Can I automatically print shipping labels from a thermal printer?

Can I automatically print shipping labels from a thermal printer?

Killian13
Visitor
3 0 3

I've seen this asked on here before but no answers.

 

Is there a way to send shipping labels directly to a thermal printer automatically? This feature is standard with platforms like ShippingEasy and Shipstation. 

 

I want to be able to:

 

1. select order

2. click "create shipping label"

3. click "buy shipping label"

4. The label automatically prints without having to open up the pdf and click print

 

Doing this manually is incredibly tedious and 10 years behind technology wise. I'm trying to switch from Shipstation to Shopify Shipping entirely but without this feature it's a deal killer. Am I missing something or is there potentially a third-party software that can accomplish this task?

Replies 5 (5)

PH21
Tourist
4 1 2

I'm having the same issue. It's very tedious to print a lot of shipping labels!

TreeJuice
Visitor
1 0 0

ME TOO!   following

ordoro
Shopify Partner
53 0 3

As far as I can tell, Shopify doesn't currently (Jan 2024) have a way to connect directly to a printer. Most third-party shipping software (including Ordoro) do this through a library like printnode. That'll require you to install a plugin one-time and then the browser can send the label directly to the printer. 

http://apps.shopify.com/ordoro- Automated Dropshipping, Easy Shipping Labels (USPS, Fedex, UPS) and Powerful Inventory Management for Shopify stores

1020shaf
Tourist
6 0 1

I know this post is a bit old, but I have a half-baked solution. Essentially, it's an autohotkey script which will print a PDF file with the default selected printer and default set settings as soon as it is opened in chrome.

 

Here's how it works:

  1. The script checks every second to see if a Chrome window with a PDF is open.
  2. If it detects a PDF, it automatically sends Ctrl+P to open the print dialog.
  3. After waiting a couple of seconds for the dialog to fully load, it sends Enter to print the label.
  4. Then, it sends Esc to close the print dialog and Ctrl+W to close the Chrome tab.
  5. The script keeps running in the background, ready to repeat the process whenever a new PDF is opened.

Note that this script will print any PDF it finds, not just shipping labels. For me, that's not an issue since I use a dedicated PC for printing labels and handle other file types differently. Make sure you set the printer configurations in the print dialog before running the script (paper size, scale, selected printer etc).

 

It might be possible to create a more advanced script that uses commands to move the mouse cursor around the Shopify interface and automates the printing process entirely. I'll keep you updated if I make any progress on that front.

 

  1. Download AutoHotkey
  2. Paste the code in Notepad
  3. Save it as .ahk
  4. Run the script.
  5. If you want the script to load automatically when you boot up the computer, then follow these steps:
  6. Open Win+R, type shell:startup, hit enter
  7. Move the .ahk script in there.

 

#Persistent
SetTimer, CheckChromePDF, 1000 ; Check every second if a Chrome window with a PDF is open

CheckChromePDF:
    ; Check if Chrome is running and has a PDF file open
    IfWinExist, ahk_class Chrome_WidgetWin_1
    {
        ; Get the URL of the active Chrome tab
        WinGetTitle, ChromeURL, ahk_class Chrome_WidgetWin_1
        
        ; Check if the URL ends with ".pdf"
        IfInString, ChromeURL, .pdf
        {
            ; Activate the Chrome window
            WinActivate, ahk_class Chrome_WidgetWin_1
            
            ; Wait for a couple of seconds before sending Ctrl+P
            Sleep, 2000
            
            ; Send Ctrl+P to print the PDF
            Send, ^p
            Sleep, 500
            
            ; Wait for the print dialog to appear
            WinWaitActive, Print, , 5
            
            ; If the print dialog is open, send Enter to print
            IfWinExist, Print
            {
                ; Send Enter to confirm printing
                Send, {Enter}
                Sleep, 500
                
                ; Close the print dialog
                Send, {Esc}
                
                ; Close the Chrome tab
                Send, ^w
            }
        }
    }
return

 

 

shaf

antdonn
Visitor
1 0 0

i have a brother printing solution, so it will get the pending orders for delivery. and then as required print out a label with anything you want on it.

 

this is not free, there is a cost involved.