How to Print Labels on Mac: 3 Easy Ways

You can print labels on a Mac in three ways. If your addresses are in Contacts, the Mac app can print mailing labels for you. If you already use Word, Word has a label tool and a mail merge. If your list is in Numbers, copy the rows and paste them into LabelPeel. All three work with standard Avery® label sheets.

What you need before you print

• A Mac and a printer. Check the label box for the printer type it needs, inkjet or laser. Our laser or inkjet labels guide explains the difference.
• A label sheet with its product number on the box, such as Avery® 5160 for US Letter or L7160 for A4.
• Your addresses in one place: in Contacts, in a Word file, or in a Numbers spreadsheet.

Option 1: Print labels from the Contacts app

The Contacts app on a Mac has a built-in mailing label print style. This is the quickest way to print labels for people you already have saved.

1. Open the Contacts app. Select one or more contacts, or a list. Only contact cards with an address will print.
2. Choose File › Print.
3. In the Style pop-up menu, select Mailing Labels. If you do not see the Style menu, click the disclosure arrow next to Contacts.
4. Under Layout, choose a page type, such as Avery Standard or A4. If your sheet is not in the list, select Define Custom and enter the label size from the box.
5. Under Label, choose any extras you want, such as the company name, the country or the image.
6. Click Print.

Apple's help names the page types in general terms, such as Avery Standard. It does not list each Avery® code. Match the code on your box to the label size, and print a test page on plain paper before you use a full sheet.

Option 2: Print labels in Word for Mac

Word can print the same label on a full sheet, or it can do a mail merge with a different address on each label.

Print one address on a full sheet

1. Open a blank document in Word and go to Mailings › Labels.
2. Select Options. Choose your Printer type, then choose your brand in the Label products list.
3. Choose the number that matches your sheet in the Product number list, then select OK.
4. Type the address in the Address box.
5. Select Full page of the same label, then choose Print. To edit first, choose New Document.

Mail merge from a list

A mail merge puts a different name and address on each label. Each row in your list becomes one label.

1. Go to Mailings › Start Mail Merge › Labels.
2. In the Label Options dialog, choose a supplier in the Label products list. Then choose your product number in the Product number list, and confirm.
3. Go to Mailings › Select Recipients and choose your data source, such as your Excel or Numbers file.
4. Go to Mailings › Insert Merge Field and pick the fields you want on each label, such as First Name and Last Name.
5. Go to Mailings › Update Labels. Word copies the layout to every label.
6. Go to Mailings › Preview Results to check the names and addresses.
7. Go to Mailings › Finish & Merge › Print Documents.

Microsoft's Mac page uses the name Label products. The Windows wizard says Label vendors, but the choice is the same. For the full list steps, read how to print labels in Word and mail merge labels from Excel to Word.

Option 3: Print labels from Pages or Numbers

Apple's Pages help says you can use mail merge to personalize multiple documents. The guide we checked, for Pages 15.4, does not describe label sheets or label templates. So we do not give steps for labels in Pages. If you want labels, use Word, the Contacts app or LabelPeel.

The Numbers help we checked covers exporting files, not label sheets. Numbers is still a good place to keep your list. Here is the fast route to LabelPeel:

1. Open your list in Numbers. Select the cells, including the heading row, and copy them.
2. Open LabelPeel and paste the rows into the box. Each row becomes one label.
3. Check the columns LabelPeel picked. You can change them with the tick list.
4. Pick your sheet, such as the Avery® 5160, or the A4 L7160 if you live in the UK or EU.
5. Print a test page on plain paper, then print on the sheet.

You can also upload a Numbers file. LabelPeel accepts .numbers files as well as .xlsx, .csv and .tsv. If your data is already in Numbers, you do not need to export it first.

Set the print settings on a Mac

The print window decides whether your labels line up. Check these before you print on a label sheet:

• Paper size. Choose the paper that matches your sheet, Letter for US sheets or A4 for L7160.
• Scale. Set the scale to 100%. Do not use a fit-to-page or scale-to-fit option. Scaling is the most common reason labels move.
• Test first. Print on plain paper, then hold the test page over a label sheet.

If the labels are still a little off, LabelPeel lets you nudge everything by millimetres, then print a new test.

Common problems

The text sits too high, too low or too far to one side. The page was scaled. Set the scale to 100%, turn off fit-to-page, and print a new test page.

The labels are on the wrong part of the sheet. The product number does not match your sheet. Check the number on the box, then choose it again in Word or the print settings.

Some labels are blank. Your list has empty rows. Delete them, then print again. In Contacts, only people with an address print.

An extra blank page prints. The document has an empty line after the last label. Delete the empty line, or remove the blank row at the end of your list.

Names are cut off. Use a wider label, such as Avery® 5161, which has 20 labels per sheet, or shorten the text.

Where to go next

If your addresses are in Contacts on a Mac, that is the fastest route. If you use iPhone or Google Contacts, read how to print labels from contacts to export them first. For mailing addresses in a layout that post offices accept, read how to print address labels. If you need the Excel route, read how to print labels from Excel.

Print one test sheet before you print a full box. A small test saves a lot of time.