Frequently Asked Questions

TagWorks – Design Edition is the full label design application. Use it to create label templates, add text, barcodes, QR codes, images, shapes, counters, and date stamps, and to print directly from the designer.

TagWorks – Print Edition is a lightweight print-only companion app. Operators open a template built in Design Edition, fill in any dynamic fields, and print — without access to the design tools. It's ideal for factory floors where you need a simple, locked-down print experience at each workstation.

• macOS: macOS 12 Monterey or later — Intel or Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3)
• Windows: Windows 10 64-bit or Windows 11
• RAM: 4 GB minimum, 8 GB recommended
• Disk: ~150 MB for installation
• Printer: Any thermal label printer with a driver installed in the OS

An internet connection is not required after activation. The app runs entirely offline.

1. Download the .pkg installer for your product.
2. Double-click the .pkg. The first time, macOS will block it with a message like "…was blocked to protect your Mac" — this is expected for unsigned apps. Click Done.
3. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll to the Security section, and click Open Anyway.
4. Double-click the .pkg again. Click Open, then enter your Mac password when prompted.
5. Accept the license agreement and follow the installer steps. The app installs to /Applications automatically.

1. Download the .exe installer.
2. Double-click to run. If Windows SmartScreen appears, click More info → Run anyway.
3. Follow the installer steps. The app installs per-user — no administrator password required.
4. A Start Menu shortcut and Desktop shortcut are created automatically.

The app runs in trial mode for 15 calendar days from first launch, with no feature restrictions — every feature is available during the trial. After the trial expires, the app is blocked on launch with only Activate or Exit available.

No credit card or account is required to start the trial. Just install and run.

1. Go to Help → License / Activation… in the app menu.
2. The dialog shows your machine code — copy it.
3. Email the machine code to support@tagworks.in along with your purchase reference.
4. Paste the activation key you receive into the dialog and click Activate.

1. Choose File → New Label (or Cmd+N / Ctrl+N).
2. Enter a template name and set the label size in mm or inches. Quick-pick chips are available for common sizes like 100×62 mm.
3. Set the gap type (Gap, Black Mark, or Continuous) and gap size to match your label stock.
4. Select a printer and confirm the DPI.
5. If your label is wider than the printer roll, enable Label needs rotation and choose 90° or 270°.
6. Click Create.

• Static Text — fixed text that never changes between prints.
• Import Field — linked to a column in your Excel file; automatically filled per row when batch printing.
• Dynamic Text — the operator types the value in the print dialog at print time (e.g. a lot number or shift ID).
• Barcode (1D) — Code 128, Code 39, EAN-13, UPC-A, GS1-128, ITF, and more.
• QR / 2D Code — QR Code, Data Matrix, PDF417, Aztec, MaxiCode.
• Counter — auto-increments with each label printed; useful for serial numbers and batch IDs.
• Date/Time — captures the current date and/or time at print moment using a format string.
• Image — embed a PNG or JPEG (logos, signatures, certification marks).
• Rectangle / Ellipse / Line — vector shapes with configurable fill, stroke, and corner radius.

Click the barcode or QR button in the toolbar, then click-and-drag on the canvas to place the object. In the Inspector panel:

• Type the content directly, or toggle Variable to link it to an Import Field or Dynamic Field.
• For 1D barcodes choose the symbology — Code 128 is recommended for most alphanumeric data.
• For QR codes, choose the format and error-correction level.
• Enable Show text below barcode to print the human-readable value beneath the bars.

Click the # (Counter) tool and drag it onto the canvas. In the Inspector:

• Pad length — total digits printed. Pad 4 prints 0001, 0002 … Pad 6 prints 000001.
• Prefix / Suffix — optional text prepended or appended to the number (e.g. SN-0001).
• Start value — set this in the Print dialog when you print; you can restart from any number per job.
• Direction (Ascending / Descending) — set in the Print dialog. Descending counts down from the start value.
• No of Labels — how many labels to print with the same counter value before stepping. Set in the Print dialog.

Total labels printed = No of Copies × No of Labels. When printing from Excel the counter increments once per selected row.

Click the DateTime tool and drag it onto the canvas. Set the format string and offset in the Inspector:

• dd/MM/yyyy → 14/07/2026
• yyyy-MM-dd → 2026-07-14 (ISO)
• MM-dd-yyyy HH:mm → 07-14-2026 09:30

The Offset days field lets you print a future date automatically — set it to 365 to always print "one year from today" as an expiry date, for example.

