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Rank: New User
Posts: 6  Location: Maryland Thanks: 1 times
I first purchased OL177LP - Weatherproof Polyester Laser (Laser Only) in October 2017. I purchased it again in March - last month.
My old batch just finished and yesterday, I started using the one I purchased last month. The quality of the material is significantly different. It now looks like paper material that is coated with a film. Previously, the material couldn't be torn easily. Now it can be torn just like paper. This is very disappointing.
Did the material change? or did I just receive a bad batch?
Please help.
Thanks,
Kay
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 Rank: OnlineLabels Rep Posts: 895 Was thanked: 84 time(s) in 78 post(s)
Kay -
I'm sorry to hear about the issue and will be happy to assist however I cam. There was a change made recently to the backing of the weatherproof polyester for laser, but not the actual label material itself. Both the label material and the adhesive remain exactly the same, but the backing will have a slick, glossy appearance now. This change was made to improve how the material feeds through laser printers and to reduce the amount of static buildup that was occurring throughout the printing process.
Once you remove the label material from the backing it should feel and perform exactly like it did on your previous order. The actual label material is the same plastic film material that was used previously, so if you're able to tear the label material like paper it's possible that you received bad stock. If that's the case, please contact our customer service department and they'll be happy to assist you in investigating and correcting the issue. You can reach our customer service team directly by calling 1-888-575-2235, or by submitting a support ticket at the link below:
https://secure.onlinelabels.com/Support/SupportRequest.aspx
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Rank: New User
Posts: 6 Location: Maryland Thanks: 1 times
Ok, thank you. I will do that.
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Rank: New User
Posts: 6 Location: Tennessee
Yes, there is a significant change to the backing on the weatherproof polyester laser labels that I just received & it is causing me major problems. I was in dire need of these labels for products & the backing is so slick now that my laser printer will not even pull them in. I have over $700 worth of product sitting here that I cannot label. FYI, I am already using the multi-purpose tray to feed the labels straight through. It tries a couple of times to feed then just signals a jam.
These labels are useless to me now after using them successfully for years.
I need a solution & quickly!!
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Rank: OnlineLabels Rep Posts: 895 Was thanked: 84 time(s) in 78 post(s)
DTE -
I'm very sorry to hear about the issue and we'll do whatever we can to assist. I'll just need some additional information in order to take a deeper look into why the problem may be occurring.
What printer model are you currently using to print your labels? Which paper type or material type setting do you have selected within the printer options? Does your printer model successfully feed any of the sheets, or are you unable to feed the sheets through at all?
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Rank: New User
Posts: 6 Location: Tennessee
Josh,
I have been using a Brother HL-L8350CDW for the past 5 years or more. I have used the Labels setting on the printer. The sheets will not feed at all. I tried different sheets & they all responded the same. The printer will not pick them up to feed through.
In addition to the slickness of the backing, the sheets also seem flimsier than the previous sheets. I read in other parts of the forum that this might have been done to combat the static (which I have experienced, also) however the static issue is irrelevant if I can't even print.
Thank you.
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Rank: New User
Posts: 6 Location: Tennessee
Oh, and also, I have tried the Glossy Paper setting in the past & that creates issues with the print not being durable on the label.
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Rank: New User
Posts: 6 Location: Tennessee
I have spoken with James & we tried different options, to no avail. I am returning the labels. He is shipping out sheets from an older lot number to replace these. That will at least be a temporary solution to my current problem. He is also sending samples of some weatherproof inkjet labels for me to try. I will have to investigate another option going forward, as it appears the OL-125LP will no longer work for me at all.
Thank you.
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Rank: OnlineLabels Rep Posts: 895 Was thanked: 84 time(s) in 78 post(s)
I'm glad to hear that James was able to at least provide a temporary solution. Before shipping the products back to us there may be a few more things to try that could potentially improve performance in your printer model.
