How to print a shipping label at home, online or with no printer
Buy the postage first. Print the PDF. Tape it flat.
To print a shipping label, buy the postage from a carrier's site or a label platform such as GoatLabels, then print the PDF on a 4x6 thermal printer or plain Letter paper and tape it flat to the box. With no printer, a USPS Label Broker QR code lets a Post Office print it.
USPS, UPS and FedEx labels
USPS, UPS and FedEx rate-shopped on every domestic parcel, and DHL on international lanes, from one account, with one price per rate shown before you buy.
A prepaid wallet, a dated line per label
Fund it by card, ACH or crypto. Each label is a dated ledger line, and a later carrier adjustment gets a line of its own.
Updated
What is a shipping label, and what has to be on it?
A shipping label is the sheet on the outside of a parcel that carries the sender and delivery addresses, the service and the paid postage with its tracking barcode. A label with addresses but no paid postage is only an address label, and USPS says a package sent without enough postage may be returned to the sender.
Carrier facts, checked
- USPS says a printed shipping label with postage can replace a separate address label and prints on regular printer paper, taped on with clear packing tape. (usps.com, How to Send a Package)
- USPS puts the return address top left, the delivery address in the center and postage top right, all on one side, with the label parallel to the longest side and old barcodes on a reused box covered. (usps.com, How to Send a Package)
- USPS says a package sent without enough postage may be returned to the sender. (usps.com, How to Send a Package)
- A Post Office with Label Broker at the counter or a self-service kiosk prints a label free from its QR code or 8 to 10 character ID; for Click-N-Ship labels, USPS will print and deliver the label for $1.65 each. (usps.com, Label Broker; usps.com, How to Send a Package)
- UPS says a label made on UPS.com can be printed at home or at The UPS Store, and reprinted from your shipping history if it is lost or damaged. (ups.com, Create and Print Shipping Labels)
- FedEx says a FedEx app label arrives as a QR code on your phone, and a team member at an eligible FedEx location prints it. (FedEx, Mobile app label printing)
Published carrier prices, fees and service rules are a benchmark, not what a GoatLabels label costs: a GoatLabels quote is one price per rate for your packed parcel, shown before you buy.
| Part of the label | What it does | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Sender (return) address | Names who sent the parcel | Top left on a USPS package |
| Delivery address | Routes the parcel to the recipient | In the center of the label |
| Service | Sets the delivery speed and the price table the postage came from | Chosen when you buy the label |
| Paid postage and tracking barcode | Shows the postage is paid and lets the carrier track the parcel | Top right on a USPS package |
Layout from usps.com, How to Send a Package; what a label does from ups.com, Create and Print Shipping Labels; both fetched .
So the label is the postage: buying it is the step that costs money, and printing only puts that purchase on paper. What a USPS label needs, field by field, is on USPS shipping labels online.
Where do you get a shipping label to print?
You get a shipping label from one of three places: the carrier's own website or app, a label platform that sells several carriers' labels, or a carrier counter. The first two give you a file to print; the counter prints it for you.
| Where you buy | Carriers | What you pay | What you get to print |
|---|---|---|---|
| The carrier's own site or app (USPS Click-N-Ship, UPS.com, the FedEx app) | That one carrier | The carrier's own price; USPS says Click-N-Ship gets its lower Commercial prices | A file to print, or a code a carrier location prints from |
| A label platform such as GoatLabels | USPS, UPS and FedEx on every domestic parcel, and DHL on international lanes | One price per rate, shown before you buy | A PDF, 4x6 by default or Letter and A4 (FedEx always 4x6); domestic USPS labels include a Label Broker QR code |
| A carrier counter, such as a Post Office retail counter | That carrier | At a Post Office, USPS retail prices | Bought and printed at the counter |
Click-N-Ship and Post Office prices from usps.com, Mail and Shipping Services, read ; UPS.com from ups.com, Create and Print Shipping Labels and the FedEx app from FedEx, Mobile app label printing, fetched . Published carrier prices are a benchmark, not what a GoatLabels label costs.
A carrier's own site suits a one-carrier seller; a platform suits a parcel that more than one carrier could take, because the same weight and box size price each service side by side.
How do you print a shipping label on GoatLabels?
Five steps take you from an order to a printed label: addresses, parcel, rate, payment, PDF.
- Enter both addresses. Type them, paste an order for the in-app assistant to draft, or bring orders in from Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, eBay and Wix, a CSV file or the API. GoatLabels checks the destination address before purchase, and a Residential toggle feeds the quote.
