It’s a common misconception that a printer is essential when booking a courier pick-up. But ParcelCompare reveals there are a number of non-printer services now available.

Courier pick-ups are an increasingly popular alternative to the long queue at the Post Office for anyone needing to send a parcel. For items above letter size, courier services may well be cheaper than the local Post Office – and will certainly be handier as they come to the sender to pick up the package.

The majority of courier services need printed labels, but a search of courier quotes using the online parcel comparison site ParcelCompare  shows a number of delivery options that don’t require a customer-printed label. That’s ideal for people who don’t have a printer in their home or office – or whose printer is suddenly ‘on the blink’.

Says ParcelCompare’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks MILT: ‘An increasing number of homes have abandoned clunky PCs connected up to printers in favour of handy devices such as tablets and mobile phones. Of course, these can be easily connected to a printer wirelessly, but many people have learned to live without them these days, and even if we still have one the price of ink cartridges can be eye watering.’

Explains David: ‘Using ParcelCompare’s simple “Printer not needed” tab, a variety of quotes appear – depending on the speed of service you need. And the good news is that printerless services are not only available for domestic UK deliveries, they are also available for European Union countries for shippers looking to send a parcel to France or Germany.’

But David does have one word of warning about printerless services: ‘Whilst it is incredibly handy to have the choice, a printer-free service may well not be the cheapest of all the delivery options available. So if you are able to access a printer it is worth checking out all available quotes on the ParcelCompare website for your parcel’s weight and destination.’

For expert advice on  using courier services without a printer, click here