Church Bulletin Templates

Guide

How to Print Address Labels From a Mailing List

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If your newsletter goes out by mail, you don't need to type 150 labels. A "mail merge" takes a list of names and addresses and pours it onto a sheet of labels, one address per label. Here's how, from the list to the printed sheet.

Step 1: get the list into a spreadsheet

Every method below starts from a spreadsheet: Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or LibreOffice Calc. Set it up like this:

  • One row per mailing. A household that gets one newsletter gets one row.
  • A heading in the first row, one per column: Name, Address, Address 2, City, State, ZIP.
  • The name exactly as it should print: "Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hill", "The Garcia Family", or "Ruth Allen". It's simpler than splitting first and last names into separate columns.
  • No blank rows, no merged cells, no notes in the middle of the list. Put notes in a separate column at the far right.

Microsoft's advice is to make sure the data is "mistake free and uniformly formatted" before you start (Microsoft Support). Sort the list by ZIP code if you mail in bulk, or by name if you'd like to find people easily.

A mailing list is personal information. Keep it on the church's own computer or account, and think twice before uploading it to a website you don't know.

Step 2: buy labels that match a template

Label sheets have a product number printed on the package, and that number is what Word and other programs use to line up the print. A common choice for addresses is Avery 5160: labels 1 inch by 2⅝ inches, 30 to a letter-size sheet (Avery). Other brands often print the matching Avery number on the package. Whatever you buy, note the number.

Step 3: merge in Word for Windows

Microsoft's wizard walks you through it (Microsoft Support):

  1. Open a blank document. Go to Mailings > Start Mail Merge > Step-by-Step Mail Merge Wizard.
  2. Choose Labels, then Next: Starting document.
  3. Click Label options. Choose the label vendor (for example, Avery US Letter) and the product number from your package, then OK. If yours isn't listed, choose New Label and enter the measurements from the package.
  4. Click Next: Select recipients, then Browse, and open your spreadsheet. Pick the sheet with the list and click OK.
  5. Click Next: Arrange your labels, then Address block, then OK. Then click Update all labels so every label gets the same layout.
  6. Click Next: Preview your labels and look through them.
  7. Click Next: Complete the merge, then Print.

If the Address block doesn't pick up your columns correctly, click Match Fields in its window and tell Word which column is the name, the address and so on.

Or in Word for Mac

On a Mac the steps are similar, without the wizard (Microsoft Support):

  1. Go to Mailings > Start Mail Merge > Labels, choose your label supplier and product number, and click OK.
  2. Go to Mailings > Select Recipients and choose your spreadsheet.
  3. Use Insert Merge Field to put the Name, Address, City, State and ZIP fields in the first label, with spaces and line breaks between them, the way an address looks on an envelope.
  4. Click Update Labels, then Preview Results.
  5. Choose Finish & Merge > Print Documents.

Step 4: check before you print on labels

Labels cost more than paper, so test on paper first:

  1. Instead of printing straight away, choose Finish & Merge > Edit Individual Documents. Word makes a new document with every label filled in, so you can fix one odd address without changing the list.
  2. Print the first page on plain paper. Hold it against a sheet of labels in front of a window or a lamp. Each address should sit inside a label.
  3. If everything is off by the same amount, check the product number in Label options. If only the bottom rows drift, check that the printer isn't set to "fit to page"; print at 100 percent.

Then load the labels, the right side up for your printer, and print. Save the merged document; next month you only need to update the spreadsheet and run the merge again.

If your list is in Google Sheets

Google Docs doesn't come with a label merge built in. You have three good options:

  • Download the list and use Word. In Google Sheets choose File > Download > Microsoft Excel (Google's download help). Then follow Step 3 with the downloaded file.
  • Use Avery's Design & Print Online. Avery's online label designer can import a spreadsheet: choose Import Data, then Start Import/Merge, and pick your file. It accepts .xls, .xlsx and .csv files (Avery's help page). Download the Google Sheet in one of those formats first.
  • Use an add-on in Google Docs. Google's add-on store lists "Label Maker - Compatible with Avery Labels" from a company called Quicklution, which merges labels from Google Docs and Sheets. Its listing describes its pricing as a free trial (Google Workspace Marketplace). Like any add-on, it asks for permission to read your files. Read what it asks for before you allow it.

In LibreOffice

LibreOffice makes labels from File > New > Labels. The Labels window has a Database box and a Table box for choosing your address list, and you can insert its fields into the label text before creating a full page of labels (LibreOffice Help). If your list doesn't appear in the Database box, it has to be registered as a data source first; LibreOffice's help covers this under "Registering an Address Book".

Tips from the church office

  • Update the list as changes come in, not the night before the mailing.
  • Keep a column for "last updated", so you know which addresses might be stale.
  • When a newsletter comes back undeliverable, fix the row that day.
  • Return-address labels don't need a merge. In Word, Mailings > Labels lets you type one address and print a full page of the same label; in LibreOffice, File > New > Labels does the same.

Need a newsletter to mail? Try the monthly church newsletter or the club newsletter template.

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