Label Planet
Our answers to your top 5 FAQs about label templates and Microsoft software.
Is Microsoft Office Software Suitable For Designing & Printing Label Templates?
Yes! You can create a pretty good set of sticky labels using Microsoft software.
The Office Suite doesn’t include “graphics software”, which is software designed for the specific purpose of creating, editing, and displaying computer graphics – making it ideal for design-based tasks. Publisher, desktop publishing software, probably comes closest but is really intended for the purpose of creating and editing documents by arranging different elements (including graphics) within a specific page layout.
This means that the design tools available in Microsoft software won’t be as advanced as those provided in graphics package. HOWEVER, this doesn’t mean that you can’t create a brilliant set of designs using Office software. You simply need to acknowledge the limitations of the software you are using, use the available tools as efficiently as you can, and make sure you don’t make your design too complex for your software to replicate.
Which Software Is Best Suited To Designing & Printing Label Templates?
Word and Publisher are the best options – although we have some customers who use Excel!
- Both Word and Publisher contain built-in label templates. In Word, a table represents the layout of a sheet of labels. Each cell in the table represents a label (or a gap between two labels). Word templates, therefore, can only represent sheet labels as a grid of rectangles and/or squares. It cannot show elements of shaping, such as rounded corners, or the outline of round labels and oval labels. In Publisher, templates may be full page templates (made using a table or a combination of tables, shapes, and text boxes) or a single label template (where you add your design to the one label and it is replicated across the entire sheet during the printing process).
- Word and Publisher also contain basic design tools. These allow you to construct label designs using text, images, and shapes. Publisher has the edge in terms of the control and accuracy of positioning it offers when arranging elements within your design. Word, as a word processor, prioritises text over everything else, which can make it difficult to position images and shapes accurately. Word, however, does contain additional tools intended for designing and printing labels, which are not available in Publisher.
It is up to you to decide which package you use. We tend to recommend Word over Publisher simply because more people are familiar with Word. Being confident using a particular piece of software might not seem like an important factor but it can make designing and printing your own labels a lot quicker and less stressful than trying to use software that you’re less familiar with.
Publisher is a brilliant option if you are familiar with it AND if it contains a compatible built-in label template for your labels.
Do You Supply Label Templates For Microsoft Office?
Yes! We supply Word templates for all of our label sizes free of charge. Simply visit our Label Templates section and select your label shape and then your label size. Alternatively, you can visit the product page of your sticky labels and click on the purple “Label Templates And Printing Information” link.
Our Word templates are available in both portrait and landscape orientations. We also provide bleed templates (ideal if your design includes a coloured background and/or border).
Our individual template pages contain all of the download links for our label templates as well as detailed measurement and layout information.
We often get asked if we supply Publisher templates; unfortunately, we are only able to offer Word templates at this time. If you are familiar with Publisher, however, you should be able to create your own template relatively easily using the tools available in Publisher and the measurement and layout information provided on our website.
Does Microsoft Office Include Label Templates (& How Do I Find Them)?
As we’ve mentioned both Word and Publisher contain built-in label templates. Many of our label sizes are compatible with (the same as) these templates, which means you can print Label Planet labels with a compatible built-in template.
In Word, you need to open a blank document. Next click on the Mailings tab at the top of the page and select “Labels” from the left hand side of the ribbon. Click on Options, set Printer information to “Page Printers” and select the correct option for Label information (e.g. A4/A5). Locate your code in the list and click ok, click New Document, and Word will open a new document containing your label template.
In Publisher, you can choose between blank label templates or pre-designed label templates.
To find the former, open Publisher, click on “Built-In”, select Labels, and then scroll down to the A4/A5 option. Select your code and click CREATE. To find the latter, open Publisher, use the search bar to search for “Labels”. Find a design that you like, left click on it once, and click on Create.
The pre-designed options tend to feature the full sheet of labels, while the built-in options feature a single label that is then replicated across the whole sheet during the printing process.
Why Don’t Microsoft Word Label Templates Show The Outline Of My Labels?
As we mentioned above, Word label templates cannot show shaping or the outlines of round labels and oval labels. This is because they are created using tables; each cell within the table represents a label or a gap between two labels. This means that Word can only represent the layout of a sheet of labels in the form of rectangles and squares constructed using straight lines.
In templates for round labels and oval labels, each label will fit within one of the squares or rectangles in the table with its outermost points touching each of the four sides.
Can I Use Your Microsoft Word Label Templates With My Apple Device?
Yes. Our Word templates use the .docx file format, which can be edited by a variety of software used by Apple devices. This includes Word For Mac and Apple’s own word processor – Pages.
When using Label Planet templates with Pages, we recommend following these steps:
- Download the template to your device. If you have the option to open or save the file, select save.
- Open Pages and use the “File” > “Open” menu options to locate your saved template.