A thermal printer can physically print smaller product or address labels as easily as 4×6 shipping labels, provided the label size is supported. Whether it's a good idea to run both jobs through one printer is a different question.
Why they're usually different jobs
Shipping labels are almost always 100 × 150mm on a 25mm core (see our 4×6 guide), while address labels, product labels or barcode stickers for stock are typically much smaller and often on a different core size entirely, covered in our core size guide. Physically loading a different label width and size means adjusting the printer's guide rails or width sensor every time you switch jobs.
Switching label stock mid-session
This is the actual friction point: swapping rolls, re-calibrating the gap sensor for the new label size, and swapping back again once you're done. For a business printing shipping labels constantly throughout the day, interrupting that flow to print a small batch of product labels — then switching back — costs more time than it looks like on paper, especially at a busy packing bench.
Using a second, smaller printer
Many operations that need both jobs regularly end up with two printers: a commercial-tier model dedicated to shipping labels, and a smaller, cheaper printer for product or address labels that doesn't need to keep up with dispatch volume. This avoids the constant stock-switching entirely and is often cheaper overall than the time lost to switching a single printer back and forth multiple times a day.
When one printer genuinely can do both
If your product or address labelling needs are occasional rather than constant — a batch once a week rather than interspersed throughout daily dispatch — running both through one printer is perfectly reasonable. The maths only tips toward a second printer once switching frequency becomes a real daily interruption rather than an occasional one.
Connecting a second printer
If you do add a second, dedicated printer, our guide to connecting a thermal printer to multiple computers covers how to set up more than one printer across a shared network without them conflicting.
Dedicated shipping label stock
Keep your dispatch printer loaded with a consistent 100 × 150mm roll and avoid switching stock mid-shift.
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