LabelStudioPrinting DHL shipping labels on a Mac: eCommerce and Express differ
DHL is the carrier where the usual advice most often fails, and the reason is structural rather than a setting anyone missed: there is more than one DHL, and they do not offer the same label formats.
Before hunting for a thermal option, work out which one you are using. It decides whether the option exists.
DHL eCommerce: A4 only
DHL eCommerce issues labels as A4 pages, with the label occupying part of one. There is no thermal format to select — not hidden, not defaulted, absent.
That puts it in the same position as Vinted: cropping is the only route to a full-size 4x6 label, and any guide telling you to choose the thermal option is describing a different DHL service.
DHL Express and MyDHL+: the option exists, defaulted off
MyDHL+ does support thermal printing. The setting lives under My Shipment Settings → Printer Settings, and the default is A4 PDF.
Switch it to the label-printer option and every label you generate afterwards comes out at 4x6, ready for the roll. Two things worth knowing:
- It applies to new labels only. Anything already generated stays A4.
- It is an account setting, not a per-shipment one. Unlike Amazon, which asks every single time, this sticks once you change it. Change it once and the problem is gone.
That second point makes it worth doing properly today rather than cropping labels for the next year.
Which one do I have?
The quickest test is the file itself. Open the PDF and press Cmd+I in Preview:
- 210 x 297 mm — an A4 page. Either DHL eCommerce, or Express with the setting still on its default.
- 100 x 150 mm — already a label. Print at 100% and nothing else is needed.
If you ship through a marketplace or a shipping platform rather than DHL directly, the format is decided there instead, and the MyDHL+ setting will not reach it.
Getting a 4x6 out of an A4 page
Do not let the printer shrink it. Fitting A4 onto a 4x6 label reduces everything to about 48% of its intended size, and DHL barcodes are dense enough that half-width bars stop scanning reliably.
Cut the label out at full size instead. Our free browser tool does it in seconds: it finds the label, crops without rescaling, rotates it if it was lying on its side, and never uploads your file anywhere.
International labels run long
Cross-border DHL shipments carry customs data on the label, and those labels use more of the 4x6 area than a domestic one.
A label with no spare margin is the first place a slightly wrong paper size shows: domestic labels look fine while international ones lose a strip at the edge. That is the unprintable margin problem, not a DHL one, and it is fixed in the paper size rather than in the label.
Frequently asked
Why can't I find a thermal option for my DHL labels?
Because there may not be one. DHL eCommerce issues labels as A4 with no thermal alternative, while DHL Express through MyDHL+ does have the setting. Which DHL service you are using decides whether the option exists at all, and that is not obvious from the label.
Where is the thermal setting in MyDHL+?
Under My Shipment Settings, in the printer settings. The default is A4 PDF, so it has to be changed deliberately. Once changed, newly generated labels come out at 4x6 — it does not alter labels you already created.
Is 100 x 150 mm the right size for DHL?
Yes. DHL uses 4x6 as its standard label size, and 100 x 150 mm rolls are treated as the same stock by every thermal printer in this class. Either name works.
Can I scale the A4 page down to fit a 4x6 label?
You can, and it will not scan reliably. An A4 page fitted onto a 4x6 label lands at about 48% of its original size, and a barcode at half its designed width stops reading. Crop the label out at full size instead.
Skip the manual crop
LabelPrint measures where the label sits on the page and prints it at full size on your thermal printer. Free for 5 labels a day, no account.