Industry Trends

Avery Labels FAQ: What an Office Admin Really Needs to Know

If you're the one ordering labels, name badges, and business cards for your office, you've probably got questions. I'm an office administrator for a 75-person marketing firm, and I manage all our office supply ordering—roughly $8,000 annually across 12 vendors. I've been doing this since 2020, and I've learned that with labels, the little details make all the difference.

Here are the questions I get asked most often (and the answers I wish I'd had when I started).

1. What's the deal with all these template numbers (5160, 5163, 8160)?

Honestly, I used to find this confusing, too. It's tempting to think they're just random codes, but they're actually a pretty logical system. Think of them like SKUs for blank paper. The number tells you the sheet size and how many labels are on it.

For example, the Avery 5160 is the absolute workhorse for mailing and address labels. It's a standard 8.5" x 11" sheet with 30 identical, 1" x 2-5/8" labels. The 5163 is similar but has 10 labels per sheet that are bigger (2" x 4"). The 8160 is the same layout as the 5160, but it's designed for inkjet printers, while 5160 is optimized for laser. (I didn't realize that distinction mattered until a batch of labels jammed our laser printer because someone ordered the wrong type—lesson learned.)

My advice? Bookmark the Avery template page. When you need labels, find the product number on the box, then search for that number on their site to download the right template. It saves so much formatting headache.

2. Are Avery templates really free and easy to use in Word, Google Docs, and Canva?

Yes, and this is one of their biggest advantages. The templates are free to download. In my experience, the Word and Google Docs integrations are seamless—you're essentially just opening a pre-formatted document. Canva is great if you need more design flexibility for things like event stickers or branded shipping labels.

But here's a piece of insider knowledge vendors won't always highlight: always check the "Bleed" settings. If your design has color or images that go to the edge of the label, you need to extend that color slightly beyond the cut line in your template. If you don't, you might get a tiny white border. I learned this the hard way on an order of 500 wine labels for a client gift; the design looked perfect on screen but had slivers of white on the final print. Now it's the first thing I check.

3. How do I choose between sheet labels (like 5160) and continuous labels (like 5366)?

This one comes down to your printer and volume. Sheet labels (5160, 8160, etc.) go through your standard office printer like a piece of paper. They're perfect for on-demand printing—like when you need 30 address labels for a mailing tomorrow.

Continuous labels (like the Avery 5366) come on a roll or fanfold and are designed for older dot-matrix or specific thermal printers, often used for bulk shipping, inventory, or barcoding. You wouldn't run these through a standard laserjet.

Seeing the two side by side made me realize we were using the wrong tool for the job. We were painstakingly printing individual 5160 sheets for high-volume package shipping. Switching to a dedicated label printer and continuous labels for that task cut our labeling time by about 70%.

4. What's a realistic price range for printed labels vs. printing them ourselves?

This is a classic cost-benefit analysis. Printing in-house with blank Avery labels gives you total control and is cost-effective for small, urgent batches. A pack of 100 sheets of 5160 labels costs roughly $25-$35 (as of January 2025). Your cost is just that plus ink/toner.

For larger, more professional jobs, outsourcing to a print shop is better. Here's a price reference point: getting 500 full-color, glossy business cards printed professionally might cost $60-$120, while 1,000 standard flyers could run $80-$150 (based on online printer quotes, January 2025). For labels, a custom-printed roll of 500 shipping labels might start around $50-$80.

I still kick myself for not doing this math earlier. I spent hours designing and printing 500 name badges in-house for a conference. The quality was just okay, and my time wasn't free. For our next event, I got a quote from a printer—it was $85 for professionally done, thick plastic badges. Worth every penny.

5. I need something specific: name badges, barcodes, wine labels. Does Avery have it?

Probably. Their product variety is pretty extensive. Beyond the standard mailing labels, they have:

• Name Badges: Templates for pin-back, magnetic, or adhesive badges. The Avery 5390 is a common one for tent-style badges.
• Barcode Labels: Sheets designed for printing UPC or QR codes with precision.
• Wine Bottle Labels: Specialty shapes and materials that are waterproof.
• Divider Tabs: Like the Avery 11136 for creating binder dividers.
• Clear Labels: These are fantastic for creating a "printed directly on the item" look on jars, bins, or dark surfaces.

The key is to search by your use case on their website, not just "labels."

6. What's the biggest mistake people make when ordering labels?

Hands down, it's not testing a single sheet first. Always, always print a test page on regular paper first. Hold it over the label sheet to check alignment. Then, print one actual label sheet to check for color accuracy, smudging, and cutter alignment.

The most frustrating part? You'd think modern printers and templates would be foolproof, but tiny variations in printer calibration or template version can throw things off. After the third time we wasted a pack of labels due to a slight misalignment, I made a test print part of our official office procedure. It saves money and a lot of exasperation.

In my opinion, the goal isn't to become a label expert. It's to know enough to get the right product, use the right template, and avoid the common pitfalls that waste time and money. An informed buyer makes faster, better decisions—and that makes my job (and probably yours) a whole lot easier.