Merging and printing letters and labels

Hello students, welcome to Kwickprep. The letters are ready, but how do we print them, and stick addresses on two hundred envelopes? Today we finish the mail merge. We merge and print letters, and we make address labels.

Let us first see where we are. The main document is typed and ready. The data source is attached with Select Recipients. The merge fields are inserted in the right places. The last stage is to preview, merge and print.

Before merging, decide who gets a copy. Edit Recipient List on the Mailings tab opens the whole list with a tick box for each record. Untick any person you want to leave out. Filter keeps only the records that match a rule, for example City equals Surat. Sort arranges the copies in order, for example by name from A to Z.

The last button on the Mailings tab is Finish and Merge, and it has three options. Edit Individual Documents makes a new file with all the copies, so you can check them before printing. Print Documents sends the copies straight to the printer. Send Email Messages sends one email to each person, and it needs Outlook and an email address column.

After you pick an option, a small box asks which records to merge. All merges every ticked record. Current record merges only the one on screen, which is useful for a test print. From and To merges a range, such as records one to fifty, which helps when the printer has limited paper.

Here is a safe way to merge letters. First, preview the results. Next, click Finish and Merge. Choose Edit Individual Documents, so the copies open in a new file. Then check, are all copies correct? If yes, go to the side and print. If no, fix the data source or fields and merge again.

Now let us print. Pressing Ctrl+P opens the print screen. Choose the printer and keep copies at one, because each letter is already a separate page. The Pages box can print just one letter, for example page three. You may save the merged file, but the main document and data source are enough to merge again.

Now, labels. Mailing labels are sheets of sticky paper divided into many small labels. Each label holds one address, which you peel and stick on an envelope. Label sheets are sold with a product number printed on the packet. A common A4 sheet has three labels across and seven down, which is twenty one labels.

Here are the steps for labels in Microsoft Word. Open a new blank document, then click Start Mail Merge and choose Labels. In Label Options, choose the label vendor and product number, so the page matches your sheet. Then select recipients and insert Address Block, or your own fields, in the first label. Click Update Labels to copy that layout into every other label on the page.

Let us compare letters and labels. In Start Mail Merge, you choose Letters for one and Labels for the other. A letter puts one record on each page, but a label sheet puts many records on one page. Labels need the extra Update Labels step. Letters print on plain A4 paper, while labels need a special sticky sheet.

Pause and predict this one. The data source has fifty records. Each sheet holds twenty one labels. How many sheets are needed? Two sheets hold forty two labels, so you need a third sheet, which makes three sheets.

Label sheets cost money, so follow these tips. Always do a test print on plain paper first. Hold the test page over a label sheet against the light, to see if the addresses fall inside the labels. Load the label sheets the right way up, as the printer manual shows. A half used sheet can peel inside a laser printer, so avoid feeding it again.

Let us revise the steps. Use Edit Recipient List to tick, filter and sort records. Finish and Merge can edit, print or email the copies. Check all copies in a new file before printing. For labels, choose Label Options, insert fields, and click Update Labels. And always test print labels on plain paper first.