Jar lids in the pantry, a return address for a stack of cards, boxes for a move: you can make those labels on your iPhone and print them at home on the label sheets you buy in a pack. This guide walks through what matters on any label sheet, then how to print labels with Label Cat, our label maker for iPhone.
First: find your sheet's number
- Look on the pack. Label sheets are sold by layout: the label size, how many fit on a sheet and where they sit. The number on the pack tells you which layout you have.
- Several numbers can share one layout. 5160, 8160 and 5260 are the same sheet: 30 address labels, each 1 × 2⅝ in, on a US Letter page.
- Outside the US and Canada, sheets are usually A4. L7160, for example, holds 21 address labels on an A4 sheet.
- Use a template made for that exact number, with the label size, margins and spacing the manufacturer publishes. A design made for one sheet and printed on another can land between the labels.
Make the labels
- Keep text away from the edges. Leave a little room inside each label, so a small shift in the printer doesn't cut anything off.
- Printing on kraft or clear labels? Leave the background empty. A coloured background prints as a box on brown or see-through paper.
- For a list of addresses, put one name and address on each label, in order, instead of typing the same sheet again and again.
Print it
- Print at 100% or "Actual size", and turn off "Fit to page" or "Scale to fit". Scaling moves every label.
- Print a test page on plain paper first. Hold it against the label sheet (a window helps) and check where the text falls.
- Choose a "Labels" paper type if your printer has one.
- Part-used sheet? Start on the first free label instead of throwing the sheet away.
Printers differ. If everything comes out a little off in the same direction, move the whole page by that much and test again.
Print labels with Label Cat
- Pick what you're labelling. Start from a category, such as pantry jars, spices, the freezer, moving boxes, address labels, gifts, weddings or small business, and pick a finished design. You can change the text, colour, icon, font or sheet afterwards. Using kraft or clear labels? Pick the Monochrome colours: nothing is printed on the background.
- Pick your sheet by the number on the pack. Type the number into the search, like 5160 or L7160. There are 87 sheet layouts on US Letter, A4 and 4 × 6 in sheets, among them 5160 (also sold as 8160 and 5260), return address labels 80 to a sheet, L7160 with 21 to an A4 sheet, round labels and a 4 × 6 in label. The templates use the label size, margins and spacing the manufacturer publishes. Sheet not listed? Choose Custom sheet and enter the label size, rows, columns and margins from the pack.
- Put a different name on every label. Turn on Print many different labels, then add your list with Paste, CSV file or Contacts. Each label gets the next name or address, across as many sheets as you need. A CSV file with Name, Address, City, State and Zip columns is set out as addresses. If you want the same label everywhere, leave it off and choose how many sheets to fill, or set copies of each entry in a list.
- Use up part-used sheets. In Print, tap the first free label on the sheet preview; the labels before it are skipped. After printing, Label Cat remembers where the last sheet ended, so next time it starts on the first unused label.
- Print. Label Cat prints through iOS's own print dialog (AirPrint) and picks the paper that matches your sheet. You can also save or share a PDF at the exact sheet size and print it from a computer at 100%.
- Labels a little off? Print the test page on plain paper, read how far off the crosshairs are, and enter the offset once. It's saved for that sheet.
Every change is saved as you go, and your designs are kept in My Labels. Label Cat prints on label sheets through iOS printing; it doesn't connect to Bluetooth label printers.
Your lists and the contacts you pick are kept on your device and in your own backups unless you share, save or print them. Contacts come in through iOS's own contact picker, so only the people you pick reach the app.
Keeping track of what's on the shelf?
Labels on bins and shelves go well with a simple stock list. Our guide on how to keep track of inventory on iPhone shows one way to do it.
What it costs
Every sheet layout and your own custom size, all the designs in the categories, the editor, printing and the PDF, lists from a paste, a CSV file or Contacts, starting on any label of a used sheet, the test page and offset, and My Labels 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 that adds three design packs (Seasonal, Wedding and Kids), QR codes and barcodes on any label, and saved address books you can print on any design. More on the Label Cat page.
Quick answers
Can I make labels on my iPhone for free?
Yes. In Label Cat, every sheet layout, all the designs in the categories, lists, printing and the PDF are free, with no watermark. Pro adds three design packs, QR codes and barcodes, and saved address books.
How do I print address labels from my iPhone contacts?
In Label Cat, open an address design, turn on Print many different labels, tap Contacts and pick the people. Each label gets one person's name and address, in order, across as many sheets as you need. It's free.
How do I print address labels at home?
Find the number on your label pack, use a template for that number, print a test page on plain paper, then print at 100% ("Actual size"). For many addresses, use a list so each label gets its own.
My sheet's number isn't listed. What now?
Make a custom sheet: enter the label width and height, rows, columns and margins from the pack or the maker's template.
Does it work with a Bluetooth label printer?
No. Label Cat prints on label sheets through iOS's print dialog, or makes a PDF you can print elsewhere.
Try Label Cat
Try Label Cat: free, no watermark, no sign-up → iyio.com/apps/label-cat