Mass Print is used to print labels based on an address list. It is useful if you need to send a lot of identical shipments to many receivers at the same time. 

It is possible to use the Contact List in nShift On-premises for mass printing or import a file with all the addresses.

Content in this article

• Mass printing using an imported file
  - Preparing the file
  - Importing the file
  - Validating shipment data
  - Validation errors
• Mass printing using the Contact list
• Printer settings

Mass printing using an imported file

Preparing the file

First, you need to prepare the file to be used for Mass printing. It must contain all the necessary information such as Receiver name and address and all the carrier-specific information such as weight and the number of packages. As a rule of thumb, all the information needed to make a manual shipment in nShift On-premises must be included in the file. 

The information in the file must be separated by a delimiter (e.g. semicolon or comma) and we recommend saving the list in CSV (Comma delimited) (*.csv) format. (It is also possible to use Excel but only the 97-2003 Workbook .xls format is supported).  

Sample slice from a file in Excel saved as CSV:

In On-premises, you can save profiles used for Mass printing that contain a specific layout that can be reused later.

Importing the file

1. Go to Mass Print Boxes in the left side menu.
   
   
2. Click the Import button at the bottom and choose <Add new profile>. (Note: the option <Import using default simple mode> is a legacy feature and should not be used for new setups)
   
   
   
   
3. Enter a name for the profile.
   
   
4. Choose Select file and locate your file.
   
   
5. Specify the character separator (usually semicolon but it depends on your settings) and click the Preview button. Now all the columns from the CSV file will be listed. 
   
   
   
   
6. Map the fields to the correct fields in On-premises by clicking in the Shipment Field and choosing the correct field from the drop-down list. You can either scroll through the drop-down list or type directly to search. Any field with the value UnKnown->UnKnown will be ignored.
   
    
   
   
7. Click OK when all fields have been mapped. The profile will be saved for later use and the import of the list will begin. All lines from the file will be imported. 

See an overview of the most commonly used fields and their names in this article: 

Standard file for filedrop integration (import setup) 

The article is about filedrop integration but the same fields apply to Mass print.

Validating shipment data

Before printing, the imported shipment data must be validated. 

1. Delete the first row if this was created as a header. Right-click the line and choose Remove. 
   
   
2. When importing a list, all carriers and products will be set to the default product and carrier. To make changes, right-click in the Product column and choose Edit. This will open an editor where you can choose another carrier and product. 
   
   
3. Click the Validate button.
   
   
4. On-premises will run through the list to check if all shipments are valid. When the Shipment Status is marked as Ready on all shipments the Print button will become active.
   
   
   
   
5. Click Print to start printing all the labels. After printing, the Print Status will change from blue Not Printed to green Printed and the shipments will be available in Outbox for transmit.

Validation errors

If the validation finds an error, the Shipment Status will be marked with Error. 

1. Right-click the Shipment Status and choose Validation Results.
   
   
   
   
2. The validation results will show you an error message explaining what is missing.
   
   
3. Right-click in the Packages column to edit information about weight, number, etc.
   
   
4. Right-click in the Product column to edit carrier and product.
   
   
5. The Print button will become active once you have corrected all validation errors.

Mass printing using the Contact list

If you already have a Contact list in On-premises this can be used for Mass printing.

1. Go to Contact List in the left side menu. 
   
   
2. Select the desired contacts, right-click, and choose Create in Mass Print. (Use CTRL + A to select all contacts, then hold down CTRL and use the mouse to deselect any contacts)
   
   
   
   
3. Choose a Mass Print Box and click OK. All selected contacts are now imported to Mass Print Boxes.
   
   
4. Validate the data as described above under Validating shipment data and correct any errors.
   
   
5. Click Print when all shipments are marked as Ready in the Shipment Status column.

Printer Settings

On-premises will automatically use the printer from Document Printer Mapping. If Document Printer Mapping is not active on the selected carrier, and you do not want to print using the default printer selected under Server Printer, you may follow these steps:

1. When the Mass Print has finished the import (either a file or from Contact List), go to File > Print Setup in the top menu.
   
   
2. Select the desired printer next to the label(s)/document(s) you are going to print and click Close.
   
   
3. Click Print to start Mass printing.

If nothing happens when you click Print and the Print Status is red, the printer may be offline. Read more about how to solve this issue here: "Error message: "Printer offline". No label is printed.