A shipping label describes your shipment, including details like the point of origin and the destination. Without a clear shipping label, your shipment might be delayed in transit, delivered to the wrong address, or be lost entirely.
This article covers how to print a label from your Shippit account, the information that's on a Shippit label, and some labelling best practices.
About Shippit labels
Shippit labels contain everything your order needs to be picked up by a carrier, and delivered to your recipient. There are lots of different types of information on a shipping label, this is a list of all the different types of information that can be on a shipping label:
💡Note: Different labels have different requirements, and not all labels have or need everything on this list.
Carrier name: The name of the carrier the package is booked with.
Order details: Any order, job, or ID numbers associated with the order.
Recipient information: The name and address of the recipient.
Item details: The item count, weight, and volume of the package.
Contact details: The name and phone number to contact regarding the package.
Delivery instructions: Any additional instructions you have provided for the order.
Sender details: The name and address of the sender.
Order date: The date the order was prepared for shipping.
Sort code: Used by carriers to route an order to a specific warehouse before final delivery
Barcodes: Used by carriers to quickly process orders, and can also contain service code information such as authority to leave, or safe drop.
QR codes or data matrixes: Sometimes used with or instead of barcodes for faster order processing and additional information related to the delivery.
You can also add your own custom branding to your Shippit labels. For more information, see our Custom branding article.
Print a shipping label
You can print shipping labels from your Shippit account. You can print a label from the New orders screen, or from the Ready to ship screen, depending on what works best for your workflow. You can also download your previous labels from the Track screen if you need them later on.
For more information about the New orders screen, see the New orders article.
For more information about the Ready to ship screen, see the Ready to ship article.
For more information about the Track seen, see the Track article.
You can also confirm an order and print a label directly from your handheld scanner. For more information about scanning, see the Scan to print article.
If you are using a bespoke integration with the Shippit APIs, you can use the Label API to print ZPL compatible labels. For more information about the Label API, see the Developer centre.
Configure labels
You can configure how your shipping labels are printed, including the return address and which label view to use.
Configuring label printing
Log in to your Shippit account.
Open the drop down menu in the top right of your screen, and click Settings.
Click Label and scan to go the labels settings.
In the Labels section, type the return address to use on your labels.
In the Label view section, select the label view to use.
Click Save to save your changes.
The available label view options are:
Label format | Description |
Label only | Print the label only |
A4 integrated label and packslip | Print the label at A4 size, and print the packing slip |
Label and portrait packslip | Print the label, and print the packing slip in portrait |
Label and landscape packslip | Print the label, and print the packing slip in landscape |
Label, landscape packslip and return slip | Print the label, print the packing slip in landscape, and print the return slip |
Labelling best practices
When you create your labels, use thermal printing paper. Thermal labels give higher quality printing, and provide resistance to UV rays, liquids or oils, and volatile weather conditions.
If you don't have a thermal printer, the next best option is to use dark printer ink to ensure the text and the barcode on the shipping label is readable. You can also use a plastic packing slip pocket to ensure your shipping label can stand up to rainy weather.
If the contents of your shipment require special instructions, make a note of it on the label, such as ‘Fragile’, ‘Perishable’, or ‘Flammable’. You can also note if the shipment needs to be ‘This Side Up’.
Place your labels on the top of your shipment, especially if there is a ‘This Side Up’ instruction.
Make sure your shipping labels are fully visible, and not creased or folded over any edges. This can obscure important information, or make it so that carriers can't scan the label.
Don't write or cross out any sections using markers on the shipping label.
If you are using additional labels, make sure you don't cover or overlap the Shippit label.
Don't use a damaged label. If the label has been placed improperly on your shipment, just remove the label and paste a new label instead.