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ShipStation is all about efficiency. Which comes in handy as the holiday rush ramps up.
ShipStation is all about efficiency. Which comes in handy as the holiday rush ramps up. This is the time of year to make order fulfillment as streamlined as possible. And one way to fulfill orders even more effortlessly is to invest in a shipping label printer such as a thermal label printer. ShipStation also partners with Onyx Products for shipping supplies like printers and scales.
If you are looking for a recommendation on a laser printer to print on 8.5″ x 11″ paper, check out these great recommendations from The Wire Cutter and TechRadar.
If you run an ecommerce business, printing labels is a big part of your day. Thermal printers free you from dealing with desktop printers, taping paper labels onto a box, or buying expensive integrated labels. Since they use heat to transfer pigments onto a surface instead of using ink, they can print much more quickly. Thermal printer labels can also be surprisingly affordable. Instead of label rolls, some models of printers even support fanfold labels which are substantially less money per label.
Check out the Onyx Product store for products.
Three of the most commonly used and well-reviewed thermal printer manufacturers are the DYMO 4XL, the Zebra GK420, and the Rollo Thermal Label Printer. They each have their own strengths, and there are areas where other models beat them out. These are models we’ve either tested, use around the office to print labels, or have been praised by ShipStation customers.
These are the models that we either recommend or our customers do. The DYMO 4XL is generally the simplest to set up, the least fickle, and doesn’t need to be callibrated. The Zebra GK420 is a great upgrade pick that prints faster, with more customizable options, but is much more expensive and can be difficult to set up. The ROLLO Thermal Printer is a great alternative to the DYMO in that it has more customizations like fanfold label support, but it has a slightly more detailed setup process, and may have a hard time working with third-party cloudprinting apps like ShipStation Connect without a special plugin. Regardless, these are three of the most popular, highest-praised models. Ultimately, one of these three should be the right printer for you!
The DYMO LabelWriter® 4XL is one of the highest-rated thermal label printers by ecommerce sellers. It’s simple to set up and, unlike most other label printers, label misalignment is not an issue that you will likely encounter due to how the spool fits into the printer. It produces crisp, clear thermal transfer labels every time.
The Zebra ZD420 is a workhorse of a printer. It is a bit pricier than the DYMO label maker, but it can be fine-tuned to print exactly to your preferences. It also is a bit more powerful and initiates print jobs more quickly. If you’re using something like Scan To Print, it can print out the labels as quickly as you can create them. If you are looking for something that can handle the pressure of printing thermal labels all day, the Zebra ZD420 may be the best thermal label printer for you. Unlike the other two models being reviewed, the ZD420 also supports wireless and Bluetooth connectivity. (Note: Though Zebra no longer manufactures the GK series printers, they are still great printers that we also highly recommend.)
Rollo is the new kid in town and it’s ready to make a name for itself. Not only does this compact powerhouse cost less than the DYMO 4XL, it also supports fanfold labels! So unlike the DYMO, which requires very specific rolls of labels, you can feed a box of 4”x6” labels into your Rollo and get to printing.
Batch shipping with ShipStation lets you print up to 500 labels at once. With a good thermal printer, you can print all of your labels for a day at once.
ShipStation Connect is ShipStation’s cloud printing app. It allows you to print shipping labels directly from your computer to your printer without having to download or view the labels first. It can work from any device logged into ShipStation. So you can open ShipStation on a phone in Tokyo and print at your warehouse in Butte, Montana.
Sign up for a free ShipStation trial and start saving time and money on ecommerce printing today!
James Messer is a copywriter specializing in shipping, logistics, and ecommerce.