Print Balíkovna (Česká pošta) labels on a thermal printer (100×150)

Česká pošta's Balíkovna service delivers parcels to a Balíkovna pickup point or self-service box, or to an address with Balíkovna na adresu. You create the parcels in Podání Online or through the B2B API, and you can print the A6 address labels yourself. Here is how to print them on a 4-inch thermal label printer from Zebra, TSC or Honeywell so that they scan at the depot.

Before you start: what Balíkovna expects

Balíkovna's printing instructions ("Pokyny pro tisk adresního štítku") describe the address label as A6 (105×148 mm), portrait, black and white, with a Code 128 barcode of 13 characters. The same basics apply to Balíkovna na adresu; parcels for a self-service box carry an extra BOX icon.

Balíkovna's terms for contract customers say that if you print address labels yourself, you must follow its barcode instructions for bulk senders ("Parametry čárových kódů balíkových zásilek – hromadní podavatelé"). These rate the printer types for barcodes:

Create the parcels in Podání Online

1. Sign in to Podání Online with the login details from your Česká pošta business representative.
2. Create a new parcel. The form has four steps: "Odesílatel" (Sender), "Výběr produktu" (Product selection), "Adresát" (Recipient) and "Parametry zásilky" (Parcel details).
3. In the product step, choose the Balíkovna product your contract includes, for example "NB-Balíkovna" (pickup point or box) or "DR- Balíkovna na adresu" (address delivery).
4. In "Neodeslaná data" (Unsent data), tick the parcels and hand over the data ("předat data", which closes the submission). Sent parcels move to "Odeslaná data". Balíkovna parcels are always submitted this way, as data through Podání Online or the API.

Set up the address label form

Podání Online keeps all printable forms and address labels in one place. Česká pošta's manual shows the form names only in screenshots, so compare them with what you see in your account.

1. In the menu on the left, choose "Formuláře / AŠ" (Forms / address labels).
2. Untick forms and address labels you don't use (some must stay ticked). If you're unsure which form prints a single A6 label, ask your Česká pošta business contact.
3. Use the test icon next to the label form to generate and print a test label.
4. If the print sits off-centre, change "Posun doprava" (Shift right) or "Posun nahoru" (Shift up) for that form. Negative values are allowed.

Print the address labels

1. Open "Zásilky" › "Odeslaná data" (Parcels › Sent data) and print the address labels with the print icon.
2. When the label opens for printing, select your thermal printer. The paper size should show 100×150 mm.
3. For an A6 page, choose fit to page. A6 is 105 mm wide, so fit scales it to about 95 % to fit the 100 mm label. Use actual size (100 %) only for a page that is exactly 100×150 mm, and never shrink an A4 sheet of several labels onto one label.
4. Use portrait orientation.

The "AŠ" column in the parcel list shows which labels are printed, and you can filter for unprinted ones.

Set up the printer for thermal transfer

1. Load the ribbon and the 100×150 mm thermal transfer labels (direct-thermal-only models such as the TSC DA210/DA220 and Honeywell PC42E-D can't use a ribbon), then calibrate so the printer finds the gaps between labels.
2. In the driver's printing preferences, set the label to 100 mm wide and 150 mm high, and set the print method to thermal transfer.
3. For barcode quality, raise darkness or lower speed step by step until the bars are sharp and solid. Balíkovna asks for barcode quality grade A or B, with complete, sharp bars that don't smear.

Driver steps for each brand: Zebra, TSC and Honeywell PC42E. These guides describe direct thermal printing; for Balíkovna, keep the ribbon in and choose thermal transfer instead.

Check the label before you ship

• Scan the barcode, and check that nothing is printed in the clear zones beside it.
• Stick the label on a flat surface without wrinkles, with the barcode at least 9 mm from the edge where the parcel allows it. The barcode must never run over an edge.
• Never cover the barcode, even partly, with clear tape, string or straps.

Connect your e-shop or software

The B2B API can print labels with the parcelPrinting operation (one label type per request, up to 500 labels) or return a label with the parcel data. For e-shops, Balíkovna offers a pickup-point widget and an implementation package. Its e-shop page doesn't list its own Shopify app or WooCommerce plugin, so any e-shop module you use comes from a third party. Check that yours prints one A6 label per page. See Shopify and WooCommerce shipping labels on a thermal printer. Shipping with other Czech carriers too? See PPL and Packeta (Zásilkovna).

Common problems