Matching jars of flour, rice and coffee look tidy until you can't tell the sugar from the salt. A set of printed labels fixes that in one evening. Here's what to put on a jar label, which round sizes fit, and how to print a whole set from a list with Label Cat, our label maker for iPhone.
What goes on a jar label
Keep it short: one or two words in big letters read better from across the kitchen than a sentence.
- What's inside. Flour, Basmati rice, Rolled oats. This is the main line.
- A detail, if it helps. The variety, the grind or the bag size: "Long grain", "Whole bean", "2 kg".
- A date, if it matters to you. When you filled it, or the best-before date from the original pack.
- The same style on every jar. One font, one colour and one shape make a shelf look planned.
Pick a size for your jars
Measure the flat part of the lid or the side of the jar, and pick a label a little smaller. The jar designs in Label Cat use these round sheets on US Letter:
- 1 in dots (6450): 63 to a sheet, for small spice lids.
- 1½ in round (8293): 20 to a sheet.
- 1⅔ in round (5293): 24 to a sheet, for spice jars.
- 2 in round (22807): 12 to a sheet, for pantry jar lids. Also listed as 22817 and 94501.
- 2½ in round (22808): 9 to a sheet, for wide lids and jam jars.
On A4, the round designs open on 40 mm round labels (3415, 24 to a sheet) or 63.5 mm round labels (L7650, 12 to a sheet) instead; the 1 in designs move to a sheet of 65 small rectangular labels (L7651). Designs open on Letter or A4 by region; to use another sheet, type the number on your pack in the editor's Sheet tab. For lining up a print on any sheet, see how to print labels on iPhone.
Make a set of pantry jar labels
- On the home screen, tap Pantry & jars. There are six designs: Kraft jar seal, Farmhouse, Chalkboard, Modern pantry, Botanical and Pantry band.
- Tap Kraft jar seal. It opens with Print many different labels already on and a sample list of 12 pantry staples, from Flour to Raisins, on 2 in round labels (40 mm on A4).
- In the Text tab, change the list to your own jars. Put one label per line. Want a second line on each label, like "Rice" and "Basmati"? Leave an empty line between labels, so each block becomes one label. Paste adds a list you copied.
- Under Around the seal, change the curved text at the top and bottom (it says "Pantry" and "Est. 2026" to start). It's the same on every label.
- Use the arrows under the preview (Label 1 of 12, and so on) to check each jar. If you see Text shrunk to fit. Use fewer words for bigger print., shorten that entry.
- Tap Print. Set Copies of each if you want two of every label, say for a lid and the side of the jar. The button shows the total, like Print 12 labels.
Prefer a rectangle on the front of the jar? Modern pantry puts a name and a detail line ("Brown rice", "Long grain · 2 kg") on a 1 × 2⅝ in address-size label.
Printing on kraft or clear labels
On brown kraft or see-through labels, a background colour prints as a visible patch. In the Colour tab, pick Monochrome, which has a white background and black text. Monochrome doesn't remove a pattern, so if the design has one (the Kraft jar seal has a kraft texture), also set Background to Plain in the Style tab. Then check the preview: frames, icons and filled bands still print.
Spice jar labels
Tap Spices on the home screen for six more designs: Black & white, Kraft spice, Script lids, Art deco, Herb garden and Spice rack strip. Five open with a sample list of 24 spices, from Paprika to Vanilla; on the three 1⅔ in designs (Black & white, Kraft spice, Herb garden) that fills one sheet of 24. Edit the list to match your rack, one spice per line. Script lids uses the small 1 in dots, and Spice rack strip puts a name and a detail ("Cinnamon", "Ground") on a small rectangle for the front of the jar.
Homemade jam and gift jars
For jars you give away, look under Small business: Jam jar is a 2½ in round seal with "Homemade" and "Strawberry jam" curved around a year, and Honey is a 2 in round label. Under Garden, Harvest jar is a 1⅔ in round label. Change the words to your own, then set how many Sheets to print.
Use up the rest of the sheet
Five labels left on the sheet? Put it back in the pack. After printing, Label Cat remembers where the sheet ended, and next time you print that label it starts on the first unused one. Start at label on the Print screen shows where, and you can tap any label on the sheet preview to start there instead.
Your designs are saved as you go and kept in My Labels, so next month's labels can match.
What it costs
Every sheet layout, all the designs in the categories (pantry, spices, small business and garden included), lists, printing, the PDF and starting on any label of a used sheet are free. There's no watermark: nothing is printed on your labels except what you put there. There are no ads, no sign-up and no account. Label Cat Pro is an optional one-time purchase with three extras: three design packs (Seasonal, Wedding and Kids), QR codes and barcodes, and saved address books. More on the Label Cat page.
Quick answers
What size label fits a jar lid?
Measure the flat top of the lid and pick a round label a little smaller. Label Cat's jar designs use 1, 1½, 1⅔, 2 and 2½ in round labels on Letter, and mostly 40 mm or 63.5 mm round labels on A4.
Can I print a different name on each jar label?
Yes. Turn on Print many different labels and type one name per line. Each label gets the next one, across as many sheets as you need.
How do I print jar labels on kraft or clear label sheets?
Pick Monochrome in the Colour tab for a white background, and if the design has a pattern, set Background to Plain in the Style tab. Check the preview, since frames and icons still print.
Are the pantry and spice designs free?
Yes. Every design in the categories is free, with no watermark. Pro adds three extra design packs.
Try Label Cat
Try Label Cat: free, no watermark, no sign-up → iyio.com/apps/label-cat