I was about to hand-address 34 mailing labels. I thought it would save time to print them. Unfortunately, it took me several hours to figure this out.

That’s okay.

I now know how to print labels and can tell you so I can save YOU time.

These labels are for my summer mailing project. I have a stack of books and mugs to mail to our ministry partners. (I do my appreciation gifts in the summer when I have more time and the shipping rates are lower.)

I’m not a fan of the look of a labeled address. I hand-address greeting cards and thank yous. I print addresses onto our prayer letter envelope. I’ve decided I’m okay with labels to save time for gift-mailing projects. I added a bit of design to personalize the labels, which helped them look nicer.

I started making labels in Word. I don’t recommend that; head straight over to Avery Design and Print Online. But first, let’s back up.

Using Avery Labels: Step-by-Step

• Buy your pack of labels. Make sure you have:
  • the right size, and
  • the right printer is indicated on the package: laser, inkjet, or both.
• Create a spreadsheet of the names you’ll be addressing.
  • Put your information in  3 columns for the 3 lines of your address: name, street or P. O. Box, and city + state + ZIP.
  • Save your spreadsheet as xls, xlsx, or csv.
• Go to Avery Design and Print Online.
  • Create an account.
  • Choose “Templates” from the tabs across the top of the page (or create your own design).
• Enter the number from your Avery label package for the correct label template.
• Choose “Start Designing.” This brings you to the “Choose Design”  tab.
  • You will want a design with a white background if you want to use less ink.
  • A border might give you issues if you have 4 address lines. I’d pass on those templates.
• After choosing a design, you will be on the “Customize” tab. I chose to change the font color.
• Use the import icon on the left to bring your addresses into the Avery site.
  • Avery will prompt you to remove your header information.
  • After your import,  click “Next.” You will drag and drop your fields into the label.
  • Avery will use your first name and address. Click “Next” to merge all the names into your template.
  • Click “Finish.”
• Look over each label for errors. If your spreadsheet has two lines for the address column, your label might work. One template did, the third template I tried only took three lines for the address.
• Click on “Preview and Print.”
• You have the option to save your label project on Avery. If you do, you could re-use the design with different names later.
  • Download a PDF and save your labels on your computer if you will be printing later.
• Print from the Avery Design and Print Online site, or open your PDF in a browser when you are ready to print.
  • I recommend a test print on one sheet of paper before printing labels.
  • Optional: print all the labels on paper first.
    • Use this printout as a checklist for your project.
    • And/or, cut these addresses into squares to insert in your package. (If you’re not enclosing a letter, enclose the destination address in your package. This is helpful in case your label is defaced in transit.)
• Print from a browser.
• For privacy and security reasons, you don’t need to store names, photos, and your uploaded spreadsheet on their cloud. Keep these things on your computer. So, delete all uploaded files and saved projects if this is your preference.

Done and done!

Lots of Video Tutorials from Avery

Avery has a YouTube channel with lots of helpful videos. I’m sure you’ll find any other information you need there.

Here’s a helpful video to start you off:

NOTES:

• Download your project to your computer to be the safest about privacy and security. See Avery’s privacy policy.
• The image is a screenshot from the Avery video.