Print SmartPosti labels on a thermal label printer (100×150)

SmartPosti, the Posti Group parcel brand in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, creates parcel labels that you print yourself. Here is how to get them onto 100×150 mm labels on a Zebra, TSC or Honeywell printer, from the self-service portal or your webshop.

Where SmartPosti labels come from

SmartPosti's published documents mention only PDF labels, not ZPL or EPL, so you print through your printer's Windows driver.

Choose a label size that fits 100×150 mm

A 4-inch printer needs a label file with one label close to 100×150 mm.

• A6 (105×148 mm): the closest match. It prints on a 100×150 mm label with a very small scale-down. Choose it wherever you get a choice.
• A5 (148×210 mm): the API default. It is too wide for a 4-inch printer. Fitted to the label, it shrinks to about two thirds by our arithmetic (100 ÷ 148 mm), barcodes included.
• A4 options: office sheets, by their names with four or eight labels each. Not for a label roll.

Not sure which size you get? Open the label PDF and check the page size in your PDF reader's document properties. If it is A4 or A5, ask SmartPosti customer support for a label printer or A6 format.

Load 100×150 mm labels

Use direct thermal labels: they print without ribbon. We stock 100×150 mm labels, 500 pcs on a 40 mm core and eco labels, 1,000 pcs on a 76 mm core. In our product titles, "40 g" and "76 g" mean the core diameter in millimetres, not the weight.

Check the core and roll size against your printer before you order. The Zebra ZD220 and ZD230 take 12.7 and 25.4 mm cores (38.1 mm with adapters), and the ZD421 also has adapters for 50.8 and 76 mm cores. The TSC DA210 and DA220 take 25.4 or 38 mm cores and need the optional external roll mount for 76.2 mm cores. The Honeywell PC42E takes 25.4 and 38.1 mm cores; the PC42E-D also takes 12.7 mm.

After loading the roll, calibrate the printer so it finds the gap between labels.

Set 100×150 mm in the printer driver

Without the label size in the driver, Windows sends an A4 page and the label comes out tiny or cut off.

• Zebra (ZDesigner driver): in Printing preferences, open the Page Setup tab, set Media Settings to 100 mm wide and 150 mm high, and set Printing mode to Thermal Direct under Print Options.
• TSC (TSC Windows driver): in Printing preferences, open Page Setup › Stock › New, enter a width of 100 mm and a height of 150 mm, and select the new stock.
• Honeywell PC42E (InterDriver): set the label size to 100×150 mm in the driver's printing preferences; on the PC42E-T, also set the print method to direct thermal.

Step-by-step screens for each brand: Zebra, TSC and Honeywell PC42E.

Print the label

1. Create the shipment in Self-service, SmartShip or your webshop module, then open or download the label.
2. Open the print dialog and choose your label printer. The paper size should show 100×150 mm.
3. Set the scaling: if the PDF page is exactly 100×150 mm (4×6 in), print at actual size (100 %). For any other page size, such as A6, choose Fit to page. Never shrink an A4 or A5 sheet with several labels onto one label.
4. Choose portrait or automatic orientation.
5. Print one label, scan its barcode, then print the rest.

Pale print or a barcode that won't scan: raise darkness (Zebra, Honeywell) or density (TSC) one step at a time, lower the print speed or clean the printhead. Bars that run together mean the darkness is too high.

Stick the label on the parcel

SmartPosti asks you to remove old labels and barcodes from reused boxes, attach the printed label to the top side of the parcel where it is clearly visible, and keep it away from the seams where the lid flaps meet, because it may peel off there. Each parcel of a multi-parcel shipment needs its own label.

Printing from your webshop

SmartPosti offers modules for WooCommerce, PrestaShop, OpenCart and Magento and the SmartPosti app for Shopify (developer UAB Mijora) on its download modules page. They cover parcel locker delivery in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland and courier delivery. To connect them, you need an agreement and API credentials from SmartPosti.

The manuals don't state the label size, so check the first PDF as described above. Platform print settings: Shopify and WooCommerce.

Common problems