Nearly every business, regardless of size, uses Microsoft Excel to organize and analyze data. It helps them improve productivity and manage day-to-day activities like pros.
Excel makes it easy for small and medium-sized e-commerce stores to manage their inventory, organize products, and print labels.
In this article, we will discuss how to print labels from Excel. This is a step-by-step guide where we have covered everything from creating and formatting labels to printing them. Make sure you do not miss any step by reading the article till the end.
How to Print Labels for a Mailing List in Excel
Excel doesn’t have any built-in feature to print labels. However, you can combine Excel with Microsoft Word’s Mail Merge feature to do the job.
The Mail merge feature uses Excel’s data to create multiple labels in Word.
Let’s go through the step-by-step guide to printing labels.
STEP #1 – Prepare a Mailing List in Excel
The first step in printing labels is preparing a mailing list. You need to create a mailing list in Excel. It should include all the details, such as first names, last names, addresses, city, state, and zip codes.
Also, make sure that all your columns are labeled clearly to avoid any confusion during the mail merge process. Click here to explore an example of a basic mailing list that we have prepared. You can download and customize it without any limitations.
Note: If you are creating your own mailing list, make sure to include the headers in the first row of the spreadsheet. It helps Microsoft Word properly recognize the fields during the mail merge.
In some cases, online orders or customer data are exported to Google Sheets. You can use the following steps to convert a Google Sheets to Microsoft Excel.
- Open your mailing list in Google Sheets
- Click on the “File” tab at the top left corner of the screen
- Click on “Download”
- Choose “Microsoft Excel (.xlsx)”
- Your Excel file will be downloaded
- Now, open Microsoft Excel
- Choose “Open” from the left-hand side menu
- Browse your computer to find the Excel file you have downloaded from Google Sheets
Make sure to save your Excel by clicking the “File” tab from the main menu followed by the “Save As” button from the left-hand side menu. You must choose the .xlsx format while saving the file.
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Once done, you can use that Excel workbook to print labels or perform any other tasks in Excel.
STEP #2 – Open Microsoft Word and Start the Mail Merge
Once the data is ready in Excel, the next step is to use Microsoft Word to create and print labels.
Microsoft Excel and Word are life-saving combos for many business owners. The benefits and possibilities are endless, and Microsoft offers seamless integration between the two.
Here are the steps to start the mail merge in Word,
- Open the Microsoft Word application
- Open a new blank document
- Go to the “Mailings” tab in the main menu
- Click on the “Start Mail Merge” dropdown
- Select the “Labels” option from the list
- This will open a Label Options dialog box, as shown below
- Select the “Page Printers” options for the Printer information
- Select “Avery US Letters” for the Label Vendors
- For the Product number, scroll down to select “5160 Address Labels”
- Now, click the “OK” button
We have used these settings because they are standard and Universal. But if you are using a different vendor and product number, feel free to adjust the label format to fit your unique requirements.
STEP #3 – Link your Excel Spreadsheet to Word
Now that you have selected your label template, you need to link your Excel spreadsheet to Word so that the data in Excel can be used to fill the labels.
Follow the steps below to link the Excel to Word:
- Go to the “Mailings” tab
- Click on the “Select Recipients” dropdown
- Choose the “Use an Existing List” option
- Browse your computer and select the Excel mailing list file
- Click the “Open” button
- In the Select Table Window, select the Excel worksheet that contains your mailing data
(Since we have the data in the Example sheet, we have selected it) - Click on ”OK”
Your Word document will now look like this,
This means our Mail merge has been successfully completed.
STEP #4 – Add the Address Blocks
Now, it is time to insert the actual data fields (Name, address, zip code, etc) into your label template.
For that, follow the steps below:
- Place your cursor on the first label of the Microsoft Word page
- Go to the “Mailings” tab
- Click on “Address Blocks” in the “Write and Insert Fields” group
- In the Insert Address Block dialog box, click the “Match Fields” button
- Check if all the fields match together, then click on “OK”
- Now click on “OK” again in the Insert Address Block dialog box
- Your Word document should look like below
- In the Mailings tab, click on “Update Labels”
Once you update your labels, this is how your document will look like,
STEP #5 – Finish And Merge
We are almost done. This is the final step of printing labels.
Once you are satisfied with the look of your labels, it’s time to complete the mail merge and print them.
- Go to the “Mailings” tab
- Click on the “Finish & Merge” dropdown in the “Finish” group
- Select “Edit Individual Documents” from the dropdown
- Excel will prompt you to Merge it into a New document
- Select “All” to merge all the records
- Once done, click the “OK” button
Voila! You are done. Your labels are ready for printing. Here’s how it looks,
Make sure you quickly check before pressing the Print button.
STEP #6 – Print the Document
Here are the steps to print the Word document and put the labels on the parcels.
Once you are completely satisfied with the structure and formatting of the labels, follow the steps below:
- Hover to the main menu
- Click the “File” tab
- Select the “Print” option from the list
- A preview of your document will appear as shown below
- Choose the desired printer
- Make sure other settings are as per your requirement
- Press the “Print” button
Finally, your labels are ready to be shipped.
If you plan to print labels regularly, make sure to save this document as a template for future use. This will save you time and effort, as the formatting will be done automatically. All you need to do is link the latest Excel spreadsheet with the saved Word file.
Pro Tip: If you find it difficult to cut the mailing labels, you can add borders to them with a few simple clicks.
Here is how to do it,
- Click on the “+” icon on the upper left side of the table
- This will select the whole contents of the document
- Click on the “Borders” icon dropdown
- Choose the “All Borders” options
Now your document will appear as shown below,
It is easier to handle after printing.
FAQs: Print Labels Using Excel & Word
Q. Can you print labels directly from Excel?
Excel doesn’t have a built-in tool to print labels. You need to combine Excel with Word and use the Mail Merge feature that comes prebuilt in Microsoft Word.
The Mail Merge tool in Microsoft Word easily pulls data from Excel and arranges it into a format that is easy to print.
Q. What type of labels can you print from Excel?
You can print a wide variety of labels using Word’s Mail merge feature. You can print mailing labels, shipping labels, product labels, and even barcodes.
The most commonly used label is Avery.
Q. How do you print Avery Labels on Word?
Microsoft Word boasts a wide variety of labels. To print the Avery labels, follow the steps below:
- Go to the “Mailings” tab
- Click on “Labels”
- A new “Envelopes and Labels” dialog box will appear as shown
- Click on “Options” at the bottom
- A Label Options dialog box will appear
- Select “Avery US Letter” in the Label Vendors dropdown
- Click on “OK” to confirm the sizes
To Summarize: How To Print Labels From Excel
I know printing labels in Excel was never easy before. By using this powerful combination of Excel and Word, you can easily create and print professional-looking labels.
But be careful while creating your mailing list in Excel and define the headers correctly.
This article is the ultimate tool to automate label printing and boost product shipment for small to medium-sized e-commerce store owners.
Feel free to comment below if you are stuck somewhere or having any particular issue while printing labels from Excel. Our team will reply to all your questions as soon as possible.
Also, make sure to explore our blog section for more tips and tricks on how to use Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets like a pro.