Designing Shipping Labels & Reusable Label Templates

Updated June 23, 2026

A shipping label is one of the most common things people print on a Zebra printer: a 4 × 6 inch (100 × 150 mm) label with an address block and a scannable tracking barcode. This guide shows how to design one in ZPLCraft and how to turn it into a reusable template you can reprint with new data.

Designing a shipping label

Most carriers and warehouses standardise on a 4 × 6 inch label. In ZPLCraft you build it visually on a true-to-size canvas and the matching ZPL is generated for you, scaled to your printer’s DPI.

  1. Set the label size. Create a new label at 4 × 6 inches (or 100 × 150 mm) and pick your printer resolution — 203 or 300 dpi — so the layout prints at the right physical size.
  2. Add the address blocks. Drop in text fields for the sender and recipient. Keep the recipient block large and high-contrast so it stays readable after thermal printing.
  3. Add a tracking barcode. Place a Code 128 barcode for the tracking number, or a QR code if your carrier uses one — ZPLCraft renders a real, scannable symbol, not a picture of one.
  4. Preview and print. Check the live preview, then print straight to the printer over USB or export the ZPL to send from your own system.

Reusable label templates

Once a layout is right, you rarely want to rebuild it. Save the design in ZPLCraft and reuse it as a template: open it again, change only the data — the recipient address, the tracking number, a price or SKU — and reprint. The positions, fonts and barcode settings stay exactly where you put them.

That keeps a batch of labels consistent and removes the most error-prone step of editing raw ZPL by hand. The same approach works for product labels, asset tags, shelf labels and any layout you print more than once.

Frequently asked questions

Can I design a 4 × 6 shipping label?

Yes. Set the canvas to 4 × 6 inches (100 × 150 mm) at your printer’s DPI, add the address blocks and a Code 128 or QR barcode, and ZPLCraft generates the ZPL scaled for that label size.

Can I reuse a label template?

Yes. Save a finished design and open it again whenever you need it; change only the data and reprint, so every label in a batch keeps the same layout.