Naming Your Pioneers, Part 2: Cutting Your Own Trail

by | Jul 31, 2026 | Word Processing, Spreadsheets

Sample of four personalized Pioneer Trek name tags in a grid, labeled "Mail Merge: Custom Labels"

In Part 1, we walked through printing name tags for a Pioneer Trek using a standard Avery label template — pick the product number, and Word handles the rest. But what happens when your name tags don't match anything in that list? That's exactly what I ran into. Rather than using a pre-made label sheet, I wanted a custom size and layout, so I printed on plain cardstock and cut the tags myself.

When your project doesn't fit a standard template — whether it's a name tag, a shipping label, or a custom badge for a business event — Word lets you define your own label size from scratch.

Step 1: Measure Your Layout Before You Start

  1. Decide on the label size you want (for example, 3" wide by 2" tall), and how many will fit across and down a standard 8.5" x 11" sheet.
  2. Measure the margins — the space from the edge of the page to your first label — and the spacing between labels, both across and down.
  3. Write these measurements down; you'll need every one of them in the next step.

Outcome: You have an exact blueprint for your label sheet before you touch Word, which prevents guesswork and wasted cardstock.

Step 2: Create a Custom Label in Word

  1. Go to the Mailings tab and select Start Mail Merge > Labels.
  2. In the Label Options dialog, click New Label.
  3. Enter your measurements — label height, width, top margin, side margin, and the number of labels across and down — using the numbers from your blueprint.
  4. Give your custom label a name you'll recognize later, such as "Trek Name Tag," and click OK.

Outcome: Word now has a saved, reusable template built to your exact size — no more forcing your design to fit someone else's label.

Step 3: Connect Your List and Insert the Merge Fields

  1. Go to Mailings > Select Recipients > Use an Existing List, and choose your Excel file with Student Name and Ancestor Name columns (or Name and Title for a business badge).
  2. Click inside the first label, then go to Mailings > Insert Merge Field to add your fields, formatting the text and spacing exactly how you want it to appear.
  3. Go to Mailings > Update Labels to copy your layout to every label on the sheet.

Outcome: Every custom-sized label is now set up correctly, with your fields formatted exactly the way you designed them.

Step 4: Preview, Print, and Cut

  1. Go to Mailings > Preview Results to check your layout and spacing.
  2. Go to Mailings > Finish & Merge > Print Documents, then choose All.
  3. Print on cardstock, then cut each tag along your measured lines — a paper cutter makes this quick work for a large batch.

Outcome: You end up with professional, correctly-sized name tags custom-built for your event, even without a matching label product on the shelf.

Standard Avery templates will cover most of what you need — but when your project calls for something a little different, Word can still get you there. Once you've built a custom label, it's saved and ready to reuse the next time you need that exact size, whether that's next year's Trek or your next company event.

Working on a project that doesn't quite fit a standard template? Reach out to us and let's figure it out together.