Printing Tips

How to get perfect alignment, every time.

Printing is easy with Avery’s free Design & Print tool. Choose from hundreds of templates and use our free design tools to create your own labels in minutes.

To help you get the best print results possible, follow these five printing tips.

A white desk with a laptop and a printer. The laptop screen displays the Avery "Design & Print" website, showing a welcome message, "Hello Sarah," and various options for creating labels. A sheet of light blue labels is half-printed and exiting the printer. A potted plant is also on the desk in front of a white brick wall.
Avery Package Images

Use Avery Products

Be sure you are using a genuine Avery product. Non-Avery products are not optimised for our templates, and are not manufactured to our specifications.

Screenshot on a computer screen with a close up on printing settings when your paper size is not A4

Check Your Printer Settings

Open your print dialogue and check the following

  • Page size is set to A4 (Not US Letter Size)
  • Paper Type is set to Labels (or Heavyweight if Labels is not available)
  • Paper Source is set to Rear Tray or Manual Feed
  • Page Scaling is set to Actual Size (Not fit, or scale)
Someone holding up a sheet of labels and a text print of label artwork up to the window to let the light shine through to see if they align.

Test Print on Plain Paper

Before printing on your Avery product, we always recommend you perform a test print on a plain sheet of paper. Hold the printed sheet behind the Avery product to check the alignment of your layout. This is easier to see when held up against a window or a light. When satisfied with the layout, print on to the Avery product.

A computer monitor, showing a white background with eight black hearts and writing.

How to Adjust your Margins Manually

Tip for users of Design & Print only

If your design does not print correctly on the plain paper then click on the Make a Printer Adjustment button (Step 4 Preview & Print menu) on the right hand side of the page. Review your test print to determine which direction you need to move your project. Now use the controls to shift your project’s alignment left, right, up or down. Test again on plain paper and return to this step if it’s still not quite right.

Avery labels in Printer

You are now ready to print

For best results, after you’ve completed your test prints, use a new label sheet to print your final labels. 

Need to print bulk labels with different information on each label? Learn how to use variable data printing to save time.