Guide to printing shipping labels for ecommerce orders

As your ecommerce business grows, writing out each address or copying and pasting addresses becomes inefficient. We’ve taken a look at the different types and sizes of shipping labels, the pros and cons of thermal labels, integrated labels and A4 label sheets, as well as which address labels will work with which couriers.

What is a thermal label?

Thermal shipping labels are printed using a thermal transfer label printer; the printing on thermal labels is clear, durable and long-lasting. These can include labels in a range of sizes for a number of different couriers.

Thermal printers don’t require ink, toner or ribbon. They’re often cheaper to run after the initial investment in the printer, and they have fewer parts that can go wrong. Two of the best thermal printers are the Zebra GK420D and Dymo LabelWriter 4XL. Find out more about choosing a label printer for your ecommerce business here.

What is an integrated label?

An integrated label is a sticky label that is part of an A4 sheet. They’re often used to print invoices or packing lists on the same sheet as an address label. Integrated labels can also include more than one label - for example a returns label for the customer to send something back

Integrated labels allow you to print all the necessary paperwork on one A4 sheet using a regular inkjet or laser printer - instead of using a label printer for your address labels and another printer to print off a packing list or invoice. There’s also less chance of sending the wrong parcel to the wrong customer with integrated labels as the label can be kept on the invoice until you’re packing the order. Including a returns label as part of an integrated label will make it easier for customers as well.

Find out more about printing integrated labels for eBay and Amazon orders here. 

What is an Avery address label?

Avery address labels is a brand of A4 label sheets that enables you to print a whole page of address labels at once. These type of labels allow you to print a large number of labels quickly, however, you will still need to print off any additional paperwork and match it up with each order. 

Find out more about using Avery address labels here. 

Using Zenstores you’ll be able to connect orders from your ecommerce platforms to your couriers and print shipping labels in bulk. Find out more about Zenstores could help your ecommerce business here.