Shipping Label Template

How to use this shipping label template

1. Pick a label format. 4×6 is the thermal-printer and pack-station standard. 4×4 is a compact square for smaller parcels. 2-up half-sheet prints two 8.5″ × 5.5″ labels per Letter page (the Avery 5126/8126 layout) so you can run two off one sheet of paper. Full Letter fills a whole 8.5″ × 11″ sheet — easy to print anywhere, then trim and tape.
2. Enter the addresses. The Ship to block is required and prints large and bold so it reads from arm's length. Add a From / return address, an order or reference number, and the package weight if you want them on the label. The preview on the right updates with every keystroke.
3. Add handling marks and a barcode. Toggle Fragile, This Side Up, Handle With Care, Do Not Stack, or Perishable — they print as bordered badges. Turn on the barcode and type your own reference to encode it as a scannable Code 128 symbol for your internal tracking.
4. Set copies and download. Need a stack of the same label? Set the copy count (1–100) and the tool lays them out across pages — two per page on the half-sheet, one per page otherwise. Hit Download PDF for a clean file, or Copy link to save the exact label as a URL you can reopen or send. Nothing is uploaded; the PDF is built on your device.

Why this shipping label template is different

Search "shipping label template" and almost every result is a funnel for a shipping-software signup, a paywalled design file, or a carrier account. Here's what's typical online versus what this tool does instead:

• Four real formats in one place. Most makers lock you into a single 4×6. This one switches between 4×6 thermal, 4×4, a 2-up half-sheet, and full Letter from the same inputs — so the label fits whatever paper or printer you actually have.
• No signup, no SaaS funnel, no watermark. The popular free generators are lead-gen for a shipping platform (Sendcloud, AfterShip, CraftMyPDF) or hide the clean file behind a paywall. This exports a clean PDF with no account, no email gate, and no stamp.
• A barcode of your reference. Add a genuine Code 128 barcode of your own order or SKU number for internal scanning and sorting — generated in-browser, no account, the same symbology warehouses use.
• Handling marks built in. One-click Fragile, This Side Up, and the rest print as proper bordered badges, instead of you typing them in by hand or pasting clip art.
• Embeddable for any site. Drop a one-line <iframe> on a small-business resource page, an e-commerce blog, or a shipping-and-receiving intranet and the generator runs there too. None of the popular label makers offer an embed.

How the sizes and barcode work

Every dimension is laid out in PostScript points, where 1 inch = 72 points — the same unit Word, Acrobat, and Avery use — so a label that says 4×6 measures exactly 4″ × 6″ on paper:

• 4×6 thermal = 288 × 432 pt (one label per page)
• 4×4 square = 288 × 288 pt (one label per page)
• Full Letter = 612 × 792 pt (one label per page)
• 2-up half-sheet = a 612 × 792 Letter page with two 612 × 396 pt labels, the top one at the page origin and the second at y = 396 pt — the Avery 5126/8126 shipping-label layout
• pages = ceil(copies ÷ labels-per-page)

The optional barcode is a true Code 128B symbol per ISO/IEC 15417. It uses Start B (value 104), encodes each character as its ASCII value minus 32, appends a checksum of (104 + Σ valueᵢ × position) mod 103, and ends with the Stop pattern (value 106). That's the same math a warehouse scanner expects — so the barcode you print here scans on a standard reader. It encodes whatever reference you type; it is not a carrier tracking number.

Three real-world scenarios

1. An Etsy seller shipping from home

A maker prints 4×6 labels for the day's orders. They enter each ship-to address, add their return address and order number, toggle Fragile for the ceramics, and download a 4×6 PDF that prints straight to a desktop label printer. A dedicated thermal label printer turns this into a one-tap workflow with no ink to replace.

2. A small warehouse adding internal barcodes

A receiving desk needs every outbound box tagged with the internal order ID for scanning. They turn on the barcode, type the order number, and the tool prints a Code 128 symbol their handheld scanner reads on the line — no shipping platform, no per-label fee. They run a stack of the same label by bumping the copy count.

3. An office mailing room running off plain paper

No label stock on hand — just a laser printer and copy paper. They pick the 2-up half-sheet format, print two labels per sheet, cut them apart, and tape them to the parcels with clear packing tape. At month-end, a desktop document scanner archives the shipping paperwork into a searchable folder.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a real postage label I can ship with?

No — and that's an important distinction. This generates a printable address / shipping label for your package, not valid carrier postage and not a scannable carrier tracking barcode. To actually pay for shipping and get tracking, buy postage from USPS, UPS, or FedEx through their own tools. Use this label alongside carrier postage, or for internal routing, returns processing, and package identification.