- Enter the packed weight and box size. Weigh the parcel as it will ship and measure the outside of the box; the method is on how to weigh a package, and each carrier's caps are on package size and weight limits.
- Pick a rate. USPS, UPS and FedEx are rate-shopped on every domestic parcel, and DHL on international lanes, with one price per rate shown before you buy. Set the ship date up to 14 days ahead.
- Pay from the wallet. Labels are paid from a prepaid wallet funded by card, ACH or crypto, and each label becomes a dated ledger line.
- Download the PDF and print it. Labels default to 4x6 for thermal printers, with Letter and A4 also available; FedEx labels always download as 4x6. You can merge up to 50 labels, with their packing slips, into one PDF.
For a stack of orders, a CSV of up to 500 rows is checked row by row and rate-shopped; see bulk shipping labels from a CSV. With your own PrintNode account, labels can print automatically after purchase on Pro.
What printer and paper do you need for a shipping label?
Any printer works: a 4x6 thermal label printer prints onto peel-and-stick labels with no ink, and an inkjet or laser printer prints on plain Letter or A4 paper that you trim and tape on, or onto half-sheet adhesive labels.
| Printer | Paper or labels | PDF to download | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4x6 thermal label printer | 4x6 direct thermal labels, peel and stick, no ink | The 4x6 PDF, the GoatLabels default | Set the printer's paper size to 4x6 so the label is not scaled |
| Inkjet or laser printer, plain paper | Letter or A4 printer paper | The Letter or A4 PDF, or the 4x6 PDF printed at actual size | Trim the margins and tape the label on with clear packing tape |
| Inkjet or laser printer, half-sheet labels | Letter sheets with two adhesive labels each | The 4x6 PDF printed at actual size onto one half | Check which half the printer uses before you run a batch |
Plain paper and clear packing tape from usps.com, How to Send a Package, fetched . PDF sizes are GoatLabels' label settings: 4x6 by default, Letter and A4 on request, FedEx always 4x6.
Print at 100 percent (actual size), not fit to page, so the barcode keeps its proportions. Cost per label, and when a thermal printer pays off, are worked through on thermal vs inkjet shipping labels and in thermal printer vs inkjet for shipping labels.
The shipping label template (free PDF) lays out address and handling fields on a 4x6 or Letter sheet, but it carries no postage: a paid label still has to go on the box.
How do you print a shipping label with no printer?
With no printer, show a code at a carrier location that prints labels, have USPS print a label and deliver it to you, or print the PDF somewhere else. Which routes you have depends on where the label was bought.
| Route | Offered by | Works with | Published cost to print |
|---|---|---|---|
| Label Broker QR code at a Post Office counter or kiosk | USPS | USPS labels issued with a Label Broker ID, including domestic USPS labels bought on GoatLabels | Printed free, per usps.com |
| Label Delivery Service (USPS prints the label and mails it to you) | USPS | Labels bought on Click-N-Ship | $1.65 per label |
| Print at The UPS Store | UPS | Labels made on UPS.com | Not stated on the UPS page we read |
| QR code shown at an eligible FedEx location | FedEx | Labels created in the FedEx app | Not stated on the FedEx page we read |
| A library, copy shop or a friend's printer | Anyone with a printer | Any PDF label, from any carrier or platform | Whatever that printer's owner charges |
Fetched : usps.com Label Broker; usps.com How to Send a Package; ups.com Create and Print Shipping Labels; FedEx Mobile app label printing. Postage is paid when the label is bought; these costs are for printing only.
Domestic USPS labels bought on GoatLabels include a Label Broker QR code: open it from the shipment and take the sealed parcel to a Post Office with Label Broker, which the usps.com finder lists. If a label shows no QR code option, print the PDF instead.
The UPS and FedEx routes start from a label made on UPS.com or in the FedEx app; UPS and FedEx labels bought on GoatLabels are PDFs to print elsewhere. When a Post Office cannot scan the code, see USPS Label Broker QR codes, explained, and every no-printer route is compared in ship a package without a printer.
What should you check before you stick the label on?
