What is the Print and Scale Utility App? The Print and Scale Utility App is a small downloadable application that links the printers and scales sitting at your workstation to your ShipWise Web App account. Once connected, processing an order sends the label (and packing slip, if you use one) straight to your printer, no PDF download or manual print step required. If a scale is connected, its weight reading pulls directly into the order.
Why this matters
Without the Print and Scale Utility App, every label has to be downloaded as a file and opened in a separate print dialog, and every package weight has to be typed in by hand. On a fulfillment floor processing dozens or hundreds of orders a day, that adds seconds per order that compound fast, and manual weight entry is where billing-affecting errors creep in.
The Print and Scale Utility App removes both steps. It's a one-time setup per workstation, and after that, label printing and weight capture happen automatically every time an order ships.
New to ShipWise? This article walks existing customers through connecting hardware to an active account. If you're evaluating shipping software and want to see how label printing, rate shopping, and order automation work together on the ShipWise Web App, see the Web App overview or schedule a demo.
Step 1: Download the Print and Scale Utility App
- Navigate to app.shipwise.com in your web browser and log in.
- From the top navigation, click Settings>Devices
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In the top right dropdown of the Devices page, switch to Legacy Print
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- Click Download Print App
- In the browser's download prompt, click the three dots and select Keep.
- Click "Show more".
- Select "Keep Anyway".
- Open the downloaded file to launch the installer.
Note: Most browsers flag this download because it's a desktop installer rather than a typical file type. This is expected behavior, not a sign of a corrupted file.
Step 2: Install the app on your workstation
- In the installer window, click Next.
- Choose the install folder, then click Next.
Important: Choose Everyone, not Just me. Selecting "Just me" limits the app to whichever Windows user installed it, so anyone else logging into that workstation won't be able to print or scale. "Everyone" makes the app available to every Windows user on that machine, which matters most on shared fulfillment-floor computers.
- Click Next, then Next again, and Close to finish the install.
- Enter your ShipWise username and password when prompted to link the app to your account.
Step 3: Add and configure a printer
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Open the Print and Scale Utility App.
- Click + Add Device and select an available printer from the dropdown.
- Give the printer a unique, recognizable name and set the print size to 4x6.
Tip: If you're running a Zebra printer or another printer that supports ZPL, check the ZPL box in the printer configuration screen. This unlocks ZPL as a label Doc Type instead of PNG, which prints faster and holds up better on thermal printers under high volume.
- Click Test Print to confirm the app and printer are communicating.
- Click Save Device in the upper right corner.
The new device will now be listed on the left-hand side of the application.
Step 4: Set the printer as your default in ShipWise
- Finally, navigate back to app.shipwise.com.
- From the home dashboard, click the account icon in the upper right corner, next to your account name and client ID.
- Under the label printer section, select Send to Printer and choose the printer you just configured.
From this point on, labels for orders processed from this workstation, whether shipped individually or through batch processing, print automatically. If you use packing slips, those route to the same printer.
Step 5: Add a scale (optional)
Repeat Steps 3 and 4 to add a scale instead of a printer: select the scale from the + Add Device dropdown, name it, save it, then confirm it's selected in your account settings. Once connected, the scale's reading pulls into the order's weight field automatically instead of requiring manual entry.
Note: Manual or scale-entered weight always takes precedence over the weight passed from your order channel. If you enter a weight manually, it will override the scale reading the next time the order is re-rated.
FAQ
What printers and scales work with the Print and Scale Utility App? Any Windows-recognized printer works for label and packing slip printing; select the ZPL option for Zebra or other ZPL-capable printers. For scales, ShipWise supports USB and serial (COM) connections from Mettler-Toledo, Dymo, Rice Lake, Fairbanks, Adam, and Stamps/Endicia. USB scales are auto-detected; serial scales need the manufacturer's driver installed and the correct COM port selected.
Do I need to install the app separately on every workstation? Yes. The Print and Scale Utility App connects to the specific printer and scale physically attached to that machine, so it needs to be installed on each workstation that has its own hardware. Selecting Everyone during install (Step 2) means every Windows user on that workstation can use it, so you only need to install it once per machine, not once per employee.
What's the difference between printing to PNG and printing with ZPL? PNG sends a rendered image of the label to the printer, which works on any standard printer. ZPL sends raw Zebra Programming Language commands directly to a ZPL-capable printer, which prints faster and produces sharper barcodes at high volume. Use ZPL if your printer supports it; otherwise, PNG is the default and works everywhere.
Can I use the Print and Scale Utility App with ShipWise On-Premises? No, and you don't need to. On-Premises runs on your local network and already includes built-in support for USB and serial scales and offline-capable label printing. The Print and Scale Utility App is specifically for connecting local hardware to the cloud-based Web App.
Why does the scale weight sometimes not match what I entered manually? ShipWise applies whichever weight came in most recently between a manual entry and a scale reading; the most recent input overrides the order's current weight when the order is re-rated. If you need the scale reading to take priority, re-pull the weight from the scale after any manual edit.
