Zenstores' own website focuses on order management, automation and courier integrations rather than printer or label specifications — reasonable, since that's genuinely outside what the software itself controls, but it leaves a gap for anyone setting up a printing station for the first time. Here's what you actually need on the hardware side.
The label format Zenstores generates
Like Royal Mail Click & Drop, ShipStation and every other major UK shipping platform, Zenstores generates labels at the standard 100 × 150mm (4×6") format for parcel shipping, covered in our 4×6 label size guide — this is the size UK courier depot scanning equipment and label layouts are built around, so there's nothing Zenstores-specific to configure differently from any other courier software.
Choosing a thermal printer
Any correctly configured direct thermal printer works with Zenstores — Zebra, Citizen, TSC and Brother are all commonly used, covered in our thermal printer buying guide. There's no Zenstores-specific printer requirement or approved hardware list; the platform generates a standard label PDF that prints through your operating system's normal print dialog, the same as any other shipping software.
Setting your printer driver correctly
Before printing your first real batch, confirm your printer driver's media type is set to direct thermal (not thermal transfer, unless you're specifically using ribbon-fed stock, covered in our direct thermal vs thermal transfer guide), and that the configured label size matches your physical stock at 100 × 150mm. Getting this wrong is the most common cause of blank, cropped or incorrectly scaled labels regardless of which shipping software generated them.
Batch printing through Zenstores
Zenstores supports printing multiple labels in a batch rather than one order at a time, which matters once volume grows — the same general batch-printing considerations covered in our driver mistakes guide apply here: printing in smaller sub-batches tends to be more reliable on USB-connected printers than one very large continuous run, particularly during a busy dispatch period covered in our peak season printing guide.
Barcode scanning software and printer integration
Zenstores' feature set includes barcode scanning as part of its fulfilment workflow — worth confirming your specific scanner and printer setup work smoothly together as part of initial testing, since a scanning step added to the dispatch process introduces one more piece of hardware that needs to be correctly configured alongside the printer itself.
Sourcing your label stock
Because Zenstores' labels are a completely standard format, there's no requirement to buy label stock through Zenstores or any specific supplier — any correctly specified 100 × 150mm direct thermal roll on a matching core size, covered in our core size guide, works identically regardless of which shipping software generated the label.
Frequently asked questions
Does Zenstores require a specific printer brand? No — Zenstores has no printer brand requirement or approved hardware list; any correctly configured direct thermal printer that accepts standard 100 × 150mm labels works.
Why is my Zenstores label printing blank? This is almost always a media type mismatch in your printer driver, covered in our Click & Drop troubleshooting guide — the underlying causes are the same regardless of which shipping software generated the label.
Can I use the same printer for Zenstores and other shipping tools? Yes — a correctly configured thermal printer isn't tied to one piece of software; you can print Zenstores labels, Click & Drop labels or any other courier PDF from the same printer without reconfiguring anything between them.
Correctly specified, whatever generated the label
Our 100 × 150mm direct thermal labels are exactly what Zenstores, and every other UK shipping platform, expects.
Shop 4×6 Labels