The e-commerce business has seen a huge upswing and people are highly using online services to order products. In e-commerce product shipping, the shipping labels hold great significance and it is all because of the key role they play in the logistics business. Though they seem like a mere label on the box containing the basic information about the package, it is much more than what meets the eye. The online store’s success, as well as customer satisfaction, is highly dependent on the shipping labels. The shipping label helps the logistics team identify the shipping address and order information of the package.
Without a proper shipping label, it is almost impossible to deliver the package to the right customer. It is a waste of time and money for the shipping provider. Also, the missing shipping labels lead to poor customer satisfaction, a decrease in sales, brand name damage, etc. Without detailed shipping labels, the customers’ orders could be lost. If you are seeking to learn about shipping labels, how to create them, how to print them etc, check out this complete article.
What is a Shipping Label?
A shipping label is nothing but an identification label that hosts the information about what the package is carrying inside it. Depending on the carrier, the shipping labels vary. However, the information the label consists of is the same on all shipping labels. The information includes name, address, weight, and a tracking barcode. The information is essential for delivering customers’ orders on time. The shipping label is especially mandatory when the online store has multiple shipping options. In the end, the prime info that your shipping provider should provide is the origin and destination address of the customer. The rest will be taken care of by the software.
For those who are willing to learn the printing of shipping labels, here we have shared a simple process. Shipping labels printing is as simple as printing a document. It is just that you have to know the process and need the required stuff like paper, printer etc. Now let us come to the main topic i.e., how to print a shipping label.
How to Print A Shipping Label?
To print a shipping label, you have to follow the below steps.
1. Select an Online Shipping Service
The major players in the shipping business follow certain ways to print shipping labels online. Also, you can take a subscription with the shipping service to access various carriers in the market. The sign-up roughly costs below $5 a month to print the shipping labels. You can go for ShipStation which makes it effortless to produce shipping labels online. It also has contacts with popular shipping carriers.
2. Select the Promising way to Print Shipping Labels
As we said earlier, there are multiple ways to print shipping labels for a business. You can pick the best label considering your budget.
Use a thermal label printer to print the shipping label. This option doesn’t include the use of ink and is easy to go for.
You can take the help of a printer to get the job done. Take a standard size paper and print the information on it. As easy as it seems. Also, this is the most cost-effective option.
You can mix the above two choices and print the shipping label using a regular printer and half-sheet adhesive labels.
3. Measure well Before you Print
Weigh the product properly and measure the dimensions of the package well before printing the shipping label with the inside details. Also, verify the address carefully. You can also rely on dedicated software that can automatically check the shipping address for you.
4. Print the Shipping Label
To print the shipping label follow the below steps.
- Input customers info or select Choose from Address Book option.
- Select Package type and input package information
- Select a service date and service type. the common service types include USPS Priority Mail, FedEx Ground®, etc.
- Choose the Print option present at the bottom of the screen.
- A window with Label Options appears.
- Select either 4 x 6 or Plain Paper - 8.5 x 11 from the "Select a print size" dropdown menu.
- Customize your label with a custom message if you want.
- Select the option "Print Sample" to check if the alignment of the label is perfect or not.
- Select Print. The brand new label appears on the screen in PDF format.
- The file can be easily printed using a computer and a printer device.
If you don’t own a printer you must be wondering how to print the shipping label. That is when you can use the local library or a dedicated printing store that offers printing services. You can check out our list of best thermal shipping label printers if you are planning to do it on your own. You can also use software application like SendPro Online that allows you to access the shipping history and print the shipping labels as and when needed.
5. Finally, stick it
The final step is to stick the shipping label in the package. You have to stick the package on the side that is easy to scan. Stick the label securely and make sure to tape it well with transparent tape so that the barcode and shipping address are visible. That’s it! You are done with the printing and sticking of the label.
The shipping labels can also be attained free of cost, but the package won’t her shipped until the postage is cleared. You can use online tools such as Click-N-Ship, FedEx, UPS, DHL etc. Also, you can handwrite the information on the shipping label yourself, but still, the label should have a carrier barcode to be considered valid. Nevertheless, handwriting consumes more time and when there are plenty of labels to write, it turns out to be a complete waste of time.
This is how the printing of shipping labels is to be done. You can either do it yourself with assistance from online tools or bank on the third-party service providers to get the job done. Which way you want to choose completely depends on your business size, budget, and convenience.
