Shipping Label Cropper: Complete Beginner’s Guide

Before you start

A shipping label is the address and barcode attached to a parcel. A carrier or selling platform usually gives you a PDF. Sometimes that PDF also contains an invoice or packing slip. RowParcel lets you choose the label area and arrange it for printing. It does not buy postage, create a valid shipping barcode, or send a parcel. Use a sample to practise first.

1. Add the document containing your labels

For example, your shop gives you an A4 page with a label in one corner and an invoice below. You want just the label on a 4 × 6 inch printer. Add that PDF to begin. The original file stays unchanged.

Choose files / drag and drop: Choose PDFs, PNGs or JPEGs from your device. Several files can be added to one batch. The tool lists their pages so you can decide what to keep. It does not upload the source files.
Try a synthetic sample packet: Load fictional practice pages showing different label and document layouts. They are marked as tests and have no valid postage. The sample is for learning how the crop and layout controls work.
Password-protected file: If you have permission to open a locked PDF, enter its password before choosing the file again. The password is used on your device and cleared after the file opens. Clear all files also clears it.
Continue / Clear all files / Cancel processing: Continue opens page review. Clear all files clears the current workspace, not the original files on your device. Cancel processing stops the current operation; inspect the pages still present before continuing.

2. Choose the label area and decide what happens to every page

Cropping means drawing a box around the part you want to print. Keep the full address, barcode and its surrounding white space inside the box. The tool may suggest an area, but you must check it.

Page thumbnails: Click a thumbnail to open a page. Its status tells you whether it still needs review, contains labels, is a supporting document, or is excluded. Selecting a page to look at it is separate from ticking it for a batch action.
Select pages / range / needs-review filter: Tick pages for a batch action or enter positions such as 1,3-5. These numbers refer to the order in the current batch. The needs-review filter shows pages still waiting for a decision.
Check duplicate page appearances: The tool can flag pages that look the same. Review them before excluding anything: two similar labels may still represent separate parcels. Duplicate detection does not automatically delete pages.
Undo / Redo: Undo reverses the last page or crop edit; Redo reapplies it. A limited recent history is kept while the workspace is open. New changes clear the redo history.
Rotate 90° and reset crops / Move page earlier / Move page later: Rotate turns the page. The arrows change its position in the batch. Check the crop after rotation or reordering. The original PDF is not rewritten.
Reset to full page: Replace this page’s crop boxes with one box covering the whole page. The page returns to review. Check it and choose its destination again before downloading.
Draw, select and resize a crop: Choose a region, drag it into position and use its handles to resize it. The number fields are an alternative to dragging. Preview zoom only changes the on-screen view, not the printed size.
Left, Top, Width and Height: These describe the crop box in millimetres on the source page. Left and Top move its starting point. Width and Height change how much it includes. Locking the shape keeps the width-to-height proportion when you resize it.
Add region / Remove region / Selected region: Use separate crop boxes when one page contains several labels. Choose which box to edit in Selected region. Removing a region removes that crop, not the original page.
Preview selected crop / Show original page: Switch between the full page and the chosen crop to check that no address, barcode or required text has been cut off.
Suggest content crop: Propose a crop around visible dark content with extra margin. Check all required label text and barcode quiet zones: faint marks can be missed and paperwork may be included. It replaces this page’s crop regions and returns the page to review. Undo restores your earlier regions. This is not carrier-layout recognition.
Copies of this region: This is the number of printed copies of the same label. It is not the number of items in an order. Extra copies can cause duplicate shipments if used carelessly, so review the copy count.
Order reference, SKU, quantity and carrier: These optional details help order labels and create a pick list. Enter information you have checked yourself. Quantity means the number of items to pack; it is different from the number of printed label copies.
This page’s destination: Choose Keep these crop regions as labels to print the areas you selected. Keep whole page as supporting document keeps a full page, such as an invoice. Explicitly exclude this page leaves it out of the download and records your decision. Unresolved: keep in review queue means you have not decided yet and stops the final download. Change the destination if you want to include an excluded page again.
Crop presets: A preset remembers where the crop boxes go. It saves time when your next page has the same layout. The synthetic template is for the practice sample. Always check that a saved crop includes the full label on your new page.
Apply these regions to / Apply regions to this scope: This copies your crop boxes to other pages. Choose which pages to use: for example, pages you have ticked or all odd-numbered pages. The boxes are resized to match each page’s size. Copied pages lose their saved shipment details and return to Needs review, so check them before printing.
Inspect existing PDF text: Read text already stored in the PDF. This can help you find a reference, but it does not verify a shipment or barcode.
Optional local English OCR / Run OCR: OCR tries to read letters from an image or scan. Allow the optional download first, then run it if you need it. Recognition can be wrong, so compare it with the original and verify any details you copy. Cropping and printing do not require OCR.
Remove this source file from session: Remove this file and all its pages from the current workspace. Your original file stays on your device. Add the file again if you want to use its pages later.
Set print layout: Move on when your crop boxes look right. Every page must eventually be labelled, kept as a document or deliberately excluded. Unresolved pages block the final ZIP download.

