Skip to main content

Label Printing

Help with generating, decoding, and printing DPD shipping labels.

Labels in the API response​

A successful shipment creation returns each label as a Base64-encoded PDF string in success[].label.

{
  "success": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "parcelNumber": "05305000123456",
      "label": "JVBERi0xLjQKJeLjz9MK..."
    }
  ]
}

Decoding and saving the label​

Shell:

echo "JVBERi0xLjQK..." | base64 --decode > label.pdf

JavaScript (browser):

function downloadLabel(base64Label, parcelNumber) {
  const bytes = atob(base64Label);
  const array = new Uint8Array(bytes.length);
  for (let i = 0; i < bytes.length; i++) array[i] = bytes.charCodeAt(i);

  const blob = new Blob([array], { type: 'application/pdf' });
  const url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);

  const a = document.createElement('a');
  a.href = url;
  a.download = `label-${parcelNumber}.pdf`;
  a.click();
  URL.revokeObjectURL(url);
}

Java:

byte[] pdfBytes = Base64.getDecoder().decode(labelBase64);
Files.write(Path.of("label-" + parcelNumber + ".pdf"), pdfBytes);

Choosing the right label format​

Set printOptions.labelFormat in your shipment request:

FormatValueUse case
A4"A4"Standard office printers. Up to 4 labels per sheet — control position with labelStartPosition (1–4)
Thermal / A6"A6"Direct thermal label printers (Zebra, Citizen, etc.)
"printOptions": {
  "labelFormat": "A6"
}

Multiple labels on one A4 sheet​

When printing multiple shipments, pack them onto A4 sheets to save paper:

[
  { ..., "printOptions": { "labelFormat": "A4", "labelStartPosition": 1 } },
  { ..., "printOptions": { "labelFormat": "A4", "labelStartPosition": 2 } },
  { ..., "printOptions": { "labelFormat": "A4", "labelStartPosition": 3 } },
  { ..., "printOptions": { "labelFormat": "A4", "labelStartPosition": 4 } }
]

Label is blank or corrupted​

Cause 1: Base64 decoding error — extra whitespace or line breaks in the string.

Fix: Strip all whitespace before decoding:

const cleanBase64 = base64String.replace(/\s+/g, '');

Cause 2: PDF viewer compatibility.

Fix: Try opening the PDF in a different viewer. Labels are valid PDF 1.4+ files.

Cause 3: Thermal printer DPI mismatch.

Fix: Configure your printer to 203 or 300 DPI (check your printer's manual). The label format is designed for standard DPD thermal printers.

Still having issues?​

Provide the following to DPD support:

  • tracingId from the API response
  • parcelNumber of the affected label
  • Label format used (A4 / A6)
  • Your printer model and driver version