A Roll of Labels or Tape is Not Installed — Brother Label Printer — Printer Hack Without Frame/Cartridge

My little Brother QL-570 label printer needed new paper, so I purchased a new roll, but it didn’t come with the black frame/cartridge. Without the cartridge, you are unable to print, left with an error that says “a roll of labels or tape is not installed”. I discovered a little “hack” to get it working without the cartridge.

Open the printer up and at the bottom right there are several pins that press down. The cartridge normally presses the appropriate pins. To bypass the cartridge and print with only the new paper, take some sticker paper from the roll and tape down all pins except the top right (if you’re looking at it from above).

Here’s a picture:

It might be different on your model. This one is a QL-570.

Alternatively you can just purchase a roll of tape with a cartridge, but hey, tape works!