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No. A regular inkjet or laser printer works fine for shipping labels: print at 100 percent scale, cut out the label, and tape it flat to the box. Thermal printers (Rollo, Dymo, Zebra) just make the process faster and cheaper per label, which only pays off once you are shipping regularly.
| Regular printer (inkjet/laser) | Thermal printer | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to start | Nothing if you already own one | A dedicated machine plus label rolls |
| Cost per label | Ink or toner plus paper, higher per label | Heat-sensitive label stock only: no ink or toner to buy |
| Speed | Slower: print a full page, cut, tape | Fast: one peel-and-stick 4x6 label, seconds per parcel |
| Label durability | Good if taped fully over with clear packing tape | Good indoors, but the print fades with prolonged heat or sunlight |
| Best for | Occasional shippers, a few parcels a month | Anyone shipping daily or running a small store |
Scaling. Shipping labels are designed at 4x6 inches, and your printer's default is often "fit to page", which shrinks the label to fill letter-size paper. A shrunken barcode can fail to scan at the sort facility, which delays the parcel or forces a manual entry. Fix it in the print dialog: set the scale to 100 percent (or "actual size") and print on plain paper. Then cut the label out and tape it flat to the largest side of the box, covering the whole label with clear packing tape so rain cannot smear it. One more pitfall: do not tape over the barcode with tape that has printing or heavy texture on it, and keep the label away from box edges and seams where it can crease.
Run the rough math on your volume. A thermal printer costs more up front but each label costs only the sticker stock, with no ink or toner. If you ship a few parcels a month, the inkjet you already own wins: the per-label savings would take years to cover the machine. If you ship every day, the time savings alone justify it: peel-and-stick versus print, cut, and tape is minutes per parcel, and minutes times dozens of parcels is real labor. The break-even point for most small sellers sits somewhere around a few parcels a week, but only you know your volume, so count your actual shipments before buying hardware.
Thermal labels print with heat, not ink, which means the image can fade. A label left on a dashboard in summer sun or stored near a heat source can go blank over weeks or months. For normal shipping this rarely matters: the label only needs to survive the few days of transit. But if you print labels far in advance, or your parcels sit in a hot garage before pickup, print closer to ship day. Also, thermal printers need the right label size loaded: 4x6 is the standard for shipping labels, and the printer's settings must match the roll, or the print lands off-center and the barcode gets clipped.
LetterAgent provides the shipping label as a PDF: you ask your AI assistant, get a per-label quote, approve the exact price, pay once through Stripe, and receive the label PDF. The PDF prints on any ordinary printer at 100 percent scale. LetterAgent's labels are Canada-only flat-rate Xpresspost for parcels up to 5 kg. Tape the printed label flat to the box, fully covered with clear tape, and drop the parcel off. No special printer needed.
Ready to ship it? Get a shipping label with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and get your label.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
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