The terms shipping label and address label get used interchangeably, but they're different things with different jobs. A shipping label carries the postage, the barcode and the routing information a carrier needs, while an address label is just the destination address. Confusing the two leads to parcels sent without postage, or labels printed in the wrong format.
What a shipping label is
A shipping label is the full carrier document: the recipient's address, the sender's return address, and critically the barcode that carries the postage, tracking number and routing data. It's what the carrier scans at every step, and it's generated when you buy postage, not something you create yourself.
What an address label is
An address label is simply a printed recipient address with no postage and no barcode. It's used on envelopes and parcels that are being sent another way, such as with stamps, or for internal routing where the carrier's label is applied separately. It's the address portion only.
Why the distinction matters
The practical mistake is printing an address label when you need a shipping label, which leaves a parcel without postage or tracking. Or the reverse, paying for a full shipping label when you only needed an address. Knowing which one a workflow requires prevents both wasted postage and undeliverable parcels.
When you need a shipping label
Any parcel sent through Royal Mail Click & Drop, a marketplace or a courier needs a shipping label, because that barcode is what the network scans to move and track it. If you've bought postage online, you're printing a shipping label, and it belongs on a 100 × 150mm thermal label for a clean scan.
When an address label is enough
Address labels are enough only when postage is applied another way, such as stamps or a franking machine, or for non-postal uses like warehouse bin labels or internal mail. In e-commerce dispatch, the overwhelming majority of what you print is shipping labels, not address labels.
Printing each correctly
Shipping labels print at 100 × 150mm on a thermal printer to keep the barcode scannable, while address labels can be any convenient size since they carry no barcode. Our address label guide covers using one printer for both jobs without mixing them up.
A simple rule of thumb
If it has a barcode and you paid for it, it's a shipping label. If it's just words and an address, it's an address label. Keep the two separate in your workflow, print shipping labels at full size on thermal stock, and you'll avoid the confusion that causes mis-sent parcels.
Frequently asked questions
Is a shipping label the same as an address label? No. A shipping label includes postage and a scannable barcode, while an address label is just the destination address.
Do I need a shipping label to send a parcel? If you buy postage online or through a courier, yes, the shipping label's barcode is what the carrier scans to move and track it.
What size should a shipping label be? Standard shipping labels print at 100 × 150mm on a thermal printer, which keeps the barcode full-size and scannable.
The label every dispatch needs
A 100 × 150mm direct thermal label is the standard for shipping labels, giving every barcode the full-size, scannable print it needs.
Shop 4×6 Labels