3. Match the layout to your printer and paper

The crop box chooses what to print. Print layout chooses the physical paper and where the crop goes. A 4 × 6 inch label is 101.6 × 152.4 mm; it is slightly larger than 100 × 150 mm.

Paper size / custom width and height: Choose the paper actually in your printer: 4 × 6, 100 × 150 mm, A4, Letter, original size or a custom size. Custom dimensions are measured in millimetres.
Orientation: Swap the paper’s width and height when needed. This changes the page layout. Check that it matches your printer settings.
One label per page / Grid on a sheet: Choose one label for a label printer, or a grid for a sheet containing several labels. Enter the grid’s rows, columns and each label’s size. The tool checks whether the layout fits on the page.
Content scale: Fit shrinks or enlarges the crop to fit the label area. Actual size keeps its physical size and may not fit. Fill covers the area by cutting off edges and needs an explicit confirmation. Avoid cutting barcode bars or the white space around them.
Page margin / Inner label padding: Page margin leaves space at the outer edge of the paper. Inner padding leaves space around each label’s content. A printer may still have its own unprintable margins.
Horizontal and vertical alignment: Choose whether smaller content sits at the left, center or right, and top, center or bottom of its available area. Alignment does not change the source address or barcode.
Grid gaps and offsets: Gaps leave space between labels on a sheet. Offsets move the whole group of labels across or down. Use these settings to line up the print with the label stickers on your paper. Try a test sheet before printing real labels.
First sheet: skip positions: Skip already-used label positions on the first sheet. For example, skip 2 to start at the third position. Later sheets start normally.
Vector print crop: This keeps the PDF’s text and lines sharp when printed. The downloaded PDF may still contain hidden information from outside your crop. Choose Image-only export if you need a new PDF made only from the visible crop.
Image-only export / Raster resolution: This makes a new PDF using a picture of each visible crop. You will not be able to select its words as text, and the file can be larger. DPI means dots per inch: a higher setting uses more dots to show detail. Choose 203 or 300 to suit your printer, then print and scan a test barcode.
Save, load, export and import settings: Reuse a layout or crop setup on this device, or export it as a JSON settings file. Import settings reads a compatible file; Delete saved removes the local saved setup. Source pages and safety approvals are not saved. Always review a preset on the new pages.
Review export: Open the final checklist. The view returns to the workspace steps at the top, so you can read the summary before downloading.

4. Check the summary, download and make a test print

Check how many pages you added and how many labels you will print. The summary also shows paperwork, pages still waiting for a decision and extra copies you requested. One page can contain several labels, so the number of labels may be higher than the number of pages.

Label files: Choose Combined PDF to keep your labels together in one PDF. Choose Individual PDFs to get a separate PDF for each label, with one label per page. Both choices download as a ZIP—a package of files you can open like a folder.
Supporting documents: You can keep invoices and other paperwork in a separate PDF or add them to the combined label PDF. When added, the paperwork stays with the labels from the same source file. If you chose Individual PDFs, the paperwork is always saved separately.
Label order / Download name: Keep the order of your pages, or sort labels by filename, order reference, product code or carrier. Sorting uses the details you entered and checked. If you added paperwork to the label PDF, each file’s labels and paperwork stay together. Give the download a name you will recognise.
Output label table: This connects each output label to its original filename and page, order reference and copy number. Not supplied means you did not enter a verified order reference. It is not an error by itself.
Review checkbox: Tick the box after checking which pages will print, which will be left out, the copy counts and the crop edges. If you change the pages, layout or download choices, the tick clears so you can check the new result.
Build and download ZIP: Build the documents, then open the downloaded ZIP like a folder. It contains your label PDF or individual PDFs, any supporting PDF, and manifest.csv and manifest.json. These two manifests are page reports, not shipping labels. They record the source and output page for each label and any deliberate exclusions.
Download combined PDF directly: After building a combined result, this downloads the same combined PDF without opening the ZIP. It is available only while that built result is still current.
Download verified pick list: A pick list helps you collect the products to pack for each order. Enter and check an order reference, product code (SKU) and quantity for every original label first. The quantity must be a whole number greater than zero, such as 1 or 3. Printing extra copies of a label does not add extra items to the pick list.
Download 4 × 6 printer test: This downloads a calibration page, not your cropped label. Print it on matching 4 × 6 paper at Actual size or 100%. Measure the square: it should be one inch, or 25.4 mm, wide and high. If it is wrong, adjust the printer settings before printing labels.
Print the actual labels: Open the label PDF from the ZIP in a PDF viewer. Match the paper size and orientation, choose Actual size or 100%, and disable automatic Fit to page. Inspect the address and scan a test barcode. RowParcel cannot check your physical printer or confirm that a carrier will accept a label.
Back, step buttons and messages: Back or the step buttons return to an earlier stage. A useful error stays readable until you dismiss it or return to a valid step. Dismissing a message does not remove the underlying checks; unresolved pages and invalid layouts still prevent export.

Your next step

Print one prepared label at 100% scale and check its size, address and barcode before printing the rest. Keep the page reports with your original files so you can trace each label back to its source.