Mail Merge Labels from Google Sheets™: Columns, Copies, Numbering

A label mail merge takes each row of your sheet and turns it into one label, filling in the text from your columns. It is how you print 200 different addresses without typing any of them twice.

This guide covers the parts of a merge that usually cause trouble: putting several columns on one line, avoiding blank lines, printing more than one label per row, printing only some rows, and adding numbers. The steps use Peelstack Label Maker, our add-on for Google Sheets. If you have never printed labels from a sheet before, start with how to print labels from Google Sheets.

Start the merge

Make sure row 1 of your sheet holds the column names, such as First, Last, Address, Address 2, City, State, ZIP.
Go to Extensions, Peelstack Label Maker, Create labels.
Type the number on your label box, for example Avery® 5160 for 30 address labels per Letter sheet (5160 layout details) or L7160 on A4 (L7160 layout details).
Under "Your list", leave "First row has column names" ticked.

Combine columns into one line

Under "What goes on each label", each box is one printed line. Type column names in braces, with any spaces, commas or words you want between them:

{First} {Last}
{Company}
{Address}
{Address 2}
{City}, {State} {ZIP}

A few useful patterns:

Full name from two columns: {First} {Last}
US city line: {City}, {State} {ZIP}
UK style: put {Town} and {Postcode} on separate lines, and tick Capital letters on the town line if you like the post town in capitals.
Fixed text: Attn: {Contact} or Order {Order ID}

To avoid typos, use "Insert column..." to add a column name to the last line you edited. Capitals and spaces in the name do not need to match exactly, so {first name} finds a column called First Name. Each line shows an example filled from your list, so you see straight away if something is wrong.

Skip the empty Address 2 line

In Word you need an IF field for this. Here it happens on its own: a line whose columns are all empty is left out, and the lines below move up. That works for Address 2, Company, Country or any optional line.

If a line mixes an empty column with fixed text, the line is still dropped when every column in it is empty, so Attn: {Contact} disappears for rows with no contact. Extra spaces left by an empty column, such as a missing middle name in {First} {Middle} {Last}, are tidied up.

Print several copies of each row

Open "Text style and copies". You have three choices:

Copies of each row: type a number, for example 2, and every row prints twice.
Or take copies from a column: add a column such as Qty to your sheet and pick it here. A row with 5 prints five labels; a row left blank or set to 0 is skipped.
A full sheet of each row: each row fills its own sheet. Handy for a whole page of return address labels per person, or a page of name labels per student.

If your list has repeats you do not want, tick Skip labels that are exact duplicates. A label whose finished text matches an earlier label exactly is left out, and the add-on tells you how many it skipped.

Print only some rows

Under "Which rows" choose one of:

All rows in the sheet.
Rows I selected in the sheet: select the rows in your sheet first, for example the 12 new customers added this week.
Rows shown by the filter: add a filter with Data, Create a filter, then filter on a column such as Status or Region. Only the visible rows are printed.

If you change the selection or the filter while the sidebar is open, click Reload rows. Labels follow the order of your sheet, so sort the sheet first if you want them by ZIP or by last name.

Your list is not in Google Sheets? Open "Or paste a list", copy the rows from Excel or a CSV file, including the header row, and paste them in.

Number your labels

Put {#} in any line to print 1, 2, 3 and so on, or {#001} for 001, 002, 003. The number counts labels in the print run, so copies get their own numbers. Some ideas:

Box {#} of 40 for moving or storage boxes.
Ticket {#001} for raffle tickets.
{Name} ({#}) to tick labels off a list as you pack.

Numbering also works with "Same text on every label", so you can print numbered labels without any sheet at all.

Fill order, preview and print

By default labels fill across, then down. Choose "Down, then across" under Fill order if you prefer columns. Then check the live preview: it shows your real rows on the sheet, flags any labels that had to shrink or were shortened by row number, and lets you click the first empty label if you are reusing a partly used sheet.

Click Download PDF and print at Actual size or 100%, on the right paper size (Letter or A4), with any "Fit to page" option turned off. If the labels land slightly off, see why labels print out of alignment and how to fix it.

What it costs

Peelstack Label Maker is free with every feature for up to 30 labels per run, one full sheet of Avery 5160 address labels, and you can run it as often as you like. A longer list prints its first 30 labels on the free plan, and the preview shows exactly those. Test pages are always free. Every plan reads up to 10,000 rows of a sheet at a time and makes up to 50,000 labels per run. A paid plan removes the 30 label limit: $29 for one year or $59 once. No subscription, nothing renews.

Avery® is a trademark of Avery Products Corporation. Taskivator is not affiliated with Avery.

Mail merge labels from Google Sheets