Printer Labels Store's opinion on the two best desktop shipping label printers for small businesses in 2025
E-commerce has become increasingly popular, and customers now expect fast and reliable delivery services. While we may not all be Amazon, having an efficient mailroom or shipping department will help you compete against other businesses in your niche. Using a business-class shipping label printer to print your shipping labels is one of the easiest ways to reduce errors, save time, and ensure your packages are delivered on time and without delay.
Yes, you can print labels at your local shop, or garage, etc., but how much time do you spend doing this? How often is there a problem with the printer? Have you seen the quality of some of the labels these systems print? The printers are rarely cleaned, and the print quality often leaves issues. Imagine turning up and handing over clear printed labels with easy-to-scan barcodes printed with your shipping label printer.
Suppose you're past the point in your business development where you have your parcels collected. All the courier services like Royal Mail, DPD, DHL, Fedex and Evri etc, all expect and demand barcodes that will scan 1st time, every time for their busy drivers, sorting hubs and delivery drivers.
A scannable barcode enables your parcel to be tracked, routed, and monitored throughout its journey, thereby reducing the risk of delays, misdelivery, customer service calls, and negative customer reviews that can damage your online presence.
Does your small business actually need a shipping label printer?
We might be biased as we sell printers and labels, but our answer is always YES!
Why, you ask? Mainly for the reasons above, but the printer can also be used for printing barcodes for stock control, box end labels, and product labels. The possibilities are endless, really, with a bit of imagination.
Investing in a thermal label printer will save you money in the long run by eliminating the need for ink cartridges and third-party printing services.
A thermal label printer can be a valuable investment for any small business that needs to organise stock/inventory, improve efficiency, enhance branding and ship products.
- Small businesses that sell products can use a label printer to organise their inventory by printing labels with barcodes, QR codes, product information such as item number, SKU’s, descriptions and prices.
- Printing labels with a label printer is faster and more efficient than printing labels on sheets, and also much cheaper after the initial printer purchase. This saves time and reduces the likelihood of errors, which can be especially important if you are sending large volumes of parcels. Time's money, as they say!
- Create professional-looking labels that showcase your branding. This can help products stand out from your competitors, giving you that competitive advantage.
- A shipping label printer for your business will streamline the labelling and shipping process, ensuring that orders are delivered accurately and on time.
How to choose the correct label printer for shipping your packages
Before investing in a shipping label printer, it’s essential to take a step back and evaluate your requirements and future requirements.
Key specifications you should consider:-
- Connectivity: Desktop thermal label printers can connect to your computer or network via cable (USB, serial, Ethernet) or wireless options such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. To print labels from your mobile device, choose a printer with wireless connectivity.
- Label Size: Most label printers are 4” wide (102mm). Generally, they print labels longer than most applications demand. Globally, most shipping labels are 4 x 6” (including 101.6 x 152.4mm, 100 x 150mm, 102 x 152mm) and 4 x 4” (101.6 x 101.6mm, 100 x 100mm). Some couriers/carriers use other sizes, but generally not wider than 4”.
- Printing Method: Thermal printers use either the direct thermal or thermal transfer method to print labels. Direct thermal printers print labels using heat, which is applied to a coating on the labels to produce black-only images. In contrast, thermal transfer printers use heat to activate a thermal ribbon to create the labels. Labels printed via the thermal transfer method are more durable and longer-lasting, with the advantage of different coloured ribbons, although limited in colour variations. Thermal transfer is the better option for larger volumes, as well as applications such as box end labels, where labels need to last much longer without fading or require extra durability over direct thermal.
- Print Resolution:. The print resolution of a label printer is measured in dots per inch (DPI), with higher DPI resulting in better print quality. The most common for label printers are 203 and 300 DPI. Note: Higher DPI generally affects print speed.
Which thermal label printer is right for me?
With numerous options available, finding the right printer can be overwhelming, even if you know what you’re looking for. At Printer Label Store, we sell millions of labels and associated label printers every year. Over time, our staff and customers have identified the two most popular printers. Let us share this valuable information with you to help make that purchase risk-free and straightforward.
ONE
Toshiba TEC BV420D Direct Thermal Label Printer – Desktop
Ultimate compactness was a core design criteria that led to the creation of the Toshiba BV420D desktop printer range, suitable for versatile applications. With their compact footprint and sleek cases, these printers are ideal for retail shops, offices, or any workplace where space is at a premium.
Speed & efficiency
A series of features ensures your desktop printer is ready to print labels and receipts quickly and efficiently with the touch of a button. The BV420D’s productivity is maximised by market-leading print speeds of up to 7 inches per second and an advanced CPU that processes your data even more quickly. The printer is ready almost instantly at power-on thanks to the rapid boot time.
Delivering reliability to meet future challenges
Designed to withstand the most demanding retail environments, the renowned reliability of the BV420D printers ensures minimal downtime, day after day. With optional built-in AC adapters, the Toshiba desktop printers are the perfect fit, providing a safe workplace.
Key Highlights
- Print Speed: Market-leading throughput with up to 7 ips (inches per second, 203dpi model)
- Print Resolution: 203 dpi or 300 dpi (8 dot or 12 Dot)
- Connectivity: USB 2.0, Ethernet 10/100
- Compact & sleek design with a small footprint
- Designed, developed & built by Toshiba
- Intuitive & clear user experience
- Vast print languages & emulations - ZPL II, DPL, SBPL
- SOTI Connect certified for IoT device management
- Huge performance & functionality at a truly low total cost of ownership
- Free label design software supplied - BarTender UltraLite
There is also a thermal transfer version - Toshiba TEC BV420T Thermal Transfer & Direct Thermal Label Printer - Desktop
TWO
Zebra ZD220d Direct Thermal Label Printer – Desktop
The Zebra ZD220d is a highly reliable 4” desktop label printer with good features designed to ensure a long life cycle, making it a good choice for those looking to print labels in high volumes. With its double-walled design and robust construction, it is ideally suited for use in transport and logistics, retail, and light industrial environments.
The Zebra ZD220d label printer is a direct replacement for the discontinued market-leading Zebra GK420d.
Basic Features for Ease Of Operation
The Zebra ZD220d 4-inch printer produces labels quickly, at 4 inches per second, to keep your workflows moving. Increased memory allows you to store more fonts and graphics. A single LED indicator and a single button for feed/pause make it easy to operate and identify the printer status.
Key Highlights
- Print Speed: 4 ips (inches per second)
- Print Resolution: 203 dpi (8 Dot)
- Connectivity: USB with no option for LAN, Serial, WiFi etc
- Durable double wall construction
- Ideal for small businesses that need to print 500 – 1000 labels daily.
Both the Toshiba BV420D/420T and Zebra ZD220d will integrate seamlessly with popular e-commerce platforms, such as eBay, Amazon, Shopify, and Etsy, among others, making it easy to print shipping labels for your orders. They are both compatible with all major couriers/carriers labels & systems like Royal Mail (including Click and Drop, DMO), Parcel2Go, FedEx, UPS, Evri and DPD.