Label creation is ShipStation's primary feature! There are several ways to create labels in ShipStation - one at a time, multipackage, and in bulk. This article discusses creating labels one at a time, as well as what happens when you create labels and how to view them once created.
You can create labels for orders in either the Awaiting Shipment or On Hold status. You cannot create labels for orders in the Awaiting Payment status. For Awaiting Payment orders, you can either wait until the store refresh updates to the order to Awaiting Shipment, or select the Mark as Paid button to manually move it to the Awaiting Shipment status.
Please note, while creating and printing labels often happen nearly at the same time, are two distinct processes. Review the Print Labels article for details on printing labels once they are created.
You can create a label for an order from the Order Grid, Order Details screen, or from the Rate Calculator. Follow the steps below, or scroll down to watch a demo video.
Select an order in the Orders grid.
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Click the Create Label button.
ShipStation will open the Cost Summary screen to view the rate and make any necessary changes (if Quickship is enabled, ShipStation will skip this screen).
If you are using a postage provider with a balance and the balance is not sufficient for the cost of the label(s), you will be prompted to add funds here.
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Click Create Label and ShipStation will request the label from the carrier.
Once the label generates, a pop-up will display your print methods:
Via ShipStation Connect.
View it from your browser, then print.
Download the PDF to your device, then print.
Select one of these options to view and print out the shipping label.
Print a Label Without an Order
Need to print a label without an order? Use the Rate Calculator.
The Cost Summary screen displays the postage details for the label(s) you are about to create. It also allows you modify the shipment date and to determine how much postage you want to purchase (if using a pay-on-create carrier).
When adding funds to a carrier balance, you must add at least enough for the cost of the selected labels.
For USPS labels, the minimum amount of postage you can purchase at one time is $10.
The Cost Summary screen will appear if any of the following apply:
If you have selected a postage provider that charges for labels upon creation, your postage balance is not sufficient to cover the full cost, and you do not have auto-funding enabled.
If you do not have Quickship enabled.
If you are creating labels from a batch or creating labels for multiple orders at once. The label batch cost summary differs slightly from the standard Cost Summary screen.
When you are satisfied with your cost review, click the Create Label(s) button to proceed.
Creating a label triggers the following processes:
ShipStation requests the label from the appropriate postage provider. The provider sends a PDF of the label back to ShipStation.
ShipStation updates the order to Shipped.
ShipStation sends a shipment notification to the selling channel associated with the order.
ShipStation sends a shipment notification email to the customer, if you have set the store to do so. This option is disabled by default. Review the Customer Notifications article for details.
Label Limitations
Orders in the Awaiting Payment status must first be moved to the Awaiting Shipment status before you can create a label for them. This can be done by a store refresh (once the order is paid on your selling channel) or manually by clicking the Mark as Paid button in ShipStation.
Some carriers have limitations for their labels, including character limits and support for label messages. For details, review the article for your specific carrier on our Integrations Help Guide.
ShipStation does not create international return labels.
Automatically sending a notification to the selling channel when the label is created is the default behavior for ShipStation. You can prevent the marketplace notification on a per order basis or change the default notification behavior in the Store's Notification Settings. Review the Marketplace Notifications article for details.
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Most carriers in English-speaking countries do not support non-Roman characters on labels created through their APIs. If an address contains non-Roman characters (like Kanji, Hanzi, and Cyrillic), this can result in ??? appearing where the text should be.
You will need to void the label, translate the characters into English (either by contacting the customer or using a program like Google Translate), and copy the Roman text into the recipient fields before creating a new label. To also include the original address, copy / paste the original address into a text editor, print separately, and tape it to the package next to the label.
Once the label(s) have been created, you can review them in the Shipments Tab.
Each item in the Shipments grid indicates a label you have created for an order.
To view a label, click an order to open up the Order Details and then click the Labels button in the Shipments section.
Or, select orders from the Shipments Grid and click Print in the Action bar, then select Labels from the drop-down menu.
You will see the Print Label pop-up screen.
To view the label, choose Preview in Browser.
Requesting a Label Receipt
Every label created in ShipStation is stored in our system for 180 days.
If you ever need documentation of a label you created through ShipStation (to file an insurance claim, for example), contact our support team and include an order number and/or tracking number. We will respond with a copy of your transaction details.