What the Post Office can and cannot print
If you have arrived here holding a PDF that needs to be on paper today, the honest answer is that the Post Office is usually the wrong place to take it. Post Office branches are built around mail, banking and identity services. Document printing — where you hand over a file and get printed pages back — is not a standard Post Office service, and where anything similar exists it varies from branch to branch because many are independently run franchises inside other shops.
What Post Office branches commonly do offer
- Postage and parcels — including printing postage labels you have already paid for online.
- Drop & Go and returns — some branches print a returns label from a QR code at the counter.
- Passport photo and Check & Send — photo services and application checking at selected branches.
- Photocopying — occasionally available, but only in some branches and only from a physical original.
What they generally do not offer
- Printing from your email, phone or a USB stick. This is the thing most people actually need, and it is not a Post Office service.
- Multi-page document printing — contracts, forms, reports or booklets.
- Colour document printing to any consistent standard.
The practical takeaway: a Post Office can help if you already have a label to print or a physical page to copy. If you have a file that needs printing, you will need somewhere else.
Where people go instead
The usual alternatives each have a catch. Libraries print cheaply but require you to travel, register, and often to use a slow public terminal with a per-page charge. High street shops such as Ryman or a local copy shop can print from a USB stick or email, but you are paying high street prices and making a trip. Staying with a friend who owns a printer works right up until the file is confidential.
The fourth option is to have it printed and posted to you. You upload the document, choose how it prints, and it arrives at whatever address you choose — no travel, no queue, and no need to find a branch that happens to offer the right service.
Comparing the options
- Post Office — good for postage labels and returns; not for printing your own documents.
- Library — cheap per page, but requires travel, registration and a public computer.
- High street print shop — fast and capable, but you travel and pay retail prices.
- Online print and post — upload from anywhere; printed pages arrive by post, from {bwFrom} a page.
If posting the printed copy works for your timescale, upload your document and it can be dispatched the same working day. You can also read the fuller comparison of where to print documents in the UK, or see how print and post works.
Printing at the
Post Office
Straight answers about what Post Office branches can and cannot do.
01Can you print documents at the Post Office?
Generally no. Post Office branches are set up for mail, banking and identity services rather than document printing, and printing from your own file is not a standard Post Office service. Some branches offer photocopying or can print a prepaid postage or returns label, but this varies by branch because many are franchises inside other shops.
02Can the Post Office print a returns label for me?
Often yes. Many branches offer label printing for returns where you present a QR code or barcode from the retailer, and some carriers include this as standard. This is different from printing a document you have supplied yourself.
03Can I print from a USB stick or email at the Post Office?
No. Printing from your own file, whether on a USB stick, in an email or on your phone, is not a service Post Office branches provide.
04Does the Post Office do photocopying?
Some branches have a photocopier, but it is not available everywhere and it copies from a physical original rather than printing from a digital file. It is worth calling the branch first.
05Where can I print documents if the Post Office cannot?
The main options are a public library, a high street print or copy shop, a friend with a printer, or an online print and post service that prints your document and delivers it to your address. Each trades cost against convenience differently.
06What is the cheapest way to get documents printed without a printer?
Libraries usually have the lowest headline price per page but require travel and registration. Online printing removes the journey and is priced per page, with postage added at checkout, which often works out competitive once travel is accounted for.
Documents printed and delivered
If the Post Office cannot print it, upload it instead and have it posted to you.