Labels naturally have a slight round to them as they come off the roll. This is called “memory” because the labels want to return to the original shape/curve that they were on the label roll. This rounding effect is increased the closer you get to the end of the roll because the curve is greater the closer you get to the core. Occasionally this can cause the labels to lift up and contact the print head during printing. This causes the ink to smear. There are several actions that can be taken to eliminate this problem.
1. Try printing in a Color Only quality mode. Black ink takes longer to dry and is more susceptible to smearing. See this Article.
2. Increase Print Head Height. This is adjustable in the Status Monitor. Click the info icon – Printer Settings tab.
3. Increase Fan Power. This pulls the labels flat against the platen (the surface under the labels as it moves through the printer). This is adjustable in the Status Monitor. Click the info icon – Speed/Quality tab.
4. Cover the vacuum holes inside the printer that are not under the label stock. This creates more suction against the back of the label stock so that the label is pulled flat against the platen. Use tape or a synthetic label (poly, vinyl, BOPP) cut to size. See the picture below.
Note: This is more likely to happen on narrow labels because the vacuum has less surface area to create suction against.