Auto-print labels and documents

Automatic printing sends a print job to an Active printer when a shipment is sent (booked with the carrier). You do not click Print on Documents for that first copy. It exists in three places:

1. Shipping Rules → Automatic Printing (the usual setup). Full rule fields: Shipping rule fields.
2. Printer Settings on create-shipment, or Configure on a shipment with no shipping rule.
3. Automations Print Shipping Label / Print Document — these nodes exist in the builder but do not queue print jobs yet. See Automations.

Journey: Labels and printing. Printers must already be registered: Set up the printer client and Add a printer. Jobs after a send: Printer jobs.

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On a shipping rule

Open Shipping Rules in the sidebar → Add Shipping Rule or edit a row. Automatic Printing is its own card on Create Shipping Rule / Edit Shipping Rule. The rest of the rule (name, carrier, countries, conditions) is documented on Shipping rule fields. Auto-print runs only when you send a shipment that has this rule.

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Auto-Print Labels

When the checkbox is on, Label Printer appears: The dropdown lists Active printers with type Label. The form does not require a printer to save — you can leave Auto-Print Labels on with no printer selected. In that case send still succeeds, but no label job is queued. When Auto-Print Labels is on and a label printer is set, Zippendo queues a Label job for every shipment document whose type is label.

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Auto-Print Documents

When the checkbox is on, Document Printer appears: The dropdown lists Active printers with type Document. Saving without a printer is allowed; no document jobs are queued until both the toggle is on and a printer id is stored. When Auto-Print Documents is on and a document printer is set, Zippendo queues a Document job for every shipment document that is not type label.

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What gets generated vs what gets printed

Document Generation (the card above Automatic Printing) creates files. Automatic Printing sends those files to a printer. If generation is off, auto-print documents has nothing to print except files the carrier already returned with the label. Proforma and commercial invoice rows are hidden when the selected carrier produces those files itself. The form then says {carrier} produces the customs declaration and commercial invoice itself and returns them with the label, so Zippendo does not generate its own copies for this rule. Document types that can appear on the shipment (and therefore on a document printer) are the Type labels on Documents: There is no per-type checkbox under Automatic Printing. Auto-Print Documents prints every non-label document that exists after send. Field-level generation and customs: Shipping rule fields and Customs and documents.

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On a shipment (no shipping rule)

If the shipment has a shipping rule, auto-print uses only that rule’s toggles and printer ids — not the shipment’s printer fields. If the shipment has no shipping rule, send still auto-prints when printers are saved on the shipment:

• A Label printer other than None → print labels (printLabels: true)
• A Document printer other than None → print non-label documents (printDocuments: true)

There is no separate auto-print checkbox on the shipment. Picking a printer is the toggle.

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Create Shipment → Printer Settings

On Create Shipment, the Printer Settings card: Both lists include None (default) plus Active printers of that type.

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Shipment detail → Configure

On an existing shipment, Printer settings → Configure (modal id shipment-printer-settings) stores the same two ids. Empty copy: No printers selected yet — add them so Zippendo knows where to send labels and documents. Helpers in the modal: Labels route here when the shipment is sent from Zippendo. / Packing slips and other documents use this printer when enabled. Every field on that modal: Shipment printer settings.

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Automations (not wired)

On Automations, category Printing: Document type options: Printer placeholder Default printer. Empty option None (default). Helper: If empty, the org’s default document printer will be used. There is no separate “default printer” setting on Printers — leaving the field empty does not pick a printer in the live print path, because this action is still a stub. Use a shipping rule or shipment printers for printing that actually runs. Node details: Automations.

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When the job is created

Auto-print is enqueued as part of Send Shipment / Send order (after the carrier books the label):

1. Generate any invoices / packing list the rule requested.
2. If the rule has Auto-Print Labels or Auto-Print Documents, queue documents.auto-print-shipment with those flags and printer ids.
3. Else if there is no rule and the shipment has labelPrinterId or documentPrinterId, queue the same job from those ids.

The worker then:

• Prints documentType === "label" to the label printer (must be Active and type Label).
• Prints every other document to the document printer (must be Active and type Document).
• Skips silently if the printer is missing, disabled, or the wrong type.

Manual Print / Print All on Documents is separate — Add a printer. Failed or stuck jobs: Printer jobs and Printer offline or not printing.

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If nothing prints

• The shipment must be sent, not only saved as Pending.
• A rule-backed shipment ignores printers on the shipment — check the rule’s Automatic Printing card.
• Auto-Print Labels / Auto-Print Documents can be on with no printer selected; save still works, print does not.
• The printer must be Active (not Pending Approval or Disabled) and Online for the client to print. Connection is independent of status.
• Auto-Print Documents needs generated or carrier-returned non-label files. Turn on Generate Packing List (and invoices when they apply) if you expect those pages.

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