How to print on label sheets without misalignment

Label sheets print out of line for one of two reasons: the page was resized on its way to the printer, or the sheet moved as it fed. Print at 100% (Actual size) on the right paper size with the template made for your exact layout, and most problems disappear. If the error grows as you go down or across the sheet, the cause is scaling. If every label is off by the same amount, the cause is a margin, a template, or how the sheet sits in the tray.

Quick answer

1. Turn off "Fit" or "Fit to page" and print at 100% / Actual size.
2. Set the document and the printer to the same paper size (US Letter, 8.5" × 11", for US label sheets).
3. Use the template that matches your sheet's margins and pitch, not just the label size.
4. Print on plain paper first and hold it against the label sheet in front of a light.
5. Feed one sheet at a time through the manual or rear feed with the guides snug.
6. Only then nudge the margins to fix whatever small, even offset is left.

This guide expands on our short help article on aligning blank sheets for printing.

Read the misprint first: drift or uniform offset

Before you change a setting, look at the test page. The pattern of the error tells you where to look.

The reason drift points to scaling is simple arithmetic. A scaled page moves every point in proportion to its distance from the origin. If the software shrinks the page to 97%, a label that should start 1 inch from the top lands 0.03 inch early, which you will not notice. A label that should start 10 inches down lands 0.3 inch early. A uniform offset never grows, so it is not a scaling problem.

Why label sheets print out of alignment

Page scaling

This is the most common cause. Print dialogs often default to fitting the page inside the printer's printable area. In Adobe Acrobat, for example, the "Fit" option scales each page up or down to fill the printable area, while "Actual size" prints with no scaling. The die cuts on the sheet do not scale with it.

Wrong paper size (A4 versus Letter)

US Letter is 8.5" × 11". A4 is 210 mm × 297 mm, roughly 8.3" × 11.7", so it is narrower and taller. If the document is set to one and the printer to the other, the software either rescales the page or shifts the origin. US label sheets are Letter size, so the document and the printer driver both need to say Letter.

Printer margins and the unprintable area

Most desktop printers cannot print to the paper's edge. As one example, the Epson ET-4850 specification lists minimum top and bottom margins of 3 mm (0.12") on single sheets, with zones near the top and bottom edges where print quality may drop. If your design runs into that strip, the edge gets clipped, or the driver offers to shrink the page to fit, which brings scaling back.

Feed skew

A sheet that enters at a slight angle prints at a slight angle. Brother's instructions for its laser printers put it plainly: keep the sheet straight in the manual feed slot or the printout may be skewed.

Wrong template

Two sheets can share a label size and count and still have different margins and gaps. A template built for one will be off on the other by a fixed amount, or will creep if the pitch differs. Match the template to the sheet's top margin, left margin, horizontal pitch and vertical pitch. Every sheet in our blank sheet labels range lists those four numbers on its product page.

Driver settings

The paper type setting changes how the printer feeds the sheet and, on laser printers, how hot the fuser runs. Brother notes that its "Thick Paper" settings raise the fixing temperature.

The fix sequence, in order

Work top to bottom so you change one thing at a time.

1. Confirm the template. Compare the sheet's printed specs (label size, count, margins, pitch) with the template. If you do not have a template, download one from the sheet template library for the exact layout.
2. Set the paper size to Letter in the document and in the printer properties.
3. Set scale to 100% / Actual size. Turn off fit-to-page, shrink-to-fit, and browser headers and footers.
4. Print one test page on plain paper. Microsoft recommends the same thing in its Word label instructions.
5. Hold the test behind a label sheet against a window or lamp. Check all four corners and the center, not just the first label.
6. Read the pattern using the table above. Fix scaling before anything else.
7. Set the paper type. Choose Labels if your driver lists it; if not, use the heavier-paper setting your printer manual recommends for labels.
8. Use the manual or rear feed. Load one sheet, print side as your manual shows, guides touching both edges without bowing the sheet.
9. Adjust offsets last. Measure the leftover gap with a ruler and move the template's top or left margin by that amount. Reprint on plain paper to confirm.