The date is captured at the moment the print job is sent to the printer.

• Import Field — maps to a named column in an Excel spreadsheet. When you print from Excel, each row fills this field automatically. Use it for batch printing where all values come from a file.
• Dynamic Field — shows a text box in the Print dialog that the operator fills in manually before each job. Use it for one-off values the operator knows at print time (lot number, shift ID, operator name).

Yes. Select an object and set its Rotation in the Inspector (in degrees). Any angle from 0° to 359° is supported. This is independent of the label-level print rotation — you can have a label with 90° print rotation and individual objects rotated at their own angles.

Right-click the object and choose Lock. Locked objects show an orange dashed border and cannot be moved, resized, or edited until unlocked. Right-click again and choose Unlock to release.

The app maintains a 50-step undo history per document. Press Cmd+Z / Ctrl+Z to undo and Cmd+Shift+Z / Ctrl+Y to redo. The tab title shows a ● when there are unsaved changes — undoing back to the saved state clears the dot automatically.

Click ▶ Print in the toolbar or press Cmd+P / Ctrl+P. The Print dialog lets you set:

• Copies — how many distinct counter values (or label repetitions) to print.
• No of Labels — how many times to repeat each counter value before advancing. Useful for printing duplicate labels per item.
• Counter start & direction — per counter: the starting number and whether to count up (Ascending) or down (Descending).
• Dynamic fields — any Dynamic Text objects appear as editable fields here.

Click Print to send the job to the printer.

1. Prepare an .xlsx file with column headers in the first row that match the Import Field names on your label.
2. In the app, use File → Connect Data Source to link the spreadsheet to your template.
3. Use the row picker to preview data and select which rows to print.
4. Click ▶ Print — the app prints one label per selected row, with all Import Fields filled automatically.

• .xlsx — Microsoft Excel (all versions)
• .csv — comma-separated values
• .tsv — tab-separated values
• .numbers — Apple Numbers (macOS only, via export-as-CSV flow)
• Google Sheets — export as CSV or XLSX and import that file

The older .xls format is not supported — save as .xlsx from Excel first.

Rotation is used when your label is wider than the printer roll. For example: a 100×62 mm landscape label on a printer that only accepts an 80 mm roll.

Enable it in Settings → Label → Print orientation:

• 90° — most common choice when label width exceeds roll width.
• 180° — flips the label; useful when the printer feeds in the wrong direction.
• 270° — same as 90° but mirrored; use when 90° produces the wrong orientation.

In Settings → Page Setup, set Labels across to more than 1. Set the Horizontal gap to match the gap between label columns on your stock. The print engine places that many labels side by side per pass, with the counter incrementing left to right.

Any thermal label printer installed as a system printer (visible in macOS Printers & Scanners or Windows Printers & Scanners) will appear in the app. TagWorks communicates via the OS spooler using TSPL or ZPL — no proprietary SDK required.

Confirmed compatible brands:

• TSC (TTP, TDP, TE, TX series) — TSPL
• Zebra (ZT, GK, GX, ZD series) — ZPL
• Bixolon — TSPL or ZPL depending on model
• Honeywell / Datamax — ZPL compatible
• Tharo (H-series, Apollo) — TSPL
• Citizen — TSPL compatible models

• TSPL — used by TSC printers and most non-Zebra thermal printers. Choose this for TSC, Tharo, Bixolon, and Citizen.
• ZPL — Zebra Printer Language. Choose this for all genuine Zebra printers.

The app auto-detects the likely protocol from the printer name when you select one. You can override it at any time in Settings → Printer.

Yes, in most cases. Tharo printers (H-series, Apollo) are manufactured by TSC and natively speak TSPL. As long as the Tharo driver is installed and the printer appears in your system printer list, TagWorks will print to it using TSPL. Easy Label does not need to be installed.

Set DPI to match your printer's print head resolution. Common values:

• 203 DPI — most entry-level and mid-range label printers (TSC TTP-244, Zebra GK420)
• 300 DPI — higher-end printers for sharper barcodes and small text (TSC TTP-346, Zebra ZT410)
• 600 DPI — industrial printers for very small or high-density labels

The DPI is printed on the printer's specification label inside the cover. Using the wrong DPI causes labels to print at the wrong physical size.

