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.
• Go to Avery Design and Print Online.
  • Create an account.
• Select the number from your Avery label package for the correct label template.
• Use the import icon on the left to bring your addresses into the Avery site.
  • Avery will prompt you to remove your header information.
• Personalize your labels with a design.
• Look over each label for errors. If your spreadsheet has two lines for the address column, your label will work, but check all your labels.
• Temporarily save your label project on Avery. You don’t want to lose all your hard work before printing. Make changes later if needed.
  • Download a PDF and save your labels on your computer.
• 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.
• When you’re done, delete all uploaded files and saved projects.
  • 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.

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.