Return address labels: free printable template

Which return address labels to use

What to put on a return address label

• Your name on the first line. A household name such as The Rivera Family is fine for personal mail; for international mail the US Postal Service asks for your full name, not just initials.
• Your street address or PO Box, with the apartment or suite number at the end of the line.
• City, state and ZIP code on the last line. The ZIP+4 is optional.

Put the label in the upper left corner of the envelope, on the same side as the recipient's address. That is where the Postal Service looks for it if a letter cannot be delivered.

Ideas

• Holiday labels: a Christmas tree, snowflake or candy cane in red or green, with the Elegant or Script font. See Christmas address labels.
• Wedding and save-the-date envelopes: the Diamond or Heart picture with the Script font, or your monogram as your own picture.
• Small business: your logo with the Clean font, for invoices and orders.
• New home: the House picture is a nice touch for change-of-address cards.

Labels that line up

• Print at 100%. In the print dialog choose Actual size, 100% or Custom 100, and turn off Fit to page or Fit to printable area. Scaling is the most common reason labels drift.
• Test on plain paper first. Hold the test page against a label sheet in front of a window. If everything is off by the same amount, enter it under Printer adjustment.
• Drift that grows down the page means the page was scaled or the paper fed at an angle. Check the 100% setting, and square the stack against the paper guide.
• Load the sheet the right way up. Most printers print on the side facing down in the tray, but many rear and manual feeds print on the side facing up. Mark a plain sheet with an X to find out.
• Use the right labels for your printer: labels for laser printers can smudge in an inkjet printer and the other way round. The pack says which printers it is made for.