Guide
How to Automate Shippo Packing Slip Printing
Stop downloading and printing slips one order at a time. SPConnector connects your Shippo account to your printer and prints every packing slip on its own — set up in 5 minutes, free to start.
By the SPConnector team at JonesLabs LLC · Last updated: July 2026
The problem
Manual printing doesn't scale
Log in, find the order, download the PDF, hit print, repeat. Fine at 5 orders a day. Painful at 50.
You babysit Shippo
Constantly refreshing the orders page so nothing slips through. Step away for a few hours and the work piles up.
Mistakes creep in
Rushing through a stack of orders means wrong slips, skipped orders, and boxes that have to be reopened.
Busy seasons hurt
Black Friday, holiday rush, a product going viral — printing by hand can eat half your day exactly when you have the least time.
Pipeline
How the automation works
SPConnector sits between Shippo and your printer. Orders come in, slips come out — you just pack boxes.
- 1
An order comes in
A customer buys on Etsy, Shopify, Amazon, eBay, WooCommerce — wherever you sell.
- 2
Shippo syncs it
Shippo pulls the order from your store — about every 15 minutes for most platforms, hourly for Amazon and eBay.
- 3
SPConnector catches it
SPConnector checks Shippo every 60 seconds, grabs the packing slip PDF, and sends it to your printer through PrintNode.
- 4
The slip prints
Walk to the printer, grab the slip, pack the box. Works with any printer you already own.
Setup
Set it up in 5 minutes
Two API keys and a printer selection. That's the whole setup.
- 1
Connect your Shippo account
Paste your Shippo API key from your Shippo dashboard. SPConnector validates it and starts watching for new orders.
- 2
Connect PrintNode and pick your printer
Add your PrintNode API key, then choose the printer you want slips routed to and confirm the paper size.
- 3
Turn on automatic printing
Verify everything in test mode, then switch it off. From here, new orders print on their own.
Want screenshots? Follow the full Getting Started walkthrough.
Payoff
What you get back
An hour a day on manual printing is 5+ hours a week. Here's where they go instead.
Slips print 24/7
Orders don't wait on you. Slips print at 2am, over lunch, or while you're at a craft show.
Fewer mistakes
No wrong slips, no skipped orders. Every order that's ready to ship gets exactly one slip.
Scales with volume
10 orders a day or 200 — the process is identical. Busy seasons stop being scary.
No Shippo logins for your team
Whoever packs boxes just grabs slips from the printer. Nobody else needs account access.
FAQ
Common questions
Do I need any special printer?
No. Any printer that works with your computer will work with PrintNode, and therefore with SPConnector. Inkjet, laser, thermal label printers -- all fine. You don't need to buy anything new.
What if my internet goes down?
SPConnector runs in the cloud, so it keeps checking Shippo for new orders regardless. As soon as your internet and printer are back online, any pending slips will print. You won't lose any orders.
Can I still print manually when I need to?
Absolutely. The SPConnector dashboard has an order list where you can reprint any slip or download the PDF. Automation handles the routine work, but you always have manual controls when you need them.
How fast do slips print after an order comes in?
It depends on your platform's sync time with Shippo. For Etsy and Shopify, orders typically appear in Shippo within 15 minutes. SPConnector checks every 60 seconds after that. So from order placement to printed slip, you're looking at roughly 15-20 minutes for most platforms.
Is my data safe?
Yes. All order data and API keys are encrypted with AES-256. Each account is completely isolated from every other account. We don't look at, analyze, or sell your data. See our privacy policy for the full details.
Ready to stop printing by hand?
Set it up in 5 minutes. Free to start. Your printer handles the rest.
Free plan · No credit card