TagWorks communicates through the OS print spooler, so whichever connection you used when installing the printer driver is the connection that works. Install the printer with USB, network (TCP/IP), or serial in your system settings, and it will appear in the printer list in TagWorks automatically.

If you need to switch connection types (e.g. from USB to network), reinstall the printer driver with the new connection — no changes needed in TagWorks.

Design Edition has the full canvas, toolbar, inspector panel, and all design tools — it's for the person who creates and maintains your label templates.

Print Edition is a stripped-down print client. Operators open a template file (.lpt) created in Design Edition, fill in any dynamic fields, select rows from an Excel file if needed, and print. There are no design tools and nothing to misconfigure — the template is locked exactly as the designer left it.

Print Edition is cheaper per seat, making it practical to deploy on every workstation or machine on the floor.

1. Open the .lpt template file (double-click or use File → Open).
2. If the template has a connected data source, the row picker opens showing the spreadsheet data.
3. Select the rows to print (or set quantity and counter start for non-Excel jobs).
4. Fill in any Dynamic Fields (lot number, etc.).
5. Click Print.

That's the entire workflow — no settings to change, no template editing possible.

Yes. Print Edition has full Excel batch-printing support, identical to Design Edition. The operator can connect a spreadsheet, pick rows with a live data preview, and send a batch job — all without needing Design Edition on that machine.

One license per machine. Each PC or Mac that runs Print Edition needs its own activation. Contact us at support@tagworks.in if you need volume pricing for 5 or more seats.

Check these in order:

1. Protocol mismatch — the most common cause. Go to Settings → Printer and switch the protocol (TSPL ↔ ZPL). A wrong protocol sends unrecognised commands and the printer ejects a blank label.
2. Wrong DPI — if the DPI is set higher than the printer's actual resolution, objects may land outside the label area. Verify against your printer's spec sheet.
3. Label stock orientation — thermal direct stock must be loaded with the coated (heat-sensitive) side facing the print head. Flip the roll if labels feed but print blank.
4. Printer driver issue — print a test label from the printer's own utility (usually a button hold on startup) to rule out a driver or hardware problem.

1. Confirm the printer is installed as a system printer — check System Settings → Printers & Scanners (macOS) or Settings → Printers & Scanners (Windows).
2. In Settings → Printer, click the ↻ Refresh button next to the printer drop-down.
3. If it still doesn't appear, install the manufacturer's driver, reconnect the printer, and refresh again.

1. Barcode too narrow — at 203 DPI, the minimum readable narrow bar is about 2 dots (~0.25 mm). Make the barcode object wider on the canvas.
2. Wrong symbology — confirm the scanner supports the barcode format you chose. Code 128 is universally supported for alphanumeric data.
3. DPI mismatch — a wrong DPI setting causes bars to be printed at an unexpected physical density.
4. No quiet zone — barcodes require blank white space on both sides (the "quiet zone"). Leave at least 2–3 mm of clear space around the barcode object on the label.

Select the text object and check its position and size in the Inspector. The value X + Width must be less than the label width, and Y + Height must be less than the label height.

Also check font size — large text may overflow the object's height even if the object itself is within bounds. Reduce the font size or increase the object height to compensate.

Enable rotation in Settings → Label → Print orientation → Label needs rotation and select 90°. This prints the label content rotated so the long axis runs along the paper feed direction rather than across the print head.

Example: a 100×62 mm label on a 62 mm roll. Enable 90° rotation — the printer outputs a 62×100 mm label that reads correctly when rotated.

1. Confirm the Excel file has a header row as the very first row. The app reads column names from row 1.
2. Check that column headers in Excel exactly match the Field Name set in the Inspector for each Import Field (case-sensitive, no extra spaces).
3. Make sure the file is saved as .xlsx — the older .xls format is not supported.
4. Close the file in Excel before importing — Excel may lock the file while it's open.

TagWorks is not Apple-notarized yet. macOS blocks unsigned apps by default. To allow it:

1. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security
2. Scroll to the Security section and click Open Anyway

If you see "damaged and can't be opened" even after the above, run this command in Terminal:

xattr -cr "/Applications/TagWorks – Design Edition.app"

(Replace "Design Edition" with "Print Edition" for the Print app.)

The trial clock is tied to the first launch date stored on this machine — not the installation date. If you previously ran a trial of TagWorks on this machine, the old trial data will still be present after a reinstall. Email support@tagworks.in to get a fresh trial or purchase a license.