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ShipStation Integration

Key Concepts​

The ShipStation integration imports the orders your ShipStation account already collects. ShipStation gathers orders from the channels you sell on, so one connection brings in orders from Walmart, Wix, Squarespace, BigCommerce, Amazon, and any other channel you run through ShipStation, including the ones Printago does not connect to directly.

Each imported order is matched to your Printago SKUs and, if you turn on auto-print, queued for your printers. When the order ships or is cancelled in ShipStation, Printago follows.

The integration reads from ShipStation only. Printago does not buy labels, send tracking numbers, or mark orders shipped in ShipStation. You keep shipping in ShipStation exactly as you do today.

What You Get​

  • Every channel at once: one connection covers all the stores in your ShipStation account, instead of a separate integration per channel.
  • Per-store control: choose which ShipStation stores Printago imports from, and change your mind at any time. A store you add in ShipStation later imports automatically.
  • Duplicate warnings: if a ShipStation store covers a channel you already connect to Printago directly, such as a Shopify shop, Printago flags it so the same order does not arrive twice.
  • SKU and option matching: item SKUs link to your Printago SKUs, and the options a buyer chose come across as selected options and personalization.
  • Auto-print (optional): new ShipStation orders go straight into the print queue.
  • Shipping and cancellations follow: when ShipStation marks an order shipped, Printago records the ship date and, by default, closes the order. An order cancelled in ShipStation is cancelled in Printago.
  • The real channel on the order: an order reads "ShipStation - Walmart" rather than just "ShipStation".
  • Multiple accounts: connect more than one ShipStation account to a single Printago store.

Before You Start​

You need a ShipStation API key and API secret:

  1. Log in to ShipStation.
  2. Open Settings → Account → API Settings.
  3. Generate an API key if you don't have one. Copy the API Key and the API Secret.

API access is not on every ShipStation plan. If the API Settings page has no key to give you, check your ShipStation plan first.

Your ShipStation item SKUs should match SKUs in Printago (see SKU Matching).

Activate the ShipStation add-on​

ShipStation is a free add-on. In Printago, open Add-Ons → Marketplace, find ShipStation, click More info, then click Activate. The add-on turns on straight away and the button changes to Go to Addon. Activating an add-on needs the subscription.manage permission, which by default only the store owner has.

After that, the ShipStation card in Marketplace shows Manage, which opens the integration page.

Connect ShipStation to Printago​

1. Enter your API credentials​

On the integration page, paste your API key and API secret, then click Test connection. Printago checks the credentials and reads the list of stores in your ShipStation account.

2. Choose stores​

Every store starts switched on. Each row shows the store name and its marketplace, and a store ShipStation has deactivated is marked Inactive in ShipStation.

If a store covers a channel you already connect to Printago directly, the row says so ("Also connected to Printago directly as …"), and a banner at the top counts the overlapping stores. Printago leaves the choice to you; switch the toggle off for any store you don't want imported.

3. Start importing​

Click Start importing. Nothing is imported until you do. Printago then imports orders from the last 30 days and keeps watching for new ones.

About duplicate orders​

If you connect both ShipStation and, for example, Shopify to Printago, a Shopify order arrives twice: once from each connection. The usual answer is to switch off the ShipStation store for any channel you already connect directly, and leave the rest on.

Connection Tab​

The Connection tab shows the account name, a Connected or Reconnect needed badge, how many stores were discovered, and when Printago last synced.

  • Import now: pick how far back to look (Last 7 days, Last 30 days, or Last 90 days) and click Import now to check for orders right away.
  • Disconnect: stop importing from this account. Orders already imported stay in Printago. If you connect the same ShipStation account again later, even with a new API key, its orders are linked back to it as Printago next sees them.

Multiple accounts​

Click Add account to connect another ShipStation account. Use the account menu at the top of the page to switch between them; each has its own stores and settings.

Stores Tab​

Each store has a toggle. Switch off any store whose orders you don't want in Printago, then click Save stores. Click Refresh to pick up stores you've added in ShipStation since you connected.

Printago remembers the stores you switched off, not the ones you switched on. A store you add in ShipStation later starts switched on, so a new channel imports without you coming back here.

Settings​

Open the Settings tab.

Automatically print orders​

When on, every newly imported order is queued for printing. Items with errors are left out, as are orders ShipStation had already shipped before Printago first saw them. Off by default.

Auto-close orders​

Choose when Printago marks an order closed:

  • When shipped (the default): close the order once ShipStation marks it shipped. This is the default here, unlike the marketplace integrations, because ShipStation is where your shipping happens.
  • Never: leave orders open until you close them yourself.

Either way, Printago records the ship date on the order.

Show the marketplace on orders​

When on (the default), an order reads "ShipStation - Walmart" instead of just "ShipStation".

How Orders Sync​

Which orders import​

  • Orders from every store that is switched on.
  • Orders awaiting payment in ShipStation wait. They import once they are paid.
  • Orders cancelled in ShipStation before Printago saw them are skipped.
  • Orders ShipStation had already shipped (for example, during the first 30-day import) import as history: they get their ship date and close if Auto-close orders is set to When shipped, and auto-print never queues them.

Real time, with a backup​

Printago registers webhooks with ShipStation when you connect, so new orders, payments, cancellations, and shipments you buy a label for in ShipStation usually reach Printago within a minute. An order you Mark as Shipped without buying a label in ShipStation is picked up by the scheduled sync instead, which runs every 3 hours. That sync is also the backstop if a webhook is missed, and Import now on the Connection tab checks straight away.

ShipStation limits API calls to 40 per minute per key. Printago stays inside that budget and slows down rather than failing, so a first import covering a long history can take a few minutes.

After an order imports​

  • Shipped in ShipStation: Printago records the ship date and, with When shipped selected, closes the order.
  • Cancelled in ShipStation: the order is cancelled in Printago if it is still open.

Nothing flows the other way. Closing, cancelling, or printing an order in Printago does not change it in ShipStation.

SKU Matching​

Each ShipStation item's SKU is matched to your Printago SKUs, the same way as other channels. Item options (whatever the original channel called them, such as "Color" or "Name") come across as the buyer's selected options, so SKU variant matching and personalization can use them. Items with no SKU, or a SKU Printago does not know, show Missing SKU on the order until you fix the mapping.

Troubleshooting​

Orders aren't importing​

Check the Stores tab first: the store the orders belong to may be switched off, or ShipStation may have deactivated it. Orders awaiting payment don't import until they are paid. Then use Import now on the Connection tab to check right away.

"Reconnect needed"​

ShipStation rejected the stored credentials, which usually means the key was regenerated or revoked in ShipStation. Syncing pauses until you reconnect. Generate a fresh key pair in ShipStation and connect again.

The same order appears twice​

The channel is connected to Printago both directly and through ShipStation. Switch that store off on the Stores tab, or disconnect the direct integration, depending on which you want to keep.

Need Help?​

Join our Discord or contact support.

ShipStation is a registered trademark of Auctane. Printago uses the ShipStation API but is not endorsed or certified by ShipStation.