Before the label goes on, check that it belongs to this parcel, that it will sit flat on one side away from seams and tape, and that no old barcode on the box is still readable.
| Check | Why it matters | Who says so |
|---|---|---|
| Matches this parcel: weight, box size, service, packaging | Short postage can mean a return, and a heavier or bigger parcel can bring a carrier adjustment | USPS; GoatLabels posts adjustments to the wallet |
| On the largest side, parallel to the longest edge | The whole barcode lies flat | USPS; FedEx |
| Flat: not folded, bent over an edge or overlapping another label | A folded or overlapped barcode is hard to read | USPS |
| Off seams, edges, closures and sealing tape | Seams and tape lift and wrinkle in handling | UPS; FedEx |
| Old labels and barcodes covered or removed | Only one barcode should be readable | USPS; UPS |
| Tape that holds the label without hiding the barcode | FedEx says tape over the label can make the barcode unreadable | USPS (clear packing tape); FedEx (no tape over the label) |
| Both addresses also inside the box | The inside copy names sender and recipient if the outside label is damaged | UPS (UPS Ground parcels) |
USPS rules from usps.com, How to Send a Package and the UPS Ground inside-address rule from ups.com, Create and Print Shipping Labels, fetched ; seams, old labels and tape from the UPS Packaging Guidelines and the FedEx packaging guidelines, read .
The carriers differ on tape: USPS says to tape a paper label on with clear packing tape, while FedEx asks for no tape over the label. A thermal label sticks on its own; on a paper label, tape the edges and keep tape smooth where it crosses the barcode. A label that still will not scan is diagnosed in shipping label won't scan.
When should you reprint a label, and when should you void it?
Reprint the same label when the printed copy is smudged, torn or crooked and the parcel has not been handed over; void it and buy a new one when the address, weight, box size or service is wrong, or when the parcel will not ship at all.
A reprint is the same label, with the same barcode, for the same parcel; each label pays for and tracks one parcel, so a second copy never goes on a second box.
Void an unused label and, after the carrier accepts the void, the credit posts back to your prepaid wallet as spendable balance, not a card refund. A label the carrier has already scanned cannot be cancelled. Voids at each carrier are covered on void a shipping label.
What does GoatLabels do, and not do, when you print a label?
GoatLabels sells the label and gives you a PDF, plus a Label Broker QR code on domestic USPS labels; the printer, the paper and where the label goes on the box are yours.
What GoatLabels does and does not do. GoatLabels rate-shops USPS, UPS and FedEx on every domestic parcel, and DHL on international lanes, from one account, with one price per rate shown before you buy. Labels download as PDFs, 4x6 by default or Letter and A4, and FedEx labels always come as 4x6; there is no ZPL or EPL printer file. Schedule a carrier pickup from the dashboard or the API for labels already bought, where the carrier offers one; drop-off is the default.
GoatLabels does not generate a USPS SCAN form, and it cannot use your own negotiated carrier accounts. A carrier adjustment, if one follows, posts to the wallet as its own ledger line.
Free: 50 shipments a month. Pro: a flat $40 a month, unlimited shipments. Label prices are the same on the Free and Pro plans. PrintNode auto-print is on Pro; see pricing.
How to print a shipping label, answered
- Can I print a shipping label on regular paper?
- Yes. USPS says you do not need label sticker paper: print on regular printer paper and tape the label on with clear packing tape, keeping the barcode flat.
- Can the Post Office print my shipping label?
- Yes, from a USPS Label Broker QR code at a Post Office with Label Broker at the counter or a self-service kiosk; usps.com says the printing is free. Domestic USPS labels bought on GoatLabels include one.
- What size is a shipping label?
- GoatLabels labels default to 4x6 inches, the size thermal label printers take, with Letter and A4 PDFs also available. FedEx labels always download as 4x6.
- Is a shipping label the same as an address label?
- No. A shipping label carries the addresses plus the paid postage and its tracking barcode; an address label carries only the addresses.
- Can I use the same shipping label on two packages?
- No. Each label pays for and tracks one parcel. Print it again only to replace a damaged copy for that same parcel.
- Do I need a thermal printer to print shipping labels?
- No. Any inkjet or laser printer prints a shipping label on Letter or A4 paper. A thermal printer needs no ink and prints straight onto 4x6 labels, which saves trimming and taping.
Related reading: USPS shipping labels online, USPS Label Broker QR codes, explained, ship a package without a printer, thermal printer vs inkjet for shipping labels, thermal vs inkjet shipping labels, compared, shipping label template, free PDF, bulk shipping labels from a CSV, void a shipping label, shipping label won't scan.
Print the label your parcel needs.
Thermal, inkjet or no printer at all.
USPS, UPS and FedEx rate-shopped on every domestic parcel, and DHL on international lanes, from one account, with one price per rate shown before you buy and a PDF label ready to print.
Label prices are the same on the Free and Pro plans.