Troubleshoot Packing Slips

Follow the troubleshooting steps in this article for some of the common issues with packing slips in ShipStation.

Expand any of the sections below to view details and troubleshooting steps. If after following the steps below you are still not able to resolve your issue, please reach out to ShipStation support. We are happy to help.

Store Logo Missing

The Issue

The logo is missing on your printed packing slips.

Troubleshooting Steps

  1. Check the store's Branding tab to ensure the store logo has been uploaded for each store. Go to Settings > Selling Channels > Store Setup > Edit Store Details.

    SET_STORE_BRND_Logo_MRK.png
  2. Make sure the uploaded file has a reasonable file size and dimensions. Large files can cause the file to not be sent before the packing slip is generated.

    • Recommended max width is 300px

    • Recommended resolution is 72dpi

    • Recommended file type is PNG or JPG

  3. Check the Packing Slip Document Options to ensure Include store logos on packing slips is checked. Go to Settings > Printing > Printing Setup. Click Document Options, select the Include Store Logos on Packaging Slips checkbox, and click Save Changes.

    Packing Slip Setup popup. Format, Order Items by, Store Logo, Item Prices, Item SKUs, Scan to View barcode, & Item Locations.
  4. Check your packing slip template to make sure the [Store Logo] field is included in the packing slip code. Note: This feature requires a Standard plan or higher for US, CA, AU, and UK accounts, and an Accelerate plan or higher for all other regions.

    Packing slip template editor with the Store Logo field replacement highlighted in the HTML code and field replacement menu

    Learn more about field replacements.

  5. Use PNG images with solid backgrounds only.

    PNG images with a transparent background can result in a black box when printing on packing slips.

Product Images Missing

The Issue

Product images are shown in the Order Details, but they do not print on your packing slips.

Troubleshooting Steps

  1. Check the packing slip template to ensure the [Image Url] field replacement has been added to the Order Items section. Note: This feature requires a Standard plan or higher for US, CA, AU, and UK accounts, and an Accelerate plan or higher for all other regions.

    Order Items section of template with the Image URL entry highlighted

    If it is not present, add the HTML and select the [Image URL] option from the Field Replacements drop-down menu.

    SET_TEMP_PackingSlip_FieldReplace-ImageURL_MRK.png

    Learn more about field replacements.

  2. Make sure the item's product records include a valid Image URL if the selling channel does not send the Image URL to ShipStation.

    PRDET_GEN_ImageURL_MRK.png
  3. Ensure the hosted image files are a reasonable file size and dimensions. Thumbnail images are recommended.

  4. Ensure any PNG images use solid backgrounds only.

    PNG images with a transparent background can result in a black box when printing on packing slips.

  5. If the issue is intermittent, the image host may not be responding to the ShipStation request fast enough and so the packing slip generates before we receive the image file.

Incorrect Branding or Template

The Issue

The packing slip contains the wrong branding or uses the wrong template.

Troubleshooting Steps

The template assigned to the order can be set via your document options, store settings, via automation rules, or individually on the order.

  1. If the wrong template size printed check your Packing Slip Print Setting Document Options by going to your Account Settings and selecting Printing > Printing Setup in the left menu. The click on the Document Options link for your Packing Slips.

    Printing Setup modal that shows the Document Options action marked for Packing Slips
  2. If the wrong template printed check the Customer Communication section of the individual order detail view for Packing Slip template used.

    ODET_SEL_PackingSlipTemplate_MRK.png
  3. Check the Shipment Activity section in the order details to see if an automation rule applied and changed the selected template. Please note that if the template was changed manually this action is not logged in the Shipment Activity section.

  4. Check your store's Packing Slips tab to first ensure the correct template has been assigned to the store.

    SET_STORE_SetUp_PackingSlips_TEMP_MRK.png

Packing Slip Barcode Scan Fails

The Issue

The ShipStation Scan to View barcode on your packing slips fails to pull up the order.

Barcode Code128A vs Barcode Type 128c

Please note, if you ship more than 11,000 shipments, or if your store's order numbers include a long sequence of zeros, such as 10000000034, you will need to use the barcodetype ="Code128A" instead of the default Barcode Type 128c. Here's an example of what the code would look like:

<barcode size="medium" barcodetype="Code128A">[Order #]</barcode>

The default barcode type 128c has inconsistencies with long sequences that can cause an error when a barcode has 4 trailing Zeros. These zeros may first appear at 10000. For example,

10000000034 scanned as “11000”

120000 ... scanned as: 1200

150000 ... scanned as: 1500

210000 ... scanned as: 2100

110001 ... scanned as: 11000

111000 ... scanned as: "wouldn't load" or “barcode type Code128C doesn't support some or all of the characters"

Troubleshooting Steps

  1. Ensure you are using the correct barcode scan method.

  2. Ensure your packing slip template uses the [Barcode] field replacement.

    Barcode HTML highlighted in Order Footer section of template

    Learn more about field replacements.

  3. If it is using the correct barcode, the barcode size could be too small for the reader. Try adjusting the barcode size to make it bigger.

    To do this, add the size attribute to the barcode tag in your template footer:

    <barcode size="medium">[Barcode]</barcode>
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