May 11, 2022
49 shipping and fulfilment terms that you need to know
Shipping and fulfilment can get confusing, with many different technical terms to learn. That’s...
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The best printer for printing shipping labels (2026)
Summary: The best shipping label printer depends on order volume, label size, carrier requirements, print speed, setup cost and how labels fit into your fulfilment workflow. For most growing eCommerce teams, the bigger win is pairing the right printer with automated label generation and bulk printing.
One of the most frequent questions we get asked is "what printer should I use?"
If you are new to printing shipping labels or thinking of upgrading your shipping label printer, it pays to have an overview of the factors you need to consider before making your final decision. With so many different brands and printers on the market, we’ve put together a few considerations to help you choose the printer that best suits your label printing needs.
Quick answer: low-volume stores can usually start with an office printer, but growing retailers should consider a dedicated thermal label printer that supports common courier label sizes and can handle daily order volume without constant reprints.
Shipping label printer comparison
| Printer type | Best for | Starshipit workflow fit |
|---|---|---|
| Office printer | Low order volumes; familiar and inexpensive to start, but slower and more prone to reprints. | Works for early-stage stores that print small batches. |
| Desktop thermal printer | Growing ecommerce teams; fast A6 label printing with fewer ink and toner costs. Watch-outs: check courier label sizes and device compatibility before buying. | Strong fit for bulk label generation. |
| Industrial thermal printer | High-volume fulfilment benches; built for speed and continuous use. Watch-outs: higher setup cost and more warehouse planning. | Useful for teams printing labels across multiple packing benches. |
Choose the right label printer for your needs
To start with, it’s important to understand the volumes of label printing you’ll be managing and anticipate your future label printing needs.
- Low volumes: If you are only printing a few labels and packing slips a day, you should be able to use a standard home or office printer, which is usually an inkjet or laser printer 🖨️.
- Steady to higher volumes: If your online store is generating a steady flow of orders you will want to look at a dedicated printer you can rely on with little to no downtime ⏱️.
Top tip: Consider automating your label printing
Shipping automation platforms (like Starshipit) let you automate the process of generating and printing shipping labels. Starshipit also comes with other useful features like out-of-the-box integrations with top couriers (including DHL, Australia Post and FedEx) and tools customise shipping notifications, automate returns and more.
Printing the correct label size for each courier
Once you have an idea of your volumes, the next step is finding out the different label sizes that are required by your chosen courier. Most couriers only support printing labels in a 100x150mm (A6) size, for example Australia Post, Aramex and CouriersPlease.
Often it is dependent on the courier that you are using. For example, NZ Post or eShip require an A4, A5 printer or label printer with 100mm or larger aperture.
eParcel can print labels to A4 sheets (these are usually provided by Australia Post with pre-printed logos). The downside to this is if you only have to print a few labels then you are wasting half of the page. eParcel can print to many different types of printers, including laser, inkjet and thermal.
DHL: All of the printers mentioned for the other carriers are suitable for DHL labels. As with the other carriers, there are many different printer makers and models that will fit the bill.
What kind of printer do you need to print shipping labels?
There is no right or wrong printer as it depends on your shipping volumes. Let’s take a look at the 3 categories of printers and you can evaluate which kind of printer best suits your business needs.
| Printer type | Image | Best for | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inkjet printer |  | Low-volume stores that only print a few labels or packing slips a day and want to start with familiar office equipment. | Good for low volumes. | Ink is expensive to replace. Print speed is slow. |
| Laser printer |  | Stores starting out with A4 labels that need sharper, faster printing than an inkjet before moving to a dedicated thermal printer. | Good for steady volumes. Prints faster and sharper than an inkjet. | Toner is expensive to replace. Larger than an inkjet. Only works with laser-compatible print surfaces. |
| Thermal printer |  | Growing and high-volume ecommerce teams that need purpose-built label printing across daily fulfilment workflows. | Good for high and continuous volumes. No ink or toner to replace. Supports batch or single label printing. Low long-term maintenance. | Higher upfront investment. |
Best thermal printer for shipping labels
There are 2 different types of thermal label printers. Let’s take a look at what thermal printer best suits an online retailer who wants a dependable product that will not hold up orders.
| Printer type | Best for | Considerations |
|---|---|---|
| Direct Thermal | Lower cost and budget-friendly label printing. | Limited to black, has a limited shelf life, and requires thermal paper. |
| Thermal Transfer | Transfer images from a thermal ribbon, scans label images easily, and has a longer shelf life. | Useful when label durability and print clarity matter more than the lowest setup cost. |
The top thermal printers used by online retailers (like you)
At Starshipit, we have seen the following thermal printers being used by online retailers to print shipping labels. They are all easily available at your everyday office stationery and tech stores.
| Printer | Features | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DYMO LabelWriter 5XL | Direct thermal desktop printer for 4x6 shipping labels. USB and LAN connectivity. 300 dpi output and automatic label recognition. | A compact option for small to growing online retailers. Check local stock and DYMO-branded label requirements before buying. |
| Brother QL-1110NWB | Wide-format 4-inch label printer with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Built for shipping labels and barcode labels. | A flexible option for teams that want wireless or networked printing across packing benches. Check courier label templates before rollout. |
| Zebra ZD421d | Direct thermal desktop printer with 203 dpi and 300 dpi configurations, plus USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth options depending on model. | A strong fit for higher-volume fulfilment teams that need a rugged desktop printer. Confirm the exact connectivity and label-width configuration when purchasing. |
Print directly from your desktop or laptop
If you are shipping large volumes, consider downloading the printer application when using a shipping solution like Starshipit.
Read our guideHigh-speed printing for high volume eCommerce
If you are printing high volumes of shipping labels and you would like the option of printing at high speeds, consider a shipping solution that can manage high-speed shipping label printing.
With Starshipit, merchants print shipping labels 25 x faster than the industry standard.
Here is a handy Youtube video tutorial to learn more about installing the Starshipit print application.
What happens if you want to handwrite a shipping label?
You can write your own address, but it has to be legible and remember that you obviously still need the barcode label. Integrating with a shipping solution like Starshipit allows you to print your own labels with barcodes. Learn more about how you can set up a plain label courier.
For more information on label printing or Starshipit, please contact our support team.
Looking for simple shipping automation?
If you are considering automating your fulfilment process, Starshipit’s cloud solution enables you to manage all your couriers and fulfilment tasks in one place by integrating with a wide range of couriers and eCommerce and business management platforms.
You will be able to display your negotiated rates at checkout, print labels, at high-speed if need be, and the best part is we have FREE onboarding and support to make sure you are shipping happy from day one.
Tara Hunt
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