ACC: Creating Mailing Labels for Dot-Matrix Printers

• Microsoft Access versions 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 7.0

SUMMARY

Moderate: Requires basic macro, coding, and interoperability skills.

Creating labels that print on dot-matrix or tractor-feed printers usually requires that you adjust the page size. Before you create a mailing label report for these printers, you must first set the default printer and paper size in Control Panel.

MORE INFORMATION

Setting Default Printer/Paper Size in Control Panel

To set the default printer and paper size, do the following:

1. In the Printers dialog box in Control Panel, select a dot-matrix printer, then click "Set As Default" on the File menu in Windows 95. Click the Set As Default Printer in Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups. (If you do not already have a dot matrix printer driver installed, you must first install one.)

2. Display the dialog box for that printer by clicking Properties on the File menu in Windows 95 or clicking the Setup button in Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups.

3. Click the Paper tab and click the Custom paper size in Windows 95. In Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups select User-Defined Size in the Paper Size box.

4. In the User-Defined Size dialog box, select the unit of measurement, and then type the width and the length of the mailing label page.

   To determine the width, measure from the left edge of the leftmost label to the right edge of the rightmost label. To determine the length, measure from the top of the first label to the top of the second label.

   For example, if you use two-up labels that measure 3 inches by 5 inches (with .25 inches between), set Unit to 0.01 inches, Width to 625, and Length to 525.

5. Click OK to close the User-Defined Size dialog box.

6. Click OK to close the printer Property dialog box.

   Once you set the printer and paper size, you can create a mailing label report for a dot-matrix printer using the Label Wizard (Mailing Label Wizard in Access 2.0), or using tools provided in the Design view of the report.

Creating a Mailing Label Report Not Using Report Wizard

1. Open the report in Design view and remove the page header and footer. (You need only the Detail section for this report.)

2. On the View menu select Properties to show the Properties sheet.

3. Adjust the width setting of the report to the width of one label.

4. Adjust the height setting of the detail section to the height of one label.

5. Add controls to the detail section, making sure that the controls do not overlap. To create margins for the labels, place the text boxes at least 0.2 inches from all edges of the detail section.

6. On the File menu, click Page Setup (Windows 95) or Print Setup (Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups) and verify or set the following values in the Page Setup dialog box:

       a. Click the Paper tab, set Size to User-Defined Size and Source to
          Tractor. (If these settings are not available, click Use Specific
          Printer, and then select your dot matrix printer.)
   

       b. Click the Margins tab and set all margins to 0.0 inches.
   

       c. Click the Layout tab (Windows 95) or Item Size group (Windows 3.1
          or Windows for Workgroups), and make sure the Same as Detail check
          box is selected. (Choose the More button to display the Item
          Size group in Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups.)
   

       d. If there is more than one label across the page, you must also set
          the following items:
   

           1. In the Grid Settings or Items Across box, enter the number of
              labels across.
   
           2. In the Row Spacing box, enter the amount of space between the
              bottom of one label and the top of the next.
   
           3. In the Column Spacing box, enter the amount of space between
              the right edge of one label and the left edge of the next.
   
      NOTE: When a dot-matrix printer is the default in Control Panel and
      you have Paper Size set to User-Defined Size, Microsoft Access uses
      only that paper size. If you want to create or print a label or
      report on a page of a different size, remember to change the
      user-defined page size in Control Panel before you create or print
      your label or report.
   
   

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