If you do not own a thermal label printer, you can still print postage labels at your home or office with a desktop printer (e.g. inkjet and laserjet printers). To print from a desktop printer, you will either need to download the PDF version of the postage or follow our steps for printing labels directly from the Chit Chats platform.

Connect your standard desktop printer

If you have already configured your printer for your computer, please skip to the next section.

Before you begin the printer setup, ensure that your printer is connected to your computer and a power source. For the most accurate information, please follow the specific instructions in your printer's manual. For general instructions on installing a desktop printer please follow this tutorial. You should be prompted to install the printer driver after connecting to your computer. If not, you can do a quick search for the driver online or use this tool to find the appropriate driver. 

For Mac users, add the printer via System Preferences:

  1. Navigate to System Preferences > Printers
  2. Click the ‘+’ to add the printer (provide password of an administrator account if necessary). Select your printer from the list of printers.
  3. For the driver click “Select Software” and choose your printer from the available options.

You can make a test print on your printer to make sure it is properly connected by heading to your printer settings. If you experience difficulties with connecting your printer, we recommend contacting your printer’s manufacturer for technical support. If the above steps do not work for you, you may need our advanced instructions. 

Printing from a download file 

Once you’ve completed the installation you can begin to print PDF versions of your postage labels immediately. 

You can also indicate your preferred label size in your settings:

  • Letter (8.5. In x 11 in) - Ideal for desktop printers

  • A4 (4 x 6) - Ideal for thermal label printers

Note: All of your postage, returns and batch labels will be downloaded in letter format by default unless you change your preferences. To update this setting please follow these easy steps:

1. Navigate to 'Settings' in your Chit Chats account

2. Select 'Postage Labels' 

3. Select your preferred label size

 

These changes will now be applied to all labels you download going forward.

Printing directly from Chit Chats using Bullzip

This guide is for Windows as the software we recommend is only available for Windows operating systems. Before beginning, make sure that your printer settings are set to a 4 x 6” paper size and that you have downloaded the latest versions of Java and QZ tray (see our printer setup page).

  1. Install the Bullzip software from https://www.bullzip.com/ 
  2. Once installed, open the Bullzip PDF Printer Options program to adjust the settings as outlined below. 
  3. Under the ‘Actions’ tab > Show Document, select Yes when asked to ‘Open the document after creation’.  
  4. Under the ‘General’ tab, make sure the ‘Remember last file name’ option is checked.  
  5. Under the ‘Dialogs’ tab, make sure that Never is selected for both the Save As – Dialog and Settings - Dialog options. 
  6. Head to our printer setup page and adjust the settings to ensure that you are using the Image (Dymo, laser, or inkjet) Printing Format and that you’ve selected the Bullzip PDF Printer from your list of available printers.If an incorrect Printing Format is selected click on ‘Not the right format?’ and update the selection.  
  7. Create a test print. This should generate a PDF file. Open the PDF file and before printing, adjust the settings to ensure your postage is properly aligned. For best results, you should select the option to ‘Fit’ the postage to the page and the orientation should be set to ‘Portrait’.Your postage is now ready to print on your desktop printer directly from the Chit Chats platform. If you experience difficulties with printing your postage, please see our tips for troubleshooting.

To print multiple labels to one sheet

  1. Select all desired labels in your Chit Chats account and select print postage.
  2. In the printing settings select the ‘More settings’ option: 
  3. Select your preferred pages per sheet. The maximum for an 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper would be 4 labels. 
  4. Save your settings and print your postage as usual. Multiple labels should now print on one sheet.