Labels and work orders
Which to print and when: garment and bag labels (sizes, QR or Code 128, printers) and the work order, scanning a label at pickup, and downloading the machine file from a scan.
Overview
An order can print two things, and they do different jobs:
| Label | Work order | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A sticker for the garment or bag | A one-page sheet for the machine operator |
| What's on it | The order number, customer, item, a short line of what to stitch, and a code to scan | The design, each line's text, font, size and thread, the item, setup notes and a QR code |
| Where it goes | On the garment or its bag, from intake to pickup | At the machine, with the job |
| Printer | A label printer or a sheet of sticker labels | Any office printer |
| Turned on in | Settings → Kiosk → Printing (off by default) | Always available |
Neither shows prices, and neither shows the customer's email or phone.
The kiosk receipt is a third thing: it is for the customer. See Paperless receipts and Printing receipts and labels.
When to print
- At intake, when the customer has placed the order and handed over their own item (or you've pulled a shop item): print the label and stick it on the garment or the bag it travels in. Now the garment can't be mixed up with another order while it waits.
- When the job goes to the machine: print the work order from the order page (Print work order). It opens the sheet and the print dialog. It isn't available while a correction is waiting for the customer.
- Labels for the whole queue: Orders → Labels prints one for every open order (awaiting payment, paid, in production and ready for pickup), up to 96, newest first. Handy after a busy day, or to relabel the rack.
On an order page, hover over Print label or Print work order (or tab to it) to see which is which. Which to print? next to them opens this page.
Turning labels on
- Go to Settings → Kiosk → Printing.
- Tick Print garment and bag labels.
- Choose the Label size and the Code on the label (both described below), then press Save kiosk settings.
Each order page then has Print label, and Orders has Labels. With labels off, both are hidden, and an old link or bookmark to the labels page says labels are off. Turning labels off keeps your size and code for next time.
Label sizes and printers
Pick the stock you have loaded:
- 2.25 × 1.25 in thermal label (recommended): the common small direct-thermal roll for desktop label printers. The order number runs across the top; the code sits beside the customer, the item and what to stitch.
- 4 × 6 in thermal label: shipping-label size, for a printer that already prints shipping labels. The same details, large, with the code at the bottom.
- Letter sheet, 30 labels: Avery 5160 size (2⅝ × 1 in, three across and ten down) for a laser or inkjet printer. Labels fill the sheet from the top left; a single order's label prints in the first place on the sheet.
Nothing here has been tested on a real label printer yet. The layouts are sized with the paper sizes above, and the codes are checked to scan in our tests, but we don't recommend printer models. Before you rely on one, print a few labels and scan them at your counter. A hardware guide (tablets, stands, printers and scanners) is planned.
The code on the label
- QR code (recommended): the same code as the customer's receipt, so one scanner that reads QR codes reads labels, receipts and work orders. A phone camera opens the customer's proof page from it.
- Code 128 barcode: for a scanner that reads only 1D barcodes. It holds
TR-RECEIPT:and the order's receipt code. On the small labels its bars are thin, so print a few and check your scanner reads them; if it struggles, use a QR code or the 4 × 6 in label.
Printing labels
Press Print labels (or Print label on one order). The labels page shows them at actual size, and the printout leaves off the app's menus. In the print dialog:
- Choose the label printer, and the paper size that matches your stock (2.25 × 1.25 in, 4 × 6 in, or Letter).
- Set margins to None and scale to 100%, and turn off the browser's headers and footers.
On a roll, each label prints on its own page, so the printer feeds one label per order.
Scanning a label at pickup
When the customer comes back, scan the label on the garment (or the customer's receipt, or the work order) on any staff page and the order opens. To mark it picked up as you scan, choose Mark picked up under After scanning in the scan panel first. See Receipts and barcodes.
A label scans the same way at every step: choose Start production under After scanning to move paid orders into production as you scan them.
Downloading the machine file from a scan
Scan an order that is Paid or In production from the scan panel's search box or camera, and the panel stays open with Download file: the order's machine file in your shop's format (Settings → Kiosk → Machine files). It is the same download as the order page's Download for machine and is recorded in the order's audit trail. It isn't offered while a correction is waiting for the customer, or for an order without stitches. Viewers can't scan, so they don't get it.
A label print isn't recorded in the audit trail; machine-file downloads and work orders are.