Explained
How to easily create address labels? DIY guide
When sending birthday or wedding invitations, you want your invitations to look neat. The first impression is from the envelope with an address. You can have this printed on the envelope via the well-known card websites, but you can also do this yourself with address labels.
By printing address labels yourself, you save a lot of printing costs and can easily make last-minute changes. There are two ways to print address labels yourself: with Excel and Word (complex) or with Mailbook (quick). Both are explained step-by-step below.
Which address labels should you buy?
There are hundreds of address label formats. Each format has slightly different dimensions. Our advice is to buy US Letter (8 1/2" x 11") sized address label sheets with 30 labels per sheet and the label with dimensions of 1" x 2-5/8". This is the most commonly used size in the US, large enough for (international) addresses, and available everywhere as a store brand or from brands like Avery. Pay attention to whether you have an inkjet printer or a laser printer when choosing.
Creating Labels with Excel
Creating address labels with an Excel address file requires some complex steps, known as Mail Merge. It is definitely doable, but requires lots of time and technical skills. You will need: a printer, address labels, Microsoft Word and Excel. Watch our instruction video or follow these steps below.
- Start with your Mailbook address list in Excel. Check the names and other details here.
- Then open Word. Here we will try to get a label neatly in the right boxes.
- Choose Mailings from the menu bar and select Start Mail Merge.
- Under the Label title, click on the Options button. Here you choose a producer (e.g. Avery US Letter) and your template format (e.g. Avery 5160).
- If all goes well, you will now see a label overview with the first box empty and «Next Record» in the others. That's good.
- We will now link addresses from Excel: Choose Select Recipients from the menu and then Use an Existing List....
- You may get a possible warning, choose "Yes." You can leave the next question about workbook and cell range open.
- Now click in the first box with the mouse and use Insert Merge Field to create this text with the field options:
«First Name» «Last Name» «Address» «City», «State» «Postal Code»
- In the menu, choose Update Labels.
- You're almost there! All the way to the right in the menu is Finish & Merge and then under that, Print Documents.
- Quickly put your label paper in the printer and click print.
After this ordeal, you have your labels!
Unfortunately Mail Merge with Excel only supports a single address template, which is an issue for international addresses which are usually have a different template. Fortunately Mailbook has been build to create beautifull labels for you. Read on quickly...
Creating Labels with Mailbook
With our new feature on Mailbook you can download a Word file with all your addresses as a label in the correct format and styling. From Word you can still quickly adjust things yourself and you no longer need to perform the complex steps above. Watch our instruction video or follow these steps:
- Login to Mailbook and click on Export.
- Click on the option Print addresses on labels.
- Select your label product. The default is 30 addresses e.g. Avery 5160.
- Click on the Download button and save the file. Then open it.
- Run to the printer and insert the label paper. Then print.
Don't have Word? No problem, you can also open, edit, and print the file with Google Docs (for free).
Are you stil having issues? Fortunately, with Mailbook, you can also have your addresses shipped to your house on label sheets.