Queue it up,
print in bulk.

The print queue is your central command center for all label printing. It collects every label job from across StringsTheory — whether generated from inventory, production tracking, work orders, or manual creation — and organizes them by the printer they are assigned to.

• Open the print queue from the sidebar under Labels → Print Queue, or press ⌘⇧P (on iPad, tap the printer icon in the toolbar)
• Labels are grouped by their assigned printer — each printer section shows its own pending, printed, and skipped counts
• The queue persists between sessions, so labels added during the day accumulate until you print or clear them
• Each label entry shows the item name, serial number (if applicable), label template name, and current status

Every label in the queue has a status that tracks where it is in the print workflow. You can manage statuses individually or in bulk.

• Pending — the label is waiting to be printed. This is the default status when a label enters the queue
• Printed — the label has been sent to the printer. StringsTheory marks labels as printed automatically after a successful print job, or you can mark them manually
• Skipped — you have chosen to skip this label. Skipped labels remain in the queue but are excluded from bulk print operations

To change a label's status, click the status badge next to the label entry and choose the new status from the dropdown. You can also swipe left on a label row (on iPad) to reveal quick actions for Print, Skip, or Delete.

Each printer group in the queue has a Print All button that sends every pending label in that group to the printer in a single operation. This is the fastest way to clear a production run's worth of labels.

• Click Print All at the top of a printer group to print all pending labels for that printer
• Only labels with a Pending status are included — Printed and Skipped labels are excluded
• A progress indicator shows how many labels have been sent, so you can monitor large batches
• After printing, all labels in the batch are automatically moved to Printed status
• If a print error occurs mid-batch, the queue pauses and shows which label failed. You can retry or skip that label and continue

Sometimes you need to print a label without going through production tracking or an inventory action. Manual label creation lets you add a one-off label entry directly to the print queue.

• In the print queue, click + Add Label (or press ⌘N; on iPad, tap the plus icon)
• Enter a serial number (optional) for the label — this is useful for replacement labels or test prints
• Select an inventory item to link the label to, so dynamic fields like {itemName} and {sku} resolve correctly
• Set the quantity — the number of copies of this label to print
• Choose a label template from your label library
• The label appears in the queue under the printer assigned to the selected template's role

StringsTheory discovers network printers on your local area network using Bonjour/mDNS. If your printer is connected to your Wi-Fi or wired network, StringsTheory can find it automatically — no driver installation or IP address required.

• Go to Settings → Printers and click Discover Network Printers
• StringsTheory scans your LAN for Bonjour-advertised printers and lists them with their name, model, and IP address
• Click Connect next to any discovered printer to add it to your printer list
• Connected network printers appear in the print queue's printer groups and in the printer selection dropdown throughout the app
• If a printer goes offline, its status indicator turns red in the printer list. Labels queued for an offline printer wait until it comes back online

On iPad, network printer discovery works the same way over Wi-Fi. Make sure your iPad and printer are on the same network.

In a shop with multiple printers, each one often has a dedicated purpose. StringsTheory lets you assign a role to each printer so that labels are automatically routed to the right device based on what they are for.

There are four built-in roles:

• Production — labels printed during manufacturing or assembly (serial number labels, build tags)
• Shipping — labels for outgoing packages (address labels, box barcodes)
• Returns — labels for incoming returns or RMA tracking
• Inventory — labels for shelving, bin markers, and price tags

Each role also maps to a default label template. When a label is generated from a production run, it uses the template assigned to the Production role and routes to the Production printer automatically.

• Go to Settings → Printer Assignments
• For each role, select the printer and the default label template
• You can assign the same printer to multiple roles if you only have one device

StringsTheory validates that your label template dimensions match the label stock supported by your printer brand. This prevents wasted labels from mismatched sizes and ensures your prints come out correctly.

Supported label sizes by brand:

When you assign a label template to a printer, StringsTheory checks whether the template dimensions are compatible with the printer's known label sizes. If there is a mismatch, you see a warning before printing with the option to proceed anyway or choose a different template.

For high-volume workflows, batch job submission lets you send multiple labels to a printer in a single operation rather than printing one at a time. This is faster and reduces the overhead of individual print commands.

• Select multiple labels in the print queue by holding ⌘ and clicking each label (on iPad, enter selection mode by long-pressing a label, then tap additional labels)
• Click Print Selected in the toolbar to submit the entire selection as one batch job
• The batch is sent to the printer as a continuous stream — labels print back-to-back with no gaps between jobs
• Batch jobs show a progress bar and can be canceled mid-stream if needed
• After the batch completes, all labels in the batch are marked as Printed

Batch jobs work with both USB-connected and network printers. For network printers, the labels are spooled and transmitted over the network, so print speed depends on your connection quality.