Settings by app

Microsoft Word

Start from Mailings > Labels > Options, then pick the label vendor and product number that match your sheet. If your layout is not listed, choose New Label and enter the measurements yourself. Select New Document to get a full page laid out as a table, and turn on View Gridlines on the table Layout tab so you can see the label boundaries.

If Word still resizes Letter pages when you print, open File > Options > Advanced, scroll to the Print section, and turn off the setting that scales content between A4 and 8.5 x 11" paper sizes.

Google Docs

Set the page first: File > Page setup, choose Pages (page settings do not apply in pageless format), then set Paper size and Margins to match the template. Print with File > Print. In Chrome this opens a print settings window; set the scale to 100% and switch off headers and footers in its print settings. In Firefox and Safari, Docs downloads a PDF instead, so open that file and print it at actual size from your PDF viewer.

Adobe Acrobat and other PDF viewers

In the Print dialog, under Page Sizing & Handling, select Size, then Actual size. Avoid Fit and Shrink oversized pages, which rescale when the page does not fit the printable area. Custom Scale is only for deliberately correcting a measured error.

Canva-exported PDFs

Make the Canva design the full sheet size (8.5" × 11"), not the size of one label. Download it as PDF Print, Canva's higher-resolution print format. Crop marks and bleed are options on that file type; they are meant for trimming at a print shop and add nothing on a pre-cut sheet, and Canva notes that not all home printers support full bleeds or crop marks. Open the PDF and print it from a PDF viewer at actual size. If you print straight from Canva with File > Print > Use my printer, your computer's print window opens and the same 100% rule applies.

If you would rather skip the template step, our online Label Designer exports your artwork at print size, and on supported layouts the product page repeats the design across the sheet using its listed margins and pitch.

Laser versus inkjet

Laser printers fuse toner with heat; inkjets lay liquid ink on the surface. Use a sheet material listed for your printer type. On Brother laser printers with a manual feed slot, for example, opening the back cover gives a straight path from the slot to the rear of the machine. Brother also warns against re-feeding sheets that have labels missing, because they can jam. Do your trial runs on plain paper, not on a half-used sheet.

On inkjets, the main limits are the margins and the lower-quality zones near the leading and trailing edges. Keep text away from the outer edge of the top and bottom rows if your layout runs close to the sheet edge.

Material matters on both. Each material on a product page shows whether it suits inkjet, laser, or both. Our help articles on choosing a label material and matching labels to your printer cover what to check.

When the template is right and it still drifts

If scale is at 100%, the paper size matches and the test still creeps, print a line of known length (say 10 inches) and measure it. If it is short or long, something in the chain is still scaling: check the printer driver's own "scale" or "fit" option, which is separate from the app's. If the line is exact but the labels are off, the template does not match the sheet. Small layouts such as 30-up address labels leave little room for error, so keep text away from the cut.

FAQ

Why do my labels start aligned and get worse down the page?

The page is being scaled. A small percentage of shrink or stretch adds up with distance, so the bottom rows show it most. Set the print dialog to 100% or Actual size and turn off any fit-to-page option, in both the app and the printer driver.

Why is every label off by the same amount?

A constant shift means the starting point is wrong, not the scale. Check that the template matches the sheet's top and left margins, that the paper guides hold the sheet snugly, and then move the template margin by the distance you measure.

Should I choose "Fit" or "Actual size" when printing labels from a PDF?

Actual size. In Adobe Acrobat, Fit rescales the page to the printable area, which moves every label. Actual size prints with no scaling.

Do I need to set the paper type to Labels?

Use it if your driver offers it. The paper type changes how the printer handles the sheet, and on laser printers heavier settings raise the fusing temperature. If there is no Labels option, use the setting your printer manual recommends for label stock.

Can I run a label sheet through the printer twice?

Avoid it. Brother, for one, warns against feeding previously used label sheets or sheets with labels missing, because they can jam. Test on plain paper until the alignment is right, then print the label sheet once.

All label guides