How to create a matrix for sticky label

[gtsolid]

Hi

i bought some A4 paper with 27 sticky labels to be printed. i can measure the dimensions and distance among each, but how can i create such kind of matrix in Indesign (9x3 labels)?

i created this form using correct edges and distance between columns but the software didn' asked me how many row i would to create

[amaarora]

Hi,

I would instead go to the master page and create a matrix (9x3) of boxes and then have them edited on document pages, ie...

1. Go to master page

2. Create a box of appropriate dimension

3. Choose this box and then from the edit menu choose the "Step and Repeat" option

Enable the preview option in this dialog box and and set desired vertical and horizontal gaps between these placeholder boxes.

4. Now you can go to your document pages and design your sticky notes within these placeholder boxes  either by

          i. Creating your sticky note boxes over these placeholder boxes, or

          ii. Overriding the placeholder boxes by selecting them using ctrl+shift+click.

Obviously, this is only one of the way to achieve the desired result.There can be more and better ways...

-Aman

[gtsolid]

once i set for the first time the 9x3 table, how can i go back to modify the offset?

[Migintosh]

I've done this myself. What worked for me was to make a box the size of the label, measure where the label is in reference to the top left edge of the sheet and place the box there. Then duplicate the box over by the amount of distance on the sheet twice and measure from the right edge to be sure you got it right. Then measure down and duplicate the top row 8 times. Once the boxes are in place, apply a stroke and print to a piece of plain paper. Hold the paper up to your sticky label sheet and see if it matches. It probably won't, because there will be a little drift, which is caused by your printer. All printers drift a bit. If you need to, select all of the boxes and nudge them up, down, left or right by the amount that they seem to be off and print to plain paper again. Once the boxes match your sticker sheet, run a sticker sheet through the printer to double-check. If you're satisfied, you can remove the strokes and start filling the boxes with what you want to be printed. If you want to keep this for future use, select all, cut, go to the master page and past-in-place. Then drag page guides to the edges of your boxes (snap to guides and a close-in zoom will help you be accurate).

What I did was to cut the boxes from the master page and only leave the guides. I then pasted them (in place) back on the document page, linked their text threads, set the text inset and when I need labels, I can type one, hit Enter to jump to the next box and continue. If I only need to print a few, I place them at the bottom of the page, run it through the printer, and peel them off. The next time I need some, I just make sure not to use the spots that were already used. That way, the lead edge of the page is always clean. I also saved my file as a template, so I don't have to worry about screwing it up.

[gtsolid]

i used this metod but i see that the distance in the virtual sheet are different from the real one: in the printed sheet i don't hit the target of 5-6mm. why this?

[BobLevine]

There may be an easier way. Most premade labels have Word templates available. Grab one and place it in your InDesign file.

They're usually done as tables.

[gtsolid]

do the word templates have not the positioning problem?

[BobLevine]

Not in my experience. In fact, if all you’re doing is simple text labels, just do it in Word.

[gtsolid]

yes but i like the Indesign potentiality, if you look at this photo:

i just put the correct offset (X and Y) but the real dimensions does not reflect the virtual one. why? maybe printer settings?

[BobLevine]

Looks like your margins may be off. Could also be the printable area of your printer.

I would export a PDF and print that, making sure that scaling is turned OFF.

But again, for something like this, InDesign is complete overkill and you're doing a lot of work for nothing. Of course, if you're learning along the way, then it's not a complete waste of time.

[gtsolid]

yeah the problem is scaling and i'm learning Indesign, i just did some brochures.

how can change the distance among blocks after i imposed it the first time?