Print Labels

As soon as you click Create + Print Label or choose the Print > Label option, ShipStation will open the print pop-up screen that allows you to select your print method.

This article discusses the methods available to print your labels, what options affect your label printing, and what else happens in ShipStation when you print a label.

Multiple Ways to Print Labels

ShipStation provides access to the print function in multiple locations to make printing labels (or any other documents) as convenient as possible. 

You can tell ShipStation to print labels from the Orders tab, Order Details, Shipments tab, and Shipment Details screens.

Print from the Orders Tab

  • The Create + Print Label button.

    Create + Print Label button with disclosure triangle to change create label options

    This button is located above the Orders Grid and in the Shipping Sidebar when an order is selected from the grid.

  • The Print menu's Label option. The Label option will only be available if a label is created for a shipment on the selected order.

    Orders tab with an arrow pointing to print menu with drop-down options revealed
  • The Print menu is in the shipping sidebar, just above the Configure Shipment Widget.

    Orders tab shipping sidebar. A box highlights the Print menu with its dropdown options.

Print from Order Details

  • The Create + Print Label button.

    Create + Print Label button is marked.
  • The Print All button prints labels for all shipments on an order. The label option is available only when one or more shipments have a created label.

    The print all button is expanded and the print > label option is highlighted.
  • The Shipment Actions button prints the label for the currently selected shipment. The label option is available only when a label has been created for the shipment.

    The shipment actions button is expanded and print > label is selected.

Print from the Shipments Tab

The Print menu's Label option.

Shipped tab, Print menu is expanded and the menu options shown in the drop-down are marked

Print from Shipment Details

The Print menu's Label option.

Shipment Details page that shows an arrow pointing to the Print menu, with drop-down options. The options include Packing Slip, Label, and Pick List.

Label Print Methods

ShipStation's print pop-up screen includes the ability to print or download:

Print pop-up with sample label. Red box highlights options: Print, or Download
  • Print through ShipStation Connect: This option sends your label directly from ShipStation to the selected printer and requires ShipStation Connect to be installed and running on the printer workstation.

  • Download: This option downloads the label PDF to your browser's download location. You can then open the PDF in your preferred PDF viewer and print it there.

Whichever of these two options you select, ShipStation's Smart Document Tracking will recognize the label as printed.

Additionally, you can print via your browser's print option directly from this pop-up.

Label Print pop-up with the printer icon highlighted.

Once you click the print icon, your browser will open the browser's print dialog box, giving you all the available options to print through your browser.

Print Tracking Not Supported With Browser Print

When using the browser print method, ShipStation will not update the Smart Document Tracking to indicate the label has been printed.

Whether you print one label at a time or multiple, the process to print or download is the same.

Print Labels With ShipStation Connect

Requires ShipStation Connect

To use this method, ShipStation Connect must be installed and running on your printer workstation. If you have not done so, follow the instructions in the Install & Launch section of our ShipStation Connect article

This GIF demonstrates printing a label using ShipStation Connect from the Order Details screen:

Demo showing the print via ShipStation Connect option from the order details screen

Set Default Printers To Print Faster!

Set a default printer for each document type to skip the printer selection step.

To set a default printer for your labels: follow the instructions in the Set Default Printers section of the ShipStation Print Settings article.

To bypass a default printer for an individual document: click the arrow icon next to the printer name in the Print menu drop-down and ShipStation will open the Print pop-up so you can select a different printer from the Print To drop-down.

The printer workstation is the computer your printers are physically attached to via USB. ShipStation Connect must be installed and running on the printer workstation (but not on non-printer workstations) to print documents via ShipStation Connect.

Download Labels

If you prefer to download the label and print through a PDF viewer:

To view the shipment record, go to the Shipments grid and click on the Shipped status in the left-hand sidebar.

The printer workstation is the computer your printers are physically attached to via USB. ShipStation Connect must be installed and running on the printer workstation (but not on non-printer workstations) to print documents via ShipStation Connect.

Smart Document Tracking

The printer workstation is the computer your printers are physically attached to via USB. ShipStation Connect must be installed and running on the printer workstation (but not on non-printer workstations) to print documents via ShipStation Connect.

Label Format and Other Print Settings

All labels printed through ShipStation are 4" x 6" (approximately 101mm x 152mm). The way ShipStation formats your labels for printing depends on the Label Format selected in your account's Label Document Options.