What does the barcode encode?

Whatever reference text you type — an order number, SKU, or internal ID. It's a genuine Code 128 barcode, so a standard scanner will read back exactly that string. It is not a carrier tracking number and won't track a shipment; it's for your own internal scanning, sorting, and record-keeping.

Which size should I use — 4×6, 4×4, half-sheet, or Letter?

4×6 is the universal shipping-label size and what thermal printers and most label sheets use. 4×4 suits small parcels and poly mailers. The 2-up half-sheet matches Avery 5126/8126 and gets two labels from one Letter sheet — handy on a plain laser printer. Full Letter prints the label across a whole sheet so you can run it anywhere, then trim and tape.

Is my address data saved anywhere?

No. Everything runs in your browser — nothing is sent to a server. The PDF is generated on your device with a small JavaScript library (jsPDF) loaded from a public CDN. The Copy link button encodes the label into the URL so you can reopen or share it, but that link lives only where you save it.

Can I print these on plain paper instead of label stock?

Yes. Any of the formats print on regular paper from a normal inkjet or laser printer — the full-Letter and 2-up half-sheet options are designed for exactly that. Print, cut to size, and attach with clear packing tape. Label stock (or a thermal printer) just makes it peel-and-stick.

Related tools

• Avery 5160 Template Generator — type or paste up to 30 return-address or mailing labels and download a perfectly-aligned PDF for the 30-up sheet.
• Freight Class Calculator — NMFC class from density for LTL shipments, with a branded BOL prep sheet. The companion for pallet freight.
• Receipt Generator — itemized thermal or full-page receipts with live tax, total, and change-due math, watermark-free PDF.
• Browse all free tools by Sarah Chen →

Sarah's picks for the pack-and-ship station

A label is only half the job — printing it cleanly and keeping the paper trail is the rest. After a decade running office operations and a shipping desk, these are the categories worth buying:

• Best Thermal Label Printers — for anyone printing 4×6 or 4×4 labels at any volume. Thermal printers skip ink entirely, so there's nothing to smudge or replace, and they peel-and-stick straight onto the box.
• Best Label Makers — for one-off package labels, return-address tags, and the bin and shelf labels that keep a shipping station organized between rushes.
• Best Document Scanners — for turning the shipping paperwork, packing slips, and receipts you generate into a searchable digital archive. A sheet-fed scanner clears a week of shipping docs in minutes.

Methodology & sources

• Label geometry is laid out in PostScript points (1 in = 72 pt): 4×6 = 288 × 432, 4×4 = 288 × 288, Letter = 612 × 792, and the 2-up half-sheet as a Letter page with two 612 × 396 pt labels at y = 0 and y = 396. The half sheet follows the published Avery 5126/8126 (8.5″ × 5.5″, two-up) layout.
• Barcode is Code 128B per ISO/IEC 15417: Start B = 104, each character value = ASCII − 32, checksum = (104 + Σ valueᵢ × i) mod 103, Stop = 106, rendered from the standard 107-symbol module-width table.
• PDF generation uses jsPDF (MIT-licensed) from the jsDelivr CDN, in points, so on-paper dimensions match the spec exactly. The math runs entirely in your browser; no data is uploaded.
• Test fixtures — 11 cases (page and label dimensions for all four formats, the 2-up second-label origin, copies-to-pages math, and three hand-computed Code 128B checksums) run on every build via scripts/validate-tool-fixtures.mjs. If any dimension or checksum drifts, the build fails.

Note: This generates a printable shipping/address label for your package — not valid carrier postage or a scannable tracking barcode. Buy postage from USPS / UPS / FedEx for that. The optional barcode encodes your own reference number (Code 128), not carrier tracking. About Sarah Chen · Last reviewed June 26, 2026.

Embed this tool on your site

Free for small-business resource pages, e-commerce and shipping blogs, fulfillment guides, and office intranets. Required attribution is included in the snippet. No fee, no signup, no analytics attached to the embed.

<iframe
  src="https://deskrated.com/shipping-label-template/embed/"
  width="100%"
  height="760"
  loading="lazy"
  style="border:1px solid #d8e6e3; border-radius:16px; max-width:920px;"
  title="Shipping Label Template — free label maker (DeskRated)">
</iframe>
<p style="font-size:12px;color:#666;margin-top:8px">
  Shipping label template by
  <a href="https://deskrated.com/shipping-label-template/">DeskRated</a>
  &middot; Reviewed by Sarah Chen, CAP, PMP
</p>