So you just signed up for a new label printing solution (such as our Boxton Parcel solution – check out our blog page to learn more) and now you are ready to give the employees in your company access. Everyone is energized and ready to start shipping cheaply and quickly from their own computer. But you find yourself asking one simple question: what do I print a label on and how do I actually ship something?
Well today’s your lucky day. I’m here to walk you through the supplies, printing process, and some overall recommendations to get you up and running!
Step 1: Get the Necessary Shipping Supplies
If you’re in a large corporation, each facility most likely has a shipstation with envelopes, boxes, and label sleeves ready to rock. But let’s say your company doesn’t have a well-stocked shipping supply cabinet. Don’t sweat this as there is a quick can easy solution: you can go to either FedEx.com or UPS.com to order all the supplies you need. And the best part is that all of these supplies are completely free. Stock up!
Check out the links below for more information:
https://www.fedex.com/us/fcl/pckgenvlp/ordersupplies
https://www.ups.com/osa/orderSupplies?loc=en_US
Step 2: Determine Printing Options
So what’s the best way to print your labels?
Option 1: Use your existing printer
The quickest and easiest way is to print it to your standard printer on regular paper. It may take a little folding (or a pair of scissors if you are industrious) but you can slip a paper label into any label sleeve (see step 1 for label sleeves) and attach it to your envelope or box. If you are out of sleeves, you can just firmly tape over the label to secure it to the box. Just be careful taping over the barcode to make sure it still scans.
(See: How do I tape a label to a box?)
Option 2: Buy a Thermal Label Printer
If you are printing more regularly, it’s probably wise to invest in labels. You could always load your standard printer with sheets of label paper (Amazon – Standard Printer Sheet Labels), but if you are really a super user, consider investing in a thermal printer which prints 4”x 6” labels. See Amazon links below to two of the more popular label printers:
And if you really want to start digging deep, here is a full list of label printers recommended by UPS.
- Bixolon SRP 770III
- Eltron 2442
- Eltron 2543
- Eltron 2844
- OKI Data LD620
- ZebraS4M
- Zebra ZP450
- Zebra ZT230
Wrapping Up
Make sure with any label printer you’re purchasing that you are buying the correct labels (you can also get free labels off of FedEx.com and UPS.com). Also make sure that your label generation software can work with the process you’ve set up for your company. And if you’re using Boxton Parcel to streamline your entire small parcel management process, rest easy knowing that you’re saving time printing and managing labels!
