Any idea what this one inch leader is for? If we assume that it isn’t a blatant way to make the user buy label refills more often, what could be the reason? The only thing I can imagine is this… IF this leader was followed by a partial cut (it isn’t, it is a 100% cut), and the label you are printing is very short, then the leader would be helpful in extracting the label from the machine, as short labels tend to hide in the mouth of the printer.
Maybe this one inch of tape is potentially no good, if you’ve left the label cartridge unused for a long time? Or in the sunlight?