Docs Advanced Shipment Tracking Pro (AST PRO) Printify

Printify

This guide walks you through integrating Printify with Advanced Shipment Tracking (AST) PRO, so tracking numbers from Printify shipments are added to your WooCommerce orders automatically and your customers get the AST tracking widget in their shipping emails.

Requires: AST PRO 5.0.6 or later.

🔄 How the Integration Works

When Printify ships an order, it adds a customer note to the WooCommerce order with the shipped items, the tracking number (TN) and a tracking page link (URL). For example:

Item/s shipped:
Classic Unisex T-Shirt
TN: 1LSCYM00019MG3M
URL: https://easyordertracking.aftership.com/1LSCYM00019MG3M

However, Printify does not fill in AST’s shipment tracking fields, and the note does not name the shipping carrier. As a result, customers do not receive the tracking widget in their shipping confirmation emails.

âś… What AST PRO Does

The Printify integration in AST PRO solves this by:

  • Reading the tracking note as soon as Printify adds it to the order.
  • Extracting every tracking number in the note, including notes that list more than one parcel.
  • Detecting the shipping carrier from the tracking number format.
  • Saving the tracking number, carrier and Printify tracking link to the order’s shipment tracking.
  • Updating the order status to Shipped (optional) and sending the shipping confirmation email with the AST tracking widget.

Tracking details then appear in customer emails and on the My Account → View Order page.

⚙️ How to Enable the Integration

  • Go to WooCommerce → Shipment Tracking → Integrations.
  • Enable the Printify integration. It is off by default, and no extra plugin is required.
  • (Optional) Keep AutoComplete orders when they are Shipped enabled (on by default). AST will set the order status to Shipped once the tracking is added.
  • Save the settings.

The integration only reads notes added after it is enabled. Orders that Printify shipped before you turned it on are not updated.

🧩 Carrier Detection

Printify’s note does not include a carrier name, so AST PRO identifies the carrier from the tracking number format. It recognises these carriers:

  • OnTrac (numbers starting with 1LS, or D followed by 14 digits). If OnTrac is not enabled, 1LS numbers go to LaserShip.
  • LaserShip
  • UPS
  • USPS
  • DHL eCommerce
  • Amazon Logistics
  • FedEx

A carrier is only used if it is enabled in your Shipping Carriers list. Make sure the carriers your Printify print providers use are enabled under WooCommerce → Shipment Tracking → Shipping Carriers.

🔧 When the Carrier Is Not Recognised

If the tracking number does not match any of the formats above, AST PRO uses your default shipping carrier. To set one:

  • Go to WooCommerce → Shipment Tracking → Shipping Carriers.
  • Click Edit on the carrier you want to use.
  • Tick Set default and save.
Important
If the carrier cannot be detected and no default carrier is set, AST PRO does not add tracking for that note. Set a default carrier if your Printify shipments use carriers that are not listed above.

📦 Duplicate Tracking Numbers

Printify can add a separate note for each item in an order, all with the same tracking number. To store that tracking number only once and send only one shipping email, keep Restrict adding the same tracking number enabled (on by default) under WooCommerce → Shipment Tracking → Settings → Shipment Tracking API.

If this option is turned off, every note adds its own tracking entry and triggers its own shipping email.

👩‍💻 For Developers

  • ast_printify_carrier – change the carrier detected for a tracking number. Receives the carrier slug and the tracking number.
  • ast_printify_tracking_args – change the tracking data before it is saved. Receives the tracking arguments, the note text and the order ID.

🔚 Final Note

Important
AST PRO does not create or manage shipments in Printify. Printify fulfills and ships the order. AST PRO reads the tracking note Printify adds to the WooCommerce order and turns it into shipment tracking for your customers.