UPS Shipping on a Mac

WorldShip or whatever?

[luckychucky]

We're a high volume business and do a ton of UPS shipping. All would be great, except for the fact that UPS WorldShip software isn't cross-platform and they refuse to support for Mac.

Therefore have to manually cut & paste every single customer's name and address into myups(dot)com's user interface field by field, wait for each page in UPS to crawlingly load, then print out a shipping label on plain paper, cut with scissors, and tape to each boxtop. What a nightmare!

If we had a Windows system we could auto-export customer data, push a button and pop out thermally printed sticky labels. I'm pondering buying a Windows box only because of this one <snip> UPS problem, but I'm posting here in a last ditch attempt to find an alternative.

I loathe Windows.

Anyone out here shipping UPS on a Mac, using WorldShip and a thermal label printer?
Help!

[edited by: Macguru at 8:57 pm (utc) on July 11, 2004]

[microcars]

Worldship is Windows only. so you have to use a Windows machine or Virtual PC.

have you tried using their UPS Internet Shipping? I just got a reply from a Mac user who uses it all the time and loves it except that the labels look like crap unless you use IE to print them.

otherwise, it looks like you should get a cheap Windows box for this.

[whoisgregg]

have you tried using their UPS Internet Shipping? I just got a reply from a Mac user who uses it all the time and loves it except that the labels look like crap unless you use IE to print them

My experience precisely. Their web interface is incredibly useful but it has the whole printing caveat.

[mivox]

Can't you print the labels to PDF, then print from those files?

[luckychucky]

The labels can be printed on a regular printer, but that involves plain paper, cutting each label with scissors, and taping it to the boxtop. It's not a simple pushbutton process as it is if you're using a PC and UPS' Windows-only-compatible thermal label printer. Using Worldship for Windows, you just print and pop a thermal-printed sticky label on top, quick and easy.

Printing, cutting, and taping is certainly no fun, but the even larger issue has to do with importing customer name, address and shipping data into Worldship, field by field...doing those manually is a horror. WIth windows it's a simple export/import deal.

VirtualPC is not exactly seemless either. It seems a shame but I might have to buy a Windows machine, only for UPS. I was posting in the hope that some other talented and frustrated Mac shipper out there might have hacked a cross-platform solution, since UPS itself apparently could care less. The company line from UPS is essentially: 'If you're on a Mac, you can go F yerself'.

[whoisgregg]

We print on to sticky back label paper. Peel and stick to box. Would that work for you?

<added>The labels are 2 per 8.5" by 11" piece of paper, btw.</added>

[mivox]

That's what I was thinking. I'm sure Avery makes a 2-up laser and inkjet sticker paper, which would save the trouble of even cutting it.

[mc327]

You can order 2 per page sticky labels from UPS, no charge. I use them with WorldShip running on Virtual PC. Worldship is very slow running on Virtual PC, but it works fine.