The biggest mistake new e-commerce sellers make is printing shipping labels on A4 paper, cutting them out and taping them to the box. That works for 5 parcels a day, but at 50 or 100 a day it brings your operation to a halt.
Professional sellers have a simple secret: print and stick.
And the standard size for that is the 100x150 mm thermal label. Why 100x150 and not something else? Let's look at this hidden e-commerce standard.
Why 100x150 mm? (The Marketplace Standard)
Big marketplaces work with courier integrations whose output is close to the international logistics standard of A6, which works out at 100 mm wide x 150 mm long.
Using this size gives you:
- A perfect fit: when you click "print label" in your seller panel, all the information (sender, recipient, barcode, weight) fits exactly.
- Readability: barcodes print large enough to scan first time at the depot. On small labels barcodes get squeezed and fail.
- Speed: no settings to adjust. Plug and play.
Thermal Labels: No More Ink
Thermal labels are used for shipping mainly for cost and speed. The surface is heat-sensitive.
- No ribbon needed: the print head heats the paper and it turns black. No ink or toner costs.
- Economical: a shipping label only needs to last until the parcel arrives. For that short time, eco thermal is the cheapest option.
Alternative Size: 100x100 mm
Some courier integrations or smaller parcels use 100x100 mm square labels. If you only print a barcode and recipient name, that's enough. For a full shipping template, stick with 100x150 mm.
Make Your Parcels Look Branded
Thermal labels handle the address; your brand deserves more. For logo stickers, thank-you labels or product labels on your boxes, see our sheet labels and roll labels, or read our shipping box sticker guide.
Printer Compatibility
100x150 mm labels fit almost all desktop label printers on the market. What matters is that your printer supports "direct thermal" printing.
Conclusion: Speed Up Your Operation
Shipping is the heart of e-commerce. If you don't want parcels returned because of an unreadable label, 100x150 eco thermal labels are the industry standard.
Want branded printed labels for your packaging as well? Contact us.
