Honestly, loading an Avery Dennison Monarch 1110 price gun is one of those things that sounds simple until you’re doing it with a line of inventory waiting and a manager staring at your watch. The manual is fine, but it doesn't cover the three situations where most people actually screw this up: when you’ve never done it, when you’re trying to fix a jam, and when you’re switching between drastically different label sizes. There’s no single right way to load it—it depends on which of these messes you’re in. So let’s walk through each scenario the way I’ve learned to handle them after coordinating hundreds of rush retail sign changes.

Scenario #1: The First-Timer – You Just Got the Gun

This is the ideal scenario, honestly. If you’re starting fresh with a clean Monarch 1110 and a roll of labels, you can do it properly. The key is knowing the machine’s little quirks before they become problems.

The common mistake people make? Trying to force the label roll onto the spindle without checking the label’s wind direction. Avery Dennison labels usually feed from the bottom of the roll out toward the front of the gun. If you load it backward, the labels will tear or fail to advance. Check the roll’s packaging for a small arrow indicating unwind direction.

Here’s my process, which I’ve settled on after a few too many rushed misloads:

  • Step 1: Remove the old or empty roll. Release the tension by pulling the label release lever on the side (it’s a small grey tab). This prevents the feed mechanism from fighting you.
  • Step 2: Place the new roll on the spindle so the labels unwind from the bottom. The first label should point toward the front of the gun.
  • Step 3: Thread the label strip under the first roller, then over the small metal guide plate, then under the print head. There’s a diagram inside the label compartment cover—seriously, look at it. It’s not a suggestion.
  • Step 4: Pull the label strip until about 1-2 inches protrude from the front of the gun. Close the cover. Wind the hand wheel (the big knob on the side) forward 2-3 clicks. If you see the labels advance cleanly, you’re good.

Then again, sometimes the first advance fails. That’s okay. Don’t panic and start clicking wildly—that jams it. Just open the cover, re-check the threading, and try again. The upside of slow loading is a whole day without jams. The risk of rushing is twenty minutes of frustration later.

Scenario #2: The Fixer – You’ve Got a Jam Mid-Run

In my role coordinating emergency retail support for seasonal resets, I deal with this a lot. A gun jams mid-roll. The pressure is on. You have a choice: clear the jam or scrap the roll and start over. Most people try to clear it. And that’s where they make the bigger mistake.

The rule I now live by: If the jam involves visible label tearing or the backing paper is folded over itself, scrap the roll and load a fresh one. Trying to untangle a torn label inside the mechanism almost always ends with wasted time and a worse jam. I tested this once on a $27 roll of labels during a mid-week rush. It took 11 minutes to fix the jam. Loading a new roll? 90 seconds. The alternative was a torn sign on every 4th item for the next hour.

If the jam is just a misfeed (the labels stopped advancing but the backing isn’t torn), here’s the safe fix:

  1. Open the cover.
  2. Release the tension lever.
  3. Gently pull the label strip back about 2 inches to free it.
  4. Re-thread it as if it were a new roll.
  5. Click the hand wheel 2-3 times to test.
  6. Tear off the first misprinted or missed label manually.

To be fair, I’ve seen people fix worse jams. But I get why they try—wasting a roll feels wasteful. But the hidden cost is the time, and the risk of a second jam. Based on our internal data from about 40 rush re-labeling jobs last quarter, the second attempt on a salvaged roll fails about 70% of the time.

Scenario #3: The Switcher – Moving Between Label Sizes

Switching from, say, small price labels to larger shelf-edge labels on the same Monarch 1110 is a different beast. The machine is designed to handle a variety of label widths and lengths, but adjusting the guides matters.

What most people skip: Adjusting the label guide plates. If you load a wider label without adjusting the two grey plastic guides on either side of the label path, the label will skew as it feeds. This causes the print head to apply pressure unevenly, leading to smudged text or half-printed prices.

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To my surprise, I’ve found that tightening the guides just a hair more than the label width works better than setting them flush. A tiny bit of pressure keeps the label strip straight. Too loose, and it wanders.

Another hidden issue: Ink flow. Switching to a larger label often means printing more area per label, which can drain the ink roller faster. If you notice faint printing after the switch, the ink roller is likely spent. Keep a spare roll—it’s a $4 part that saves $150 of reprints.

How to Know Which Scenario You’re In

So, bottom line: are you starting fresh, fixing a jam, or swapping sizes? Here’s a quick cheat sheet to help you decide which guide to follow:

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  • If you haven’t printed yet → Follow Scenario #1. Take your time. Check the unwind direction.
  • If the gun fed labels but then stopped → Lift the cover. If labels are torn, go to Scenario #2 and scrap the roll. If they’re just stuck, re-thread carefully.
  • If you’re changing label types → Go to Scenario #3. Adjust the guides. Check the ink roller. Don’t assume the old settings work.

I’m not 100% sure this covers every edge case—there are some weird 3rd-party label rolls out there with odd backing paper thickness. But take this with a grain of salt: if the above scenarios cover maybe 90% of the problems I’ve seen, the last 10% usually involve a defective roll or a worn-out machine. In that case, honestly, buying a second backup gun for under $30 saves more time than any loading trick ever will.