Print labels on a Zebra or a laser printer
Pick a label format and label paper for your printer, check it with a test label, and print every label of a shipment at once.
Updated October 5, 2026
Once a shipment has labels, you print them from the order page: one label per box. Two settings on the Carriers page decide what the print buttons do, so set them once for the printer you use.
Set up your printer
Each carrier card on the Carriers page (UPS, FedEx and Shippo) has two settings under Shipment defaults:
- Label format is the file the carrier makes. ZPL is for Zebra and other thermal printers that read ZPL. UPS also offers GIF, FedEx and Shippo offer PNG, and all three offer PDF.
- Label paper decides how Parcello lays the labels out when you print or download them.
| Label paper | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Thermal label printer (4×6) | Zebra and other 4x6 thermal printers |
| Half-sheet labels (2 per letter page) | Letter-size sticker sheets with two labels per page |
| Letter paper (1 label per page) | Plain letter paper, cut and taped to the box |
The label format applies to labels you create after you change it. Labels already created keep the format they were made in.
Print a test label
Click Print a test label next to Label paper to check size and position before you ship. The test label is a sample: it isn’t a real label and costs nothing.
- With the ZPL format, thermal paper and Zebra Browser Print running, the sample goes straight to your Zebra printer.
- Otherwise it opens as a PDF laid out for your label paper.
The buttons on a labeled shipment
Which buttons you see under the shipment depends on the label paper and the label format:
| Label paper | Label format | Buttons |
|---|---|---|
| Half-sheet or letter paper | Any | Print Labels opens one PDF with every label, laid out for the paper. Download PDF saves the same file. |
| Thermal (4×6) | ZPL | Print Labels sends the labels to your Zebra printer, or opens a print preview. Download PDF opens a PDF with one label per page. |
| Thermal (4×6) | GIF or PNG | Print Labels opens a print preview. Download PDF opens a PDF with one label per page. |
| Thermal (4×6) | Download PDF only, with one page per label. |
Every box of the shipment has its own label, and every button covers all of them at once. A shipment of 3 boxes prints 3 labels.
Zebra printers
With the ZPL format and thermal label paper, Print Labels sends every label of the shipment to your Zebra printer in one step. This needs Zebra Browser Print, Zebra’s free desktop app, running on your computer with the printer set as its default printer.
If Browser Print isn’t running, no default printer is found, or the printer doesn’t accept the labels, Print Labels opens the print preview instead.
The print preview
The print preview opens in a new browser window with one label per page, sized 4x6, and opens your browser’s print dialog. It also has a button to download the raw label files and a Download link under each label.
Your browser must allow pop-ups from the Shopify admin for the preview to open. If it blocks them, you see: “Please allow popups to view label previews.” Allow pop-ups for the site and click Print Labels again.
Laser and desktop printers
With Half-sheet labels (2 per letter page) or Letter paper (1 label per page):
- Half-sheet labels fill one half of a page each, two per page, top first. A shipment of 3 boxes prints on 2 pages.
- Letter paper puts one label on each page at its actual size, centered. A label is never enlarged.
Print at actual size (100%), not “fit to page”, so barcodes keep their size.
Freight
Estes and FedEx Freight bills of lading and labels come from the carrier as PDFs and print as they are. A labeled freight shipment shows Download Shipping Labels for the labels, and the bill of lading is in the shipment’s Documents card as Download Bill of Lading. FedEx Freight sends one 4 × 6 label for the shipment, and the download has a copy for each box. The label paper setting doesn’t apply to freight. See Bills of lading and Estes pickups and FedEx Freight bills of lading and pickups.
Packing slips and customs documents
Print Packing Slips sits under the label buttons and downloads one letter-size page per box. See Packing slips.
International shipments also have a Documents card with the commercial invoice and other customs documents, ready to print and attach to the outside of the box. See International shipments and the customs form.
Printing many orders at once
Select orders on the Orders page and choose Open in batch. Print labels gives you the labels of every order in the batch in one step, laid out for each carrier’s label paper, and Print packing slips does the same for the slips. See Ship many orders in a batch.
Reprinting
Labels stay on the order after you create them. Print or download them again at any time until you void them.
Troubleshooting
“Please allow popups to view label previews.” Your browser blocked the preview window. Allow pop-ups for the Shopify admin and try again, or use Download PDF.
“No label data available. Try re-creating the labels.” The shipment has no stored labels. Void it and create the labels again.
“Failed to download labels (HTTP …)” The PDF couldn’t be built. Try again in a moment. If it keeps failing, contact us with the order number.
The labels print too small or too large. Check that the print dialog is set to actual size (100%), and that Label paper matches the paper in your printer. Use Print a test label to check.
The Zebra printed only part of the label, or nothing. Make sure Zebra Browser Print is running and the right printer is its default. Use Print a test label to check without a real shipment.