July 20, 2021

Whether you’re returning a gift or running an ecommerce business, the ability to print a shipping label is an integral step of the shipping process. Let’s take a step back and examine the ins and outs of shipping labels, including where to print shipping labels if you don’t have access to a printer.

Where can I print shipping labels?

If you have a home printer, shipping labels can be generated and printed from your home. If you don’t have access to a printer, you can print shipping labels at most of the major shipping services, including PostalAnnex.

Can I generate my own shipping labels?

Yes, most major carriers, including USPS, FedEx, UPS, and DHL have online tools that allow customers to generate their own shipping labels. This is especially important for e-commerce businesses that need to generate shipping labels en masse. You will need to know the dimensions of the package, the destination address, and the shipping class to generate a usable shipping label with the required barcode.

What is on a shipping label?

A shipping label might look like a random collection of lines and numbers, but every piece of information is vital in the organization and execution of a worldwide service that collects and distributes billions of packages every year.

Shipping labels differ by carrier, but each includes:

  • Postal code
  • Country
  • Tracking number
  • Date
  • Package weight
  • Return address
  • Destination address
  • Shipping class

Why is a shipping label important?

Shipping labels standardize the information for a package to get from its original location to its intended destination. Through a combination of human know-how and computer-generated checks and balances, shipping services are able to quickly pack, sort, ship, and deliver packages across the world. Without shipping labels, this process would be significantly slower and less accurate.

If you don’t have access to a printer, the simplest way to print a shipping label is to visit a PostalAnnex in your area. Our shipping experts will make sure your shipping label has all of the required information and print the label in a matter of seconds.

If you are a blossoming ecommerce business in need of a consistent label printing process, PostalAnnex will work with you to tailor our label printing service to your business needs. If you have any questions about shipping labels or printing a shipping label, feel free to contact the experts at your local PostalAnnex or find a location today.