Excel: create labels

Feed Excel with label data

Before you start to create your labels, you first need a table in which all the information you want to print is stored.

Open Excel and create a new document.
Now enter the headings for the individual columns in the first line of the table. In this practical tip we name the fields with first name, last name, street, house number and so on.
Now enter the information of each individual data record line by line into your table.
Save the spreadsheet and close Excel.

Create labels in Word

To create labels from the data records in your Excel table, use the mail merge function in Word.

Open Word and select the "Mailings" tab.
Click Labels on the far left, and then click the Options button in the Envelopes and Labels dialog box that appears.
In the drop-down menu under »Label supplier« select the manufacturer of your label sheets and from the list below the corresponding label number. This information can be found on the packaging of the blank labels and usually also on the back of the individual sheets. Confirm your selection by clicking on "OK".
Back in the "Envelopes and Labels" dialog box, click the "New Document" button to create a document template with the selected label dimensions.
In your new document, select the "Shipments" tab again, click on "Select recipient" and in the drop-down menu on "Select existing list" to open your Excel table with the data records.
Then select the spreadsheet from which the relevant data records are located. Ensure that the check mark for »First data series contains column headings« is set and click on »OK«.
Click on the "Insert merge field" field and Word opens a list in which you can find your column headings from the table. Add all the required information with a double click and click on "Close".
Now arrange the inserted fields on the first label. In our example, we put a space between first and last name and a paragraph before the postcode.
As soon as you are satisfied with the result, click on the small icon for "Update labels" in the "Write and insert fields" area. Word now applies the data fields for all labels on the page.
You can check the individual labels again before printing by clicking the "Preview results" button.
Click on the "Finish and merge" button and in the drop-down menu on "Print documents".
Confirm in the dialog by clicking "OK" that you want to print all data records.
Insert the blank sheets of labels into your printer and click "OK".

This practical tip was carried out with Office 2013, but it also works in Office 2010. By the way, with Excel and Word you can not only create labels very easily, but also form letters. We will show you how to do this here.