Free file folder label templates

Labelling a whole drawer at once

Filing is the case where a spreadsheet beats typing. If you already have a list of clients, case numbers, months or departments in Excel, upload it and every folder label is printed in order, 30 to a sheet.

Keep names short. A file folder label is read edge-on in a drawer, so one clear line beats three cramped ones. Centering the text usually looks better on a tab than left alignment.

Set up a filing system you can print in one go

Pick one way to name the folders and keep it as a column in a spreadsheet: clients or surnames from A to Z, case or account numbers, years, or departments. The labels come out in the order of the list, 30 to a sheet, so a sorted list gives you a drawer you can label from front to back without hunting for the next one.

Upload the file and click the column names to build the label, for example {Client} on the first line and {Year} on the second. "Choose rows or sort" puts the list in order, or picks out one drawer's worth of rows, without editing the file.

What fits on a 2/3-inch label

At the default 12 pt, two lines of about 40 characters fit, so “Acme Trading Co.” over “Client 0042 · Tax returns” prints at full size. A third line is set at 10.5 pt and a fourth at 7.5 pt, and five short lines are the most, at 6 pt. A drawer is read from a distance, so one clear line works best: with Size set to "Largest that fits", a single short word can be as large as 31.5 pt.

Before you print a real sheet

The label wraps over the folder tab, so a few millimetres matter more here than on an envelope. Turn on "Print label outlines", print once on plain paper, and hold it against a blank sheet to check the position.

Starting a new year

Keep last year's list. Change the year in that column, or add it as a second line, and print the drawer again. If the sheet in the printer is part-used, set "Start at label" to the first empty position, counting across and then down, and the labels already gone are left blank.

Pack numbers this template prints on

Avery sells this layout under several numbers: 5366, 8366, 8593, 5566 and others share one template. Whatever the number, the pack should say 2/3" × 3-7/16", 30 per sheet. For a blank Word or PDF template, open the 5366 template from "Choose your sheet" above.