How to print a shipping label at actual size and test-scan it
A shipping label that prints a few percent too small, or gets cropped, can fail to scan. The fix is a short routine you do once per printer setup, and again whenever you change printer, paper or software. None of it needs special tools.
Step 1: turn off every kind of scaling
- Acrobat or Reader: in the Print dialog choose Size → Actual size. Adobe's help says this prints without scaling, whereas Fit reduces or enlarges each page to the printable area, and the default scaling is "Shrink to Printable Area".
- Browser: open print preview (Ctrl+P, or ⌘+P on a Mac, per Chrome Help), set Scale to 100% or “Default”, margins to the setting that does not rescale, and turn off headers and footers.
- Printer driver: turn off “fit to page”, “scale to fit” and any borderless auto-scale option.
- Set the paper size in the driver to the size the PDF uses (4 × 6 in or Letter/A4).
Step 2: print a test on plain paper
- Print the label page on plain paper first.
- Measure the label width. If the carrier says 4 × 6 in, the label should measure about 4 in wide. USPS says its online labels should print to approximately 4 × 6 in and that labels printed too small may not be readable by scanning equipment.
- Check that nothing is cut off at the edges, especially the barcode.
Step 3: check the margins around the barcode
FedEx's printer guidance asks for at least 0.10 in of clear space on every side of a barcode, and warns against placing barcodes where tape, seams or wrinkles interfere. Look at the printed label and make sure no cut-line or edge intrudes.
Step 4: test-scan
- Print a test label on your real stock.
- Scan every barcode with a handheld or phone scanner. A phone app only tells you that that device could read it; it is a sanity check only.
- Compare the scanned value with the tracking number printed in text on the label.
- If your carrier or marketplace has its own label verification, use it.
Step 5: keep a record
Write down the printer, paper, driver settings and date next to the printer. When something changes, re-run steps 2 to 4.
Re-flowing a PDF onto a different sheet is where scaling often creeps in. Labelloom places labels at 100% and says so when a label does not fit, but it cannot test your printer: print a test label at Actual size and scan it yourself, and follow your carrier's current label rules. None of the carriers named here has any relationship with us.
Sources
- Adobe, "Adjust page size for printing PDFs in Acrobat": https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/print-documents/set-up-and-print-pdfs/page-size.html (read 2026-10-28 as a search-index excerpt)
- Adobe, "Basic PDF printing tasks": https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/basic-pdf-printing-tasks-challenger.html (read 2026-10-28 as a search-index excerpt)
- Google Chrome Help, "Print from Chrome": https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/1069693 (read 2026-10-28)
- USPS, "Click-N-Ship — The Basics" (FAQ): https://faq.usps.com/articles/Knowledge/Click-N-Ship-The-Basics (read 2026-10-28)
- FedEx, "Printer maintenance guidelines" (PDF): https://www.fedex.com/content/dam/fedex/us-united-states/shipping/images/printer_maintenance_guidelines.pdf (read 2026-10-28)
Related tool: Labelloom. Estimates and guidance only; check the source documents before relying on a figure.