How do you print and stick on postage labels?

[bmanly3]

I currently just buy Aust Post pre paid satchels for my deliveries and upload tracking manually to ebay. I am thinking of changing from that approach and going to Poly Bubble Padded Envelopes.

I know I can buy the postage labels through ebay. My question is, where do buy sticky printer paper so when I generate a parcel post pre paid label I can stick it on my bubble padded envelope? What kind of printer can do this? Do you need a special one? Where do you buy the stick on paper from? How do apportion a small label to a full sheet of this paper? i. e. I don't want to waste a whole sheet for a small stick on label.

I also have a black and white laser printer, will this work? For parcel post I think that would be fine but what about Express Post? It won't print in yellow and therefore the postal service will only send by parcel post.

So how do you all do it, thanks?

[digital*ghost · Accepted solution]

You can buy a dedicated label printer (direct thermal is the most common, since the only consumable is the paper itself, not inks), or you can use any regular printer, ink or laser - laser is probably a bit better, though, both for cost-effectiveness and crisper barcode lines etc. 

You can print to normal paper and sticky-tape them on your packaging, or use a document pouch, or buy A4 label paper, that has 4 labels to a sheet, which is perfect for printing domestic postage labels, though there will be wastage when you don't fill a page and can't make use of the blank labels by flipping it to print on the other side, and they're not the cheapest consumable around (also make sure the adhesive is strong enough for poly mailers, I use them on satchels and they can sometimes peel off a bit easy, so put a little tape on the top / bottom edges)  - plenty of the A4 sheet labels here on eBay, but if you will be printing a lot of them, a thermal printer is probably a good investment long-term (Dymo 4XL is the most common one mentioned / recommended). 

If you use a mono printer to print an express label, or print in greyscale, just ask the staff at the PO to put express tape on it. The staff at mine give me rolls to take home and use as needed, but not all of them will do that. 

[curraone]

Also, I recommend using the Aust Post site to print your labels, rather than the ebay site.    If you generate enough labels you will qualify for discounts.      The labels are quite large when I print, about half an A4 page.

The document pouches are readily available on ebay - the more you buy the more economical it is.

[sugar249]

Definitely sign up to MyPost and print direct from Australia post rather then eBay, as curraone said you get discounts the more you buy.

But you can also import the eBay orders to the website, generate and print your labels,   and once paid for it uploads the tracking details back to eBay,  so you have no need to upload tracking, etc.

If you have a friendly Post Office, they will register your Mypost account to their account, and you get an immediate 3 months on Band 3 discounts.  Well that was true about 12 months ago, but check it out.

[bmanly3]

Thanks for all the great ideas and replies. I did sign up to MyPost business and did get the 3 Months on band 3 last year. It was going great until things started slowing down and then I lost all bands as I just wasn't selling enough. It was a good discount whilst I was getting it. As a side issue, I used the Aust Post flat rate Satchels which cost $2.50 for 10. These were great as I could use them for parcel post or express post but there was an issue.

Every single staff member had problems getting the postage right. They had to scan my QR code sometimes 3 times because they were just doing it in the wrong sequence. One of them charged me on weight and not the flat rate, it came to $32 when it should have been around $22. Others didn't scan the satchel first and therefore silly prices kept on coming up. In the end I was advising them how to do it. Scan my QR code first, scan the satchel barcode, then enter parcel post or express and then add signature if needed. Then I asked them to make sure they put the tape on, some forgot. I gave up in the end because nearly everytime they had to ask questions and there was delays and confusion so went back to pre paid satchels, sorry about that rant.

The Dymo 4XL label maker looks good but I am not really a big seller and it might not be cost efficient, $300 for the printer plus $100 in labels. So maybe I'll go with the print my label and put it in a pouch. Q. Are these pouches sturdy? I mean are they going to tear or drop off? And is there any problems with their scanners scanning through the plastic pouch? Just trying to avoid problems. Thanks.

[curraone]

All those problems with PO staff are avoided when you do your own labels.   

And yes, I've found the document pouches stick on well and are sturdy, and there is no problem with scanning.

Also the Aust Post satchels available on ebay for about 10c each - they have their own inbuilt pouch for the label, so I use them a lot.

[curraone]

I know you wanted to use padded envelopes - maybe put the padded envelope inside the satchel?

[bmanly3]

Actually I think that is the best way to go as there is an inbuilt pouch on these flat rate satchels. So for .25c I get the satchel with the pouch where I can slide the label into it. Now I need to charm the PO manager into giving me some express post tape. Thanks!

[sugar249]

Just looking at your sales history for the last 2 months,  you would be at least on Band 1 which is a 5 to 10% discount.

As Curra said,  print your own, then no issues with staff, I just put wide sticky tape over the labels, which seals the box as well, they have never had an issue scanning them.  No I lie, at one point every time I went to one counter she had problems,  so I offered to clean the scanner and it was perfect after that.

I buy the satchels off Ebay, although a lot of mine is in my own packaging.

My PO staff give me rolls off Express Post tape for free if I have express post packages,  although I use a colour printer as well,  but add tape as well, as it makes them stand out more.

Just a PS,  someone mentioned in my Mypost thread yesterday that if you scan you MyPost QR code before buying the prepaid satchels you still get the discount,  I havent tried it,  but it was one of the trusted members here who said it.   

 If you need to tell the staff how to do it,  a 10% discount is worth it, or find another PO><