Anytime we make a change to one of our products the material is tested thoroughly in a wide range of different printer models. Two of the printer models that I used when testing the new backing on the weatherproof polyester material were Brother color laser printers that are very similar to the printer model that you're using: Brother HL-3170CDW and Brother MFC-9130CW.
You mentioned using the Labels material type. If the Brother HL-L8350CDW is anything like the two Brother printer models I have access to, using the Labels material type restricts you to using the manual feed tray. While I did have success feeding the label sheets through the manual feed tray, my best printing results came when using the Glossy Paper setting and feeding from the drawer tray.
I know you expressed some concerns about print durability when using the Glossy Paper setting, but there's another setting tucked away in the printer options that should actually help with that issue. When you have the printer options open, there should be a tab titled "Advanced". After clicking on that tab, you should see a button titled "Other Print Options". Once you've clicked on "Other Print Options" select the "Improve Print Output" function, and then click on "Improve Toner Fixing". Click "OK" to close the settings and then proceed with printing.
I achieved excellent print results when printing from the drawer tray with the Glossy Paper material setting and "Improve Toner Fixing" enabled. The print quality and durability were excellent, and the sheets fed through the printer very well.
One other thing to consider is cleaning and maintenance for the printer. I'm not sure how often you clean your printer, but I've found that going through routine maintenance procedures on my printer models at least a couple times a year has made a pretty significant impact when it comes to printer feed and printer jam errors. I was able to locate the manual for the Brother HL-L8350CDW online, and on page 164 there are some steps provided for cleaning the paper pick-up roller. This may improve performance for you as well.
I hope this helps. If you need any additional information please just let us know. We truly value your business and will do whatever we can to assist you through any issues that may come up.
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Rank: New User
Posts: 6 Location: Tennessee
Unfortunately, the labels are already on their way back. I hurried to get them to UPS because we are out of town next week plus James indicated there was still some of the old lot label stock in house. The quicker I could facilitate the return, the quicker he could get some of the older stock out to me. Later he called back to say that he was wrong, & there is in fact no older stock left. He is sending me some inkjet samples to try. However, if you could send a sample of the returned label back, I could try your additional suggestions to see if they might work after all.
At this point, I am willing to try almost anything because I am back to square one with no labels at all & a mass of unlabeled product!
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Rank: OnlineLabels Rep Posts: 895 Was thanked: 84 time(s) in 78 post(s)
I'm happy to send some samples of the OL125LP back to you for testing. The sample packet will ship out this afternoon. I hope that the suggestions I provided in my previous post will prove useful. If you have any questions upon receiving the samples please just let us know.
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Rank: New User
Posts: 6 Location: Tennessee
Josh,
I have tried the glossy paper setting & have made the advanced printing option changes to improve the toner integrity. I have also dusted the pick up rollers, wiped them with a damp cloth & then with a Q-tip dipped in alcohol. It took me about 30 minutes to get 3 sheets to print. I went through the whole stack of 20 sheets & only 3 were picked up by the printer. The rest did just like the ones in my shipment - the printer tries twice to pick them up, fails, & then I get a MP tray paper jam alert.
I am hesitant to feed them out of the drawer, because I don't want them to hang up in my printer & create a real mess.
I am in the process of trying the inkjet samples I received. Are they the polyester as well?
Thanks.
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Rank: OnlineLabels Rep Posts: 895 Was thanked: 84 time(s) in 78 post(s)
I'm sorry to hear that you were unable to resolve the issue. I can understand not wanting to experiment further with the laser labels at this point, but I was able to successfully print hundreds of these sheets from the drawer tray using the settings listed above when I was initially testing the new liner. It may be worth trying just a few sheets from the drawer to see if the results are much different.
If you've decided to move on from the laser labels and you have an inkjet printer available the weatherproof inkjet materials should work very well for you. The weatherproof matte inkjet is a polyolefin film, while the weatherproof gloss inkjet is a polyester film. Please just let us know if you have any questions about the inkjet samples while you're testing them.
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