How To Create An Ebook Cover With Microsoft Word

How to Print Envelopes in Microsoft Word

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Are you still writing out envelope addresses by hand? You've no clue how to insert this troublesome piece into your printer and print out envelopes? You're not alone. Many fear the envelope printing feature of their home printers. But Microsoft makes it easy for almost any size of an envelope.

Your Word program actually communicates with your printer and shows you how to feed the envelope into the printer and print custom envelopes. No more guessing. No more frustration. No more wasted supplies. Read on for info on how to make this happen.

Set Up Return Address

Before beginning to print, there is one very important prep step - setting up your return address. Click on the "File" tab. Then "Options". Then click "Advanced". Scroll down to "General" where you type your return address in the "Mailing Address" box. Finish by clicking "OK". The great thing is Word saves this address, so you can skip this first step in future envelope production and it will print automatically.

As an alternative to the above, you can go straight to the Mailings Tab in your Word toolbar and upon opening that, simply fill in your return address where indicated.

Check Printer Options for Envelope Size

If you are using a standard business size envelope, you most likely are using a standard number 10 envelope. This will be clearly stated on the envelope box or packaging from the store. Now you are ready to check your printer settings to ensure Word is communicating with it properly.

Go to the "Mailings" tab and in the "Create" section click "Envelopes. Click Options and then "Envelope Options". You will most likely see the number 10 standard business envelope preloaded. If this is not your envelope, scroll through the choices. You can even type in custom dimensions into the "Width" and "Height" boxes if no match appears for your envelope.

Ready to Feed and Print

Also, in this "Envelope Options", a dialog box is a diagram of how to feed the envelope into the printer. This shows if the piece should go in face up (address printing area is face up) or face down. It also indicates whether the envelope should be fed widthwise or lengthwise. "Printing Options" will indicate placement in terms of the left side, center, or right side of the printer feeding area. Now load the envelope as instructed and click OK. If the text appears upside down, it may need to be rotated.

Printing Mass Envelopes from a List

Microsoft Word also offers you the ability to save a file of addresses in Excel and then access it through the "Mailings" tab and then "Start Mail Merge" tab. Next, you click the "Mail Merge Wizard". It will walk you through the entire process one step at a time. The wizard even offers an option for printing these addresses to labels that you can affix to the envelopes.

Consider Special Envelope Stock

Now that you're ready to put Word to work for your envelope production, take a moment to consider the type of envelopes you are using. Perhaps they warrant an upgrade. Whether mailing letters to friends or doing a mass mailing for business development, the envelope conveys a message from the sender. Match the envelope to the enclosed paper product whenever possible. A nice linen-like letter enclosed within a flimsy bright white envelope is a miss match. And a missed opportunity to show your communication savvy. Envelope choice becomes even more important in the business development world. Color, quality and nicely printed logos may make the difference in getting the piece opened or tossed to the trash.