Also works with: This guide applies to any Zebra 4-inch desktop thermal printer — ZP 450, ZP 500, ZP 505, ZP 506, LP 2844, TLP 2844, GK420d, GX420d, ZD420, ZD411, and more. If your Zebra printer prints 4×6 labels, this guide works for you.

FedEx.com lets you create shipments and print shipping labels right from your web browser — no desktop software to install. This is the simplest way to ship with FedEx if you’re doing low to medium volume (under 25 packages a day). This guide walks you through getting your Zebra thermal printer working with FedEx.com so you can print crisp, scannable 4×6 labels directly from Chrome, Edge, or Firefox.

What This Guide Covers

• What You Need
• Downloads
• Step 1: Install the Printer Driver
• Step 2: Configure Your Browser
• Step 3: Set Thermal Printing Preferences on FedEx.com
• Step 4: Create a Shipment and Print
• Step 5: Get the Print Dialog Right
• Troubleshooting
• Resources & Official Links

What You Need

• A Zebra thermal printer, connected to your computer and powered on with 4×6 labels loaded
• A printer driver installed (FedEx certified or Zebra generic — see below)
• A FedEx account — create one free at fedex.com
• Google Chrome (recommended) — Chrome gives the most reliable printing experience with FedEx.com. Edge and Firefox also work.

FedEx.com vs. FedEx Ship Manager — What’s the Difference?
They’re both on fedex.com, but “FedEx Ship Manager” refers to the full-featured shipping dashboard (Preferences, address books, batch shipping, etc.), while basic FedEx.com shipping is the lighter “Create a Shipment” flow. This guide covers the browser-based approach — printing from whatever FedEx page gives you a label. If you need the full Ship Manager setup, see our FedEx Ship Manager Setup Guide.

Downloads

Step 1: Install the Printer Driver

If you already have a working Zebra driver installed (you can print a test page from Windows), skip to Step 2.

Using the FedEx Certified Driver

1. Download the FedEx Certified Driver ZIP.
2. Extract the ZIP file first — right-click → Extract All. Don’t run the installer from inside the ZIP archive.
3. Open the extracted folder and run the installer.
4. Follow the prompts: accept the license, select your Zebra model, select USB as the port.
5. Make sure the printer is plugged in via USB and powered on.
6. The installer completes and your printer appears in Windows Printers & Scanners.

Using the Generic Zebra Driver

1. Go to the Zebra support page for your model (links are on our Driver Download Hub).
2. Download Zebra Setup Utilities.
3. Run the installer, select your printer model and USB port.
4. Connect the USB cable and the installer finishes.

Verify It Works

1. Open Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners.
2. Find your Zebra printer in the list.
3. Right-click → Printer Properties → Print Test Page.

Test page printed? Great — your driver is working. Continue to Step 2.

Step 2: Configure Your Browser

FedEx.com generates labels as PDFs or image files and opens them in a new browser window (popup). Two things need to be set up in your browser:

Allow Popups for FedEx.com

If popups are blocked, the label window won’t open and nothing will print.

Set Your Default Printer (Optional but Helpful)

To avoid selecting the Zebra printer every time you print:

1. Open Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners.
2. Turn off “Let Windows manage my default printer.”
3. Click your Zebra printer → Set as default.

Heads up: If you also have a regular paper printer, setting the Zebra as default means everything (documents, emails, web pages) will try to print to the label printer by default. Only do this if the Zebra is the printer you use most. Otherwise, just select it manually in the print dialog each time.

Step 3: Set Thermal Printing Preferences on FedEx.com

1. Log in to fedex.com.
2. Click your account name or icon in the top right corner.
3. Navigate to My Profile → Preferences.
4. Find the Shipping Preferences section.
5. Look for Label Printing or Thermal Printing settings.
6. Set label type to Thermal — 4×6.
7. Click Save.

This tells FedEx.com to generate labels in the 4×6 thermal format instead of the default 8.5×11 laser format. Once saved, every label you generate will be sized for your Zebra printer.

Step 4: Create a Shipment and Print

1. From the FedEx.com dashboard, click Ship → Create a Shipment.
2. Fill in the shipment details:
   • From: Your address
   • To: Recipient’s address
   • Package Details: Weight, dimensions, package type
   • Service Type: FedEx Ground, Express, Home Delivery, etc.
3. Click Ship to process and pay.
4. FedEx generates your label and opens it in a new window (popup) or gives you a “Print” button.
5. Click Print — this opens your browser’s print dialog.

Step 5: Get the Print Dialog Right

This is where most people run into trouble. The browser print dialog has settings that can make or break your label. Here’s exactly what to set:

Chrome Pro Tip: In Chrome’s print dialog, click “More settings” to reveal the Scale and Margins options. By default, Chrome uses “Fit to page” scaling — you need to change this to “Default” or type 100 in the custom scale field.

Once you set these correctly, Chrome remembers them for future prints (as long as you keep selecting the same printer). You shouldn’t have to reconfigure every time.

Troubleshooting

FedEx.com vs. FedEx Ship Manager — Quick Comparison

Resources & Official Links

Related TPO Knowledge Base Articles