Access your Document Options in Settings > Printing > Printing Setup to adjust label format and other print settings for labels.

The label format you choose should match the type of printer used to print your labels.

Format Options

Details

4" x 6"

For printing labels through a thermal label printer. 

Label Printing Setup, Shipping Label Formats. 4 by 6 selected. Preview shows labels in landscape layout.

ShipStation will format the label to fit a 4" x 6" sheet. 

For accounts using metric units, select this option if printing with 100mm x 150mm or A5 labels.

4" x 6" (w/ Packing Slip)

For printing labels with their packing slips through a thermal label printer. 

Label Printing Setup, Shipping Label Formats. 4 by 6 selected. Preview shows labels in landscape layout.

ShipStation will format the label and packing slip to fit a 4" x 6" sheet.

For accounts using metric units, select this option if printing with 100mm x 150mm or A5 labels.

8.5" x 11" (2 per page)

For printing labels through a standard desktop printer, like an inkjet or laser printer.  

Label Printing Setup, Shipping Label Formats. 8.5 by 11 selected. Preview shows labels in landscape layout.

ShipStation adjusts the label orientation by 90 degrees to accommodate up to 2 labels per page.

Select this option if printing with A4 paper. 

8.5" x 11" (w/ Packing Slip)

For printing labels with their packing slips through a standard desktop printer. 

Label Printing Setup, Shipping Label Formats. 8.5 by 11 selected. Preview shows labels in landscape layout.

ShipStation adjusts the label orientation 90 degrees and the packing slip orientation to landscape.

Select this option if printing with A4 paper. 

What Happens When a Label Prints?

When you print or download a label in ShipStation, ShipStation will:

  1. Update the Smart Document Tracking to indicate the shipment's label was printed.

    Smart document tracking Statuses, with respective icons. Reads, Packing slip: printed, Label: printed, & Notifications: sent
  2. Update the shipment status to Shipped.

Order Status Updates

ShipStation updates orders to Shipped only when all shipments associated with the order are in the Shipped status.

If an order contains other shipments that you have not yet created labels for or marked as shipped, the order will remain in Awaiting Shipment.

Print Labels Legacy Layout

In ShipStation Legacy, after you click Create Label ShipStation will open the print pop-up screen to allow you to select your print method.

Print Label popup. Options: Print via ShipStation Connect, Preview in Browser, & Download PDF. Link: Show More. Checkbox: Remember selection

Ways to Print

In ShipStation, you can print a label like you would any PDF - through your browser or by downloading and opening in a PDF viewer, like Adobe Acrobat or Preview.

However, there is a more efficient way to print your labels. Install ShipStation Connect so ShipStation can send your labels (and other documents) directly to your printer. Printing with ShipStation Connect requires additional setup. Review the ShipStation Connect article for instructions on how to install and use ShipStation Connect.

Print Labels with PDF

To start, create a single label on an order or create a batch

In the print label pop-up, select either Download PDF or Preview in Browser. 

Red box highlights: Download PDF, & Preview in Browser options in pop-up.

Proceed to print using your preferred PDF viewer and printer. 

Print Labels with ShipStation Connect

To start, create a single label on an order or create a batch

In the print label pop-up, click Print via ShipStation Connect

Print Label pop-up: Red box highlights, Print via ShipStation Connect option.

Select the printer you wish to print from.

Reprint a Label

You may need to reprint a label if you have lost a label or there was a printer malfunction and you need to print it again. The reprinted label will have the same information as before.

ShipStation lets you reprint a label as often as you need. It will not count against your plan's shipment limit and there is no fee for reprinting.

A reprinted label is not the same as a new label. If you need to reship an order, you can do so by creating a new label (and thus a new, different tracking number). This is useful if a package was lost or stolen and you need to ship the order to your customer again.

How to Reprint a Label

ShipStation will then send the existing label to your selected printer.

Set Label Layout Demo Video - Legacy

This video demonstrates how to set your label layout in ShipStation for your label printer in ShipStation Legacy, whether you use a thermal label printer or a standard desktop printer. Closed captioning is available within the video interface.

The printer workstation is the computer your printers are physically attached to via USB. ShipStation Connect must be installed and running on the printer workstation (but not on non-printer workstations) to print documents via ShipStation Connect.

Smart Document Tracking

The printer workstation is the computer your printers are physically attached to via USB. ShipStation Connect must be installed and running on the printer workstation (but not on non-printer workstations) to print documents via ShipStation Connect.