postage labels. I print mine on an A4 label, but it seems such a waste as it uses just over a quarter of the label and the rest is then unusable. I am sticking to stamps until this is resolved.

Would also be nice if you could just print the postage, without the name and address, on a smaller label.

[Beachcomber_Bob]

You can print onto 4 labels per sheet (sort of). At the page where you click 'pay and print' and before doing that, right click within the Paypal screen and a menu will pop up. One of the options on the list will be 'Print Preview'. Select this and a page view of the web-page you were on will be on screen.

In the menu at the top you will see a gear wheel symbol. Click that and you will have the options for printing. Make all the margins 9mm, except the left one which you should set to 110mm (or thereabouts, to suit your labels - requires experimentation on your particular labels) . This will make any subsequent prints shift over to the right hand label (but it does also mess up your proof of postage sheet on the second page - I'm still working on that one).

Also untick 'shrink to fit' printing and make all the header and footer boxes 'empty' (that gets rid of the annoying 'Powered by Pitney Bowes' etc.messages at the tops of the pages which makes the advertising logos drop partly onto the next label down).

Click 'OK' and return to the Paypal screen. You can then 'Pay and Print' and your label will come out on the top right hand one of the four instead of the previously set left hand. You can turn the page over, re-insert it and  use this method to use up the remaining right hand label on the sheet for your next postage label.

Be aware that your printer will continue to print any other web-pages with these 'right shifted' settings until you go in again and change the margins back to all 9mm. This can be done from any web-page; you don't have to be in the Paypal system to reset the print options.

What I tend to do is keep back a few label sheets that I've already used 'normally' i.e. printed top left then turned over and printed top left again. Then I reset the left margin to 110mm and re-use them for 'top right' printing, before then going into the settings again and putting it all back to 'normal' 

As long as your not fussed about the 'proof of postage' receipt page - at least you're getting to use all those expensive labels! Possibly, you could reset the margins, then select 'reprint this postage label' from the payment exiting screen and then choose to only print page two within your printers settings. 

Although not a perfect solution,I hope this helps.

[Beachcomber_Bob]

Confirming my last suggestion, I just tried it - choose 'reprint the label' in Paypal after resetting the margins as per the above method, and select to print page 2 only. You then have a proper printout of your 'proof of posting' receipt. Perhaps if I'd chosen to just print page 1 (the label itself only) in the first place, I wouldn't even have had a scrap piece of paper to recycle!

[Beachcomber_Bob]

It's also occurred to me just now that you can change the font in the 'print preview' settings, so if perhaps you're finding that the name & address is spreading too far down the label (or should that be across, being as it's side-on?) to spoil the neighbouring one, you could experiment with different typefaces and sizes to reduce the address size to within the bounds of one label.

[RodP]

Thanks for all your "research" Bob!

The bottom line is: PayPal should be providing the correct options in their printing like Royal Mail do (after all PayPal uses Royal Mail of course). I have setup my database to print on labels (selectable by Avery number and top left/top right,etc) or on plain paper. I also have an option to select paper tray or manual feed. If I can do it, I'm sure PayPal's IT guys can sort it out - if they feel like it!

We shall have to wait and see!

Rod

[Beachcomber_Bob]

You might have a long wait then, as it might be a case of everyone saying "It's not our problem.". 

The postage label you print out, with it's associated barcode, is generated as an 'on-the-fly' web-page. The afore mentioned controls for printing web-pages are within Windows, so should be Microsoft's problem, and how they only allow applications to take limited control. But the postage tracking part is generated by Pitney Bowes (a UK monopoly if ever there was one), not Royal Mail directly, and they will cite the lack of functionality within Windows. Finally, Paypal will wash their hands of it, as they're just 'badging' an existing system as implemented, and shoe-horned into their payment system for them, by Pitney Bowes/Royal Mail.

So we'll have to do what we can with what we've got, 'cos that's all you'll be getting I fear. 

[RodP]

'...everyone saying "It's not our problem.".' - I fear you may be right, whatever happened to customer SERVICE?!

There is an alternative of course:

Use "Royal Mail Online" instead of PayPal (RM system DOES provide for label printing with selectable position). I use RM quite a bit as many of my sales come from my website, and only use PayPal postage for eBay sales. Having said that, now that eBay have the "print postage direct from within eBay", the Certificate of Posting forms are not issued either.

"the lunatics are running the asylum" springs to mind!

Interestingly, Royal Mail who insist that you will need this Certificate of Posting in the event of a lost or damaged claim, no longer automatically offer the form, offering instead (if you can find the link!) a "Bulk Certificate of Posting" which can be downloaded in .PDF format. I have reprogrammed my database to cut and paste the name/address details across to the .PDF at the click of a button on each customer record card.

Oh well, mustn't grumble...