Need Help for Printing Format

[Brandon5CBE]

Hi All, i am going to start off by saying i am a TOTAL NOOB and have litltle experiencc with adobe prodcuts except for photo shop (little) and adobe PDF pro. i am trying to figure out a soultion to the following issue. 

i am working with a printer to have labels made but after they are professionally printed and sent to me i will then have to load them into a printer and print custom info on a text box that is located in a specific location on each label. the labels are being printed on a 8.5 x 11 sheet, 3 across and 6 down. So i need to set specific areas where i can type custom text that will match up with the text boxes on the labels when i print. i have access to illusrator and in design and figured in design might be the best for this. Could someone help me out on where i should start or if i am using the right program?

[Mike Witherell]

Make an 8.5 x 11 InDesign document with 2 layers:

Lower layer: File > Place an image of the stickers on this layer and set the layer to Don't Print

Upper layer: build your textframes in the positions shown by the placed image in the lower layer.

Now, when you proceed to print, the lower layer does not print, but the upper customized text layer does print on your pre-printed stock.

[jane-e]

Hi

When you purchase Avery labels, they come with a number on the box so that if you are using Word, you can select the label number and get a table with the correct size and margins. Since yours are being custom printed, you will have to do some measuring and testing. If you have Word, see if there is a table that is 3C x 6R and copy the settings as a starting point.

• Use InDesign because Illustrator does not have tables. Neither does Photoshop.
• Set the paper size to Letter and set the margins (measure)
• Create a table with 3 columns and 6 rows
• The row height needs to be set to Exact so it does not fluctuate
• To block out the pre-printed design, you can either create a new row or set a top inset for the cell
  (assuming it is on top—change to "left" or "right" if necessary)

You don't want to waste expensive labels, and it may take a couple of tries to get it right. Print onto plain paper, place it over the label paper, and hold it up to the light, then adjust.

Save your file as a template so you open an untitled copy each time.

~ Jane

[Migintosh]

I do something very similar to what Jane does, but I just want to add that when I've done this in the past, I've had to nudge my text fields a little to the left, right, up or down a few times to compensate for how the printer pulls the paper through. Since I use a single text frame for each label (chained together), rather than Jane's table, I select all, add a small stroke and print to plain paper like Jane. If it's too high, I nudge it down and print again, and then make adjustments until the strokes align with the sheet of labels. Once they do, I remove the stroke and save as a template. This template is customized for my printer, so I wouldn't try a whole stack of labels on another printer without first seeing if the alignment works, or if I have to do some more nudging.