Shipping Gear Questions, Answered

No. Pirate Ship says any desktop printer on 8.5 x 11 paper works for its labels, so thermal is optional. A 4x6 thermal printer is a convenience upgrade: it prints labels in the size the platforms ask for, and it becomes worth considering as the number of labels you print grows. The Label Cost Calculator shows how many you print a month.

4x6. Pirate Ship's troubleshooting page says to choose 4x6 or 100 x 150 mm in the print dialog, and Etsy's help page is summarized as asking for 4 in x 6 in. If a label prints too big or too small, the paper size setting is the first thing to check.

Shopify's supported-printers page lists exactly five: the DYMO LabelWriter 5XL, Brother QL-1110NWB, Zebra ZD220, Zebra ZD421 and Rollo X1038. It does not list the DYMO 4XL, the Rollo X1040, MUNBYN or Phomemo. A printer that is not on the list is undocumented there, not proven broken.

No. Pirate Ship says its labels are PDFs that work with any printer that supports 4x6 paper. Its recommendations page names the Brother QL-1110NWB and QL-1100, and its getting-started page says a regular printer on 8.5 x 11 paper works too.

Start with the connection. Google's Chromebook printing page says Chromebooks do not support Bluetooth printing; a USB cable and IPP are the routes. Rollo lists its X1040 as printing from Chromebook, and MUNBYN's 941B is described as connecting computers and Chromebooks by USB (a maker listing we have not re-read). Check the exact model's page.

Through the printer's own app or a driverless route. Many 4x6 printers use Bluetooth and a brand app (search summaries name HereLabel, MUNBYN print and CorePrint), and Rollo lists its X1040 as printing from iPhone, iPad and Android and as AirPrint certified. Chromebooks do not support Bluetooth printing, per Google. Confirm the app and the model before you buy.

It depends on the model. Rollo's support page says the USB model needs a Mac driver (OS X 10.9 or later) and the Wireless model needs none. Use Rollo's own page for the install steps for your version of macOS; we do not reproduce steps here because they change.

It differs by maker. Rollo says any direct thermal label from 1.57 to 4.1 inches wide works. Pirate Ship says DYMO 4XL labels need not be DYMO-brand but must be DYMO-compatible. Brother's QL needs DK rolls, and Brother warns that non-genuine labels may damage the printer.

That depends on your own invoices. Per-label prices quoted around the web disagree, so this site quotes none. Enter each format’s labels per pack and your own price into the Label Cost Calculator and compare the two cost-per-label figures. Your printer decides which formats you can use at all.

A search-result summary of DYMO's page says the 5XL works only with authentic DYMO LW labels. We have not re-read the page, so confirm it on DYMO's site. The 4XL is different: Pirate Ship says its labels must be DYMO-compatible, not necessarily DYMO-brand.

Pirate Ship says any scale that reads ounces works, and a kitchen scale that shows ounces is enough to start. Capacity is the other choice: Pirate Ship's own scale recommendations include 25, 50 and 110 lb models. Pick the capacity from the heaviest parcel you ship.

No, it is a convenience. If you want one, check which operating systems its software supports before you buy: a search summary of DYMO's scale page says its software works with Windows 8.1 and macOS 10.14 and below, which we have not re-read.

Choose by item weight, fragility and shape. Soft, unbreakable goods suit a mailer; fragile or rigid goods suit a box. Pirate Ship says poly mailers need a length and width, and boxes need length, width and height, so measure first. Dimensional weight uses a carrier-set divisor that changes, so we print no carrier numbers.

Pirate Ship's getting-started page is short: any desktop printer on 8.5 x 11 paper works (thermal is optional), any scale that reads ounces works, and you need the dimensions of what you ship. Add packaging that fits, tape, and labels your printer accepts. The First-Shipment Checklist turns that into a list.

We can only point to checks that the platform and maker pages support. Confirm you are using 4x6 direct thermal label paper, which is Pirate Ship's advice. Confirm the print dialog's paper size is 4x6 or 100 x 150 mm. Then read your printer maker's support page for your exact model, since the steps differ by brand. We do not publish step lists we have not verified.

A label maker prints small tape or sticker labels for organizing and inventory. A 4x6 label printer prints full-size shipping labels, 4 by 6 inches or 100 x 150 mm. Listings often use "label printer" for both, so check the label width and the 4x6 paper size before you buy.

It depends on what you buy and whether those items are eligible. According to Amazon's pages as summarized in search results we have not re-read, registration uses a work email and company details and may need verification, and business-only prices and quantity discounts apply to eligible items. Check that the supplies you reorder are eligible. This is not tax advice.

Start from the short list Pirate Ship gives new sellers: a printer that can print the labels, a scale that reads ounces, and packaging you can measure. Then lay the table out in the order of the job, for example weigh, pack, label, tape, with the supplies you use on every order within reach and the rest on a shelf.

No. Carrier rates, surcharges and dimensional-weight divisors change, and per-label prices published around the web disagree, so we print none. We link out to the platforms and carriers for current numbers, and the Label Cost Calculator works from the price you type.