How to Make Labels in Word

The sheet came out of the printer with every address drifting off the label, or the first label printed and the rest stayed blank. Word does not measure the label size from the paper. It builds the page from a product number that has to match the box the labels came in.

Open the Labels tool

Click Mailings, Labels. The dialog holds the address text on the left and the current label product on the right.

Choose the product number on the box

Click Options. Set Label vendors to the brand printed on the package, then pick the exact product number, such as Avery US Letter 5160. Check that the listed height, width, and page size match the box, then click OK.

Type the address and pick the layout

Type the text in the Address box. Choose Full page of the same label for one repeated address, or Single label and set the Row and Column of the one blank label left on a part-used sheet.

Print, or send the sheet to a document

Click Print to go straight to the printer, or New Document to open the sheet as an editable page where each label can carry different text. The labels are a table, so turn on Layout, View Gridlines to see the boundaries while typing.

Merge a list for different addresses on every label

For a mailing list, click Mailings, Start Mail Merge, Labels and pick the same product number. Click Select Recipients, Use an Existing List, and point to the spreadsheet or table of addresses. Put the cursor in the first label, click Address Block, then click Update Labels to copy the field arrangement to the rest of the sheet. Check the result with Preview Results and finish with Finish & Merge.

On Mac. The same buttons sit on the Mailings tab, and gridlines are under Table Layout, View Gridlines.

Print one sheet on plain paper first. Hold it against a real label sheet in front of a light to check the alignment before feeding the labels through. Set printer scaling to 100 percent and turn off any fit to page or shrink oversized pages option, because scaling moves every label off center.

Sources. Create and print labels, Print labels for your mailing list, Print one label on a partially used sheet.