Create picture labels in Word the easy way

Q Your recent Workshop on mail merge in Word was interesting as I use the same method. My problem is producing labels with pictures. I am a beekeeper and have designed my own labels in Corel Draw where I have to resize each one, which is time consuming. Is there is a way to do it in Word?

Tom Layfield

A It is possible to add an image to a collection of labels and have it repeated on each one. Finish your label in Corel Draw and save it as a TIFF file as this will maintain the highest quality possible.

Start Word, click on Tools, Letters and Mailings and then Mail Merge. Select Labels in the Task Pane and then click on Next: Starting document. Leave change document layout selected and then click on Label options.

Select the kind of label you are going to use. Word has the required settings for most label manufacturers. Select the right company in the Label Products menu and then the correct label code in the Product number section. This code will probably be written on the label page itself. Click on OK and then on Next: Select recipients.

We are assuming you already have a list of contacts, so leave Use an existing list selected and then click on Browse. Find your contacts list and click on Open and then on OK.

Grey text will appear in all the labels except the first one. Click on Next: Arrange your labels. Click on the Insert menu, then Picture, then From file. Find your logo, click on it once and then on Insert. Set the position and wrapping options as you want.

The Mail merge task pane may disappear at this point. To bring it back, click on the View menu and then Task Pane. Select Mail Merge from the dropdown menu at the top of the Task Pane. Use the links in the task pane to enter the information for the merge as with any normal mail merge.

When you are happy with the look of the first label, click on the Update all labels button to copy the picture into all the labels. Complete the mail merge wizard as normal to print out the labels.

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