ACC2000: Creating Mailing Labels for Dot-Matrix Printers (209240)

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Setting Default Printer/Paper Size in Control Panel

To set the default printer and paper size, follow these steps.

NOTE: Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

1. In the Printers dialog box in Control Panel, select a dot-matrix printer, and then click Set As Default on the File menu. (If you do not already have a dot matrix printer driver installed, you must first install one).
2. On the File menu, click Properties.
3. In the Printer Properties dialog box, click the Paper tab, and then click the Custom paper size. If there is no custom paper size listed in the printer driver, you must create one.
4. In the User-Defined Size dialog box, select the unit of measurement, and enter the width and length of the mailing label page.
   
   NOTE: 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 in 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 Properties dialog box.
   
   NOTE: After you set the printer and paper size, you can create a mailing label report for a dot-matrix printer using the Label Wizard or using tools provided in the Design view of the report.

Creating a Mailing Label Report Without Using the Report Wizard

1. Open a new report based on the Customers table in Design view and remove the page header and page footer by clicking Page Header/Footer on the View menu.
2. On the View menu, click Properties to display the report's properties sheet.
3. Adjust the Width property of the report to the width of one label.
4. Adjust the Height property 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 and verify (or set) the following values in the Page Setup dialog box:
   1. Click the Page tab, set the Size box to User-Defined Size, and the Source box to Tractor. (If these settings are not available, click Use Specific Printer, and then select your dot matrix printer.)
   2. Click the Margins tab and set all margins to 0.0 inches (some margins may revert back to a value other than 0.0. For example, if a margin is set at 1", and it is changed to 0.0, it may revert back to some other value, like 0.25". This is the minimum value allowed by the printer driver. Use the minimum value instead of 0.0).
   3. Click the Columns tab and make sure the Same as Detail check box is selected.
   4. If there is more than one label across the page, you must also set the following items:
      1. For Grid Settings, 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.