Avery label sheets for the lab

Why sheet printing misaligns

A label sheet is a fixed grid: the first label starts a specific distance from the top and left of the page, and every label after it is a fixed pitch away. If the page is scaled even slightly on its way to the printer, the top-left label moves a little and the bottom-right label moves a lot — which is why misalignment always looks worse at the far corner.

This is also why “it printed fine last time” is unreliable evidence. The scaling lives in the print dialog, and a different application, a different browser or a colleague's machine can apply a different one to the same file.

Printing onto a label sheet correctly

1. Match the grid, not the labelThe layout needs the page size, the margins to the first label, the label size and the gaps between labels. Getting the label size right and the margins wrong misaligns everything.
2. Set the starting cellPart-used sheets are the normal case. Tell the composer which position to start at rather than wasting the remainder.
3. Print one page on plain paper firstHold it against a label sheet up to the light. This catches every alignment problem before a sheet is spent.
4. Print at 100%, alwaysNot Fit, not Shrink to Fit, not Auto. Any scaling moves the whole grid.
5. Feed the sheet the way the test page went throughSheets are not symmetrical. If the test page came out one way up, the label sheet has to go in the same way.

Paper sheets are the wrong material for most lab uses

General-purpose office label sheets are paper with a permanent acrylic adhesive. They print beautifully on a laser printer and they fail on contact with solvent, condensation or cold.

The same sheet format is available in polyester and polypropylene from laboratory suppliers, and it is worth the change for anything that leaves a dry shelf. The grid is identical, so the layout does not change — only the material does.