Tutorial

ShipStation labels on Zebra thermal printers

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Print ShipStation labels on Zebra printers

Published: · 10 min read · Tutorial

ShipStation is one of the most popular multi-carrier platforms for US e-commerce brands. Most ShipStation users already own a Zebra ZD420, ZD421, or GK420d for 4×6 thermal labels. This guide covers two paths: printing official postage from ShipStation to Zebra, and using free mylabelmaker for custom pack faces, warehouse tags, and CSV-driven ship-to labels when you need more control.

Postage vs design: Buy rates and official carrier labels inside ShipStation. Use mylabelmaker when you want free visual design, Excel/CSV batch for internal labels, Mac-native design without Windows-only tools, or clean ZPL for a custom print path. Many US warehouses run both.

Path A — ShipStation direct to Zebra (postage labels)

  1. In ShipStation, set your default label size to 4×6.
  2. Install the Zebra as a thermal printer (or use ShipStation’s recommended Zebra driver / Browser Print path for your OS).
  3. Create labels for today’s orders and print from ShipStation’s print queue.
  4. If PDFs scale wrong (tiny label on a page), switch to thermal/native 4×6 settings — never “fit to page” on letter paper.

Hardware setup help: ZD420, ZD421, Browser Print.

Path B — Free browser design + CSV from ShipStation data

When you need custom branding, pack slips on thermal stock, bin labels, or a Mac-friendly designer:

  1. In ShipStation, export shipments or orders to CSV (name, address, city, state, ZIP, order #, tracking, SKU).
  2. Open app.mylabelmaker.com — free, no signup.
  3. Set artboard to 4×6 (shipping) or 2×1 / 3×2 (product/bin).
  4. Map fields with tokens: {{name}}, {{address1}}, {{city}}, {{state}}, {{zip}}, {{tracking}}, {{order_id}}.
  5. Paste CSV in Variables → preview each row → print to Zebra via Browser Print.

Full mail-merge guide: print labels from Excel/CSV.

What US ShipStation sellers print most

ShipStation + Shopify / Etsy / eBay

ShipStation often sits in front of Shopify, Amazon, eBay, and Walmart. Export from the channel or from ShipStation — same CSV → mylabelmaker flow. Related: Shopify, Etsy & eBay, Walmart.

Do not forge carrier barcodes: Official prepaid ShipStation labels must come from ShipStation/carrier systems. mylabelmaker is for layouts you control and for batching your own address/tracking data after rates are purchased.

Mac users on ShipStation teams

ZebraDesigner does not run natively on macOS. Design custom labels in the browser, print via Browser Print. Guide: Zebra label maker for Mac.

Design free labels for your ShipStation Zebra

No install for design. Batch from the CSV you already export.

Open mylabelmaker

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