If you sell on Square, your items already have names, prices and SKUs, and many have UPC barcodes. Getting those onto a clean, scannable label shouldn't be hard, but a lot of sellers end up with labels that are blurry, too small for the scanner, or missing the barcode entirely. Here's how to get it right.
Step 1: Make sure your items have a code to scan
Every label needs something for the scanner to read. In your Square Item Library, each item (and each variation, like a size or color) can have a SKU and a UPC/GTIN.
- Items with a manufacturer barcode: enter the 12-digit UPC (or 13-digit EAN) in the item's GTIN/UPC field. Scanners read these instantly.
- Items you make or buy unbranded: give each one a short, unique SKU, like
CND-SAGE-8. Short SKUs make barcodes that scan easily, even on small labels.
Step 2: Choose your labels
You don't need a special printer. Pick whichever fits how you work:
- Sheet labels on any laser or inkjet printer. Avery 5160 (1" × 2⅝", 30 per sheet) is the go-to price tag; Avery 5167 is smaller for jewelry; Avery 5163 makes big shelf tags.
- Thermal rolls for DYMO LabelWriter, Zebra, Rollo or Brother printers. No ink, one label at a time, great for tagging new stock as it arrives.
Our label & printer guide lists every size and what it's best for.
Step 3: Why barcodes come out blurry or won't scan
These are the usual culprits, and the fixes:
- The print is being scaled. In the print dialog, choose "Actual size" or 100%, never "Fit to page". Scaling shrinks the barcode and blurs its bars.
- The barcode is too small for the code. Long SKUs make long barcodes with very thin bars. On a small label, thin bars can blur together. Use shorter SKUs, or a wider label.
- The barcode is an image, not sharp lines. A low-resolution barcode image looks fine on screen and fuzzy on paper. Barcodes printed as vector graphics stay crisp at any size.
- No white space around it. Scanners need a clear margin (the "quiet zone") on both sides of the barcode. Don't let text or the label edge crowd it.
- Thermal paper size is wrong. Set the printer's paper size to your exact label size, or each label prints shrunk and off-center.
Step 4: Print a test first
Print one page on plain paper and hold it behind your label sheet up to a window. If the labels line up, print the real thing. Then scan one label with your Square barcode scanner before printing a big batch.
The easy way: Tillbright Labels
We built Tillbright because label printing kept being the annoying part of running a shop. It connects to your Square account in one step, read-only, and turns your items (every size and color) into print-perfect labels:
- Sharp vector barcodes at the right size for each label, so they scan.
- Items without a UPC get a Code 128 barcode from their SKU automatically.
- Avery sheets on any printer, or DYMO, Zebra, Rollo and Brother rolls.
- Start mid-sheet, add cash and card prices, and nudge alignment if your printer runs a little off.
- A warning before you print if a code is too long to scan reliably on the label you chose.
Square is a trademark of Block, Inc. Tillbright is an independent app and is not affiliated with Square.
Tillbright