Print barcode labels

The Barcode Labels page prints barcode labels for your products, in whatever quantities you need. You can use it to label stock as it arrives, to label products that came without a barcode, or to replace labels that have worn off. Labels can print on a roll in a thermal label printer, or on sheets of labels in an office printer.

You build a list of products, choose how many labels each one needs, and print them all in one go. The page shows a preview of the label, or of a whole sheet, before you print.

[Screenshot: the Barcode Labels page with three products in the list, the label template and printer chosen, and a preview of the first label]

Open the Barcode Labels page

In Scanpacker, click Barcode Labels in the sidebar. You need the View orders permission to use the page. It isn’t available in the Scanpacker phone apps, so use a web browser on a computer or tablet.

Other pages open the Barcode Labels page with a list already filled in:

  • Product Data: Select the products you want, then click Print labels.
  • Receiving: After you receive a shipment, click Print barcode labels to print one label for each unit you accepted. See Receive stock.
  • Returns: After you check a return, click Print barcode labels to print labels for the restocked items. See Check returns.
  • Templates: When you edit a barcode label template, click Print Labels to print with that template.

You can change the list before printing, whichever way you opened the page.

Choose the products and quantities

To add products to the list, type a product title, SKU, or barcode into the search box at the top of the Labels list. Click Add next to a product to add it, or Add all to add every result. Adding a product that’s already in the list adds one more label for it rather than a second row.

Each product in the list shows its barcode and its available stock at your current location. A product without a barcode is marked No barcode. Add a barcode to it before you print, either in Shopify or in Scanpacker (see Barcodes), because otherwise its label has nothing to encode.

Enter the number of labels you want in each product’s Quantity field. A product with a quantity of 0 isn’t printed. The total number of labels is shown above the list. To change several quantities at once:

  • Set all to: Enter a number and click Apply to give every product in the list the same quantity.
  • Match available stock: Sets each product’s quantity to its available stock, so you get one label for each unit you have. Products whose inventory isn’t tracked in Shopify keep the quantity they had.
  • Clear list: Removes every product from the list. To remove one product, click the cross at the end of its row.

A list can hold up to 250 products, with up to 1,000 labels for each.

Scanpacker remembers a list you build on this page. If you leave the page and come back to it later in the same browser, your list is still there. A list that another page filled in, such as a receipt, isn’t remembered in this way.

Choose the template, paper, and printer

The settings beside the list decide what the labels look like and where they print.

  • Label template: The template for the label. Scanpacker includes built-in barcode label templates, and you can add your own. Click Edit template to change the selected template’s layout or paper. Only staff who can manage templates see this link.
  • Paper: The label roll or sheet the template prints on. The paper belongs to the template, so to change it, edit the template or choose a different one.
  • Printer: The printer to print on. Scanpacker chooses your printer for this kind of labels, or the printer you last used with this template. If your shop uses stations, it chooses your station’s printer.

Some printers can’t print every template. A thermal printer set up as a raw printer prints only ZPL, the language Zebra printers use, so it isn’t offered for sheets of labels or for templates that print as PDF. Choose a printer that accepts PDF for those. For more about which printer prints what, see Printing.

If no printers are listed, set up Scanpacker Printer Connect on a computer connected to your printer, or download the labels as a PDF instead.

Preview the labels

The preview shows the label for the first product in the list, using the template and paper you’ve chosen. When the paper is a sheet of labels, you can switch the preview between One label and Whole sheet. The whole sheet shows where each label will print, which is useful when you’re starting part way through a sheet.

The preview updates when you change the template, the paper, or the first product in the list.

Scanpacker supports common Avery label sheets for A4 and US Letter paper, such as Avery L7160 and Avery 5160. Labels print in order, left to right from the top of the sheet, and continue onto further sheets when one is full.

When the paper is a sheet, click More options for two more settings:

  • Start at label: To use a sheet that already has some labels missing, enter the number of the first unused label, counting left to right from the top. Printing starts at that label.
  • Print alignment guides: Prints a mark at each corner of every label, which helps you check that your printer lines the labels up with the sheet. Print a test sheet on plain paper and hold it against a sheet of labels.

Important: Print at actual size (100%). If your printer or PDF viewer scales the page to fit, the labels no longer line up with the sheet.

When the list and settings are ready, do one of the following:

  • Print labels: Sends the labels to the chosen printer. Scanpacker shows how many labels are printing and on which printer. If the print can’t finish, for example because the printer is offline, Scanpacker tells you on the page.
  • Download PDF: Prepares a PDF of all the labels. This takes a moment for a long list. When it’s ready, a link to open the file appears below the buttons. You can download a PDF without Printer Connect, which is useful for printing sheets of labels from any computer.
  • Printing — set up Printer Connect and choose your printers
  • Templates — change the layout of a barcode label
  • Label printers — choose a thermal printer and labels
  • Barcodes — add or change the barcodes on your products
  • Receive stock — print labels for stock as it arrives