Useful Tips: Creating Mailing Labels / Envelopes
by Shawn C Lander on December 16, 2004
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Many people have asked over the course of time how to create mailing labels with the tools already installed on their desktop computer. There are as may ways to accomplish this as there are to say hello and any one particular method is no more correct than another. However, depending on what you are trying to accomplish there are methods that are easier or more appropriate than others.

We recognize that you may have already figured out ways to accomplish your immediate needs. As a result, we are not trying to force you to change everything you are currently doing. Instead, we are trying to expose you to other useful methods of accomplishing this task in case you were unaware of them or in case you find the upkeep of your current method tedious.

In many cases the method you want to use to create mailing envelopes / labels is dependant on your task. There is no need to create an involved Access database if you need a printed envelope to send to an address you will never use again. Nor is it appropriate to create a manually formatted label template for a dynamic list of names that you need sorted by last name.

Printing Individual Envelopes / Labels

Microsoft Word is the program of choice for this task. Especially since the program will try to use addresses it finds on the open document as input into the wizard. So, if you already have the address typed in a document, open that document to avoid typing it again.

1. Choose Tools -> Letters and Mailings -> Envelopes and Labels... from the Microsoft Word menubar
2. Choose either the Envelopes or Labels tab depending on your need.

   ENVELOPES If necessary, enter the delivery address in the space provided (1). You may edit the address if Word was able to find the address in the open document. If you want to print the return address on the envelope as well, enter it in the space provided (2). If you have specified a personal mailing address in Word before, the address will automatically appear in this area. You may edit this address as well if you wish. (To specify a personal mailing address, type it in the Mailing Address: textbox on the User Information tab of the Options dialog (available through Tools -> Options). If you edit the address in this location, Word will ask if you would like to save this as your new 'default return address'. If you don't want to print a return address, you may delete the text here or check the Omit option checkbox. To change any other options you can click the icons in the Preview or Feed selections (3). These Options will allow you to change the font or location of the addresses or the orientation of the envelope in the printer. You can add the envelope to the document by clicking the Add to Document button. Word will insert the envelope into its own section at the start of the document. If, at a later time, you need to reprint the document, it will print the envelope as well without having to specify the envelope settings again.

   LABELS If necessary, enter the label address in the space provided (1). You may edit the address if Word was able to find the address in the open document. If you want to print a full page of labels with the same text on each label for this address, choose Full page of the same label in the Print section (2). --OR-- If you need a single label, choose Single label and enter the Row and Column position of the label to print. This will enable you to use partially printed sheets of labels. To change any of the label options or the type of label to print, click the icon in the Label section (3) or the Options button. You will be able to change the label type to any of the standard Avery, ERO, Formtec or other label makers. You can store this page of labels by clicking the New Documention button. In this manner, you can print these same labels without having to specify the label settings again.

Printing sets of Mailing Labels / Envelopes

Sets of envelopes and mailing labels can be printed using the mail merge functionality of Microsoft Word. The data source of the merge, all the addresses, can be an Access database table, Excel spreadsheet, or even a Word document. Undoubtedly, the best data source is an Access database table because it allows you to easily sort and group your addresses.

The scope of this document is not to discuss how to create a data source. If you need assistance with this please contact MIS, we will assist you in creating an Access database with a table for your mailing addresses.

Open a new document in Word. Choose Tools -> Letters and Mailings -> Mail Merge... from the menubar. The mail merge wizard will be envoked and open at the right of your new document (figure #3). Choose either Envelopes or Labels depending on your need and select the Next link at the bottom of the wizard (you should now move to Step 2 of 6). Select the Label Options link provided in this step to select the type of label to print and the printer to be used. Most default label types are Avery 5160. Once the label type is choosen, select Next: Select Recipients at the bottom of the mail merge wizard... you will be moved to Step 3 of 6. You can choose to use an existing data source or type in your list of recipients. Again, we will not discuss how to create your data source as part of this article. Once your data source is selected, select Next: Arrange your labels to move to Step 4 of 6.

Figure #3

As you arrange your label, you will see formating codes such as FirstName appear on the first label of the template (#1, Figure #4). You can use any of the predefined label formats by following the directions presented by the wizard or manually layout the label by choosing the More items... link. After formating the label, click the Update all labels button (#2, Figure #4) in order to copy the layout to all the labels on the template. Once the layout has been created and copied to all labels, select the Next: Preview your labels link at the bottom of the mail merge wizard to move to Step 5 of 6. Preview the completed labels to verify that the formating and recipient list is correct. If everything is correct, complete the merge, print and save the document. Otherwise, click the Previous links to go back to the step that needs correcting. Save the document if you will be printing this set of labels again. If, at any time, you update the data source, this label template will be automatically updated with the new addresses the next time you open the document.

Figure #4

Why Use Access As A Data Source

The advantage of using Microsoft Access as your data source is such that sorting, grouping, and selecting addresses from your table can be easily accomplished by creating a query within the database. That query would then be used as the data source for the mail merge. This means that you only need to maintain one list of addresses as your data source so that you only have to look in one location to determine is you have an address listed or if the address is up-to-date.

For all illustrations below on how this is useful the data source is created using the Mailing List table wizard. This wizard creates a new table from a set of standard fields found in contact lists such as first/middle/last name, po box, city, state, zip, organization, email address, phone number, etc. The organization field is used to store the contact's department. A simple query can be created that accomplishes a specific goal from a single data table. In this manner, you can enter contacts into the table in any order you like and you only need to keep one address up-to-date.

What kind of things can this be used for?

• Printing labels in alphabetical order by last name (no more manual alphabetizing)
• Only printing labels for a specific department/organization (no need to maintain multiple lists).
• Group all addresses from the same department so they print together (sorting mail to be placed in mailboxes becomes easier).