How to Print Barcode Labels from Excel (Word Mail Merge, Fonts and Apps)

You have a spreadsheet — SKUs, product names, prices, asset numbers — and you need a sheet (or a roll) of barcode labels. Here are three ways to do it, from free-with-Office to a dedicated tool.

Before you start: pick the right barcode

For anything that won't be scanned at a shop till, use Code 128. Want to test a value first? Try the free barcode generator.

Method 1: Word mail merge with the barcode field (free with Office)

Microsoft Word can generate real barcodes from Excel data using the MERGEBARCODE field — no fonts needed.

1. Prepare Excel: one row per label, with a header row, e.g. SKU, Name, Price. Save and close the workbook.
2. In Word: Mailings → Start Mail Merge → Labels. Choose your label vendor and product number (e.g. Avery 5160 for US Letter or L7160 for A4).
3. Select Recipients → Use an Existing List and pick your Excel file and sheet.
4. Click in the first label. Press Ctrl + F9 to insert field braces, and type inside them:

MERGEBARCODE SKU CODE128 \h 800 \t

• SKU is your column name
• CODE128 is the barcode type (others include EAN13, UPCA, CODE39, QR)
• \h 800 sets the bar height (in twips; 1440 = 1 inch)
• \t prints the value under the bars

5. Below it, use Insert Merge Field for the name and price.
6. Click Update Labels, then Preview Results (press Alt + F9 if you see field codes instead of barcodes).
7. Finish & Merge → Edit Individual Documents, check the result, and print.

It works well once set up. The downsides: fiddly to lay out, no validation of bad values, and awkward for thermal label printers.

Method 2: Barcode fonts

You can install a barcode font and type values in it — in Excel, Word or anywhere. It's quick for Code 39: wrap the value in asterisks (*ABC-123*) and apply the font.

Code 128 fonts are a trap: the text must first be encoded with start/stop characters and a checksum. Just applying the font to ABC-123 produces something that looks like a barcode but won't scan. You'd need an encoding formula or add-in.

Method 3: A dedicated label app

Label software handles what the other methods don't:

• Imports Excel or CSV directly
• Calculates check digits and validates every row before printing
• Offers ready-made sheet layouts and thermal roll sizes
• Prints quantities (e.g. 12 labels for one SKU)
• Can skip used labels on a half-used sheet

Label and printer tips

• Laser printers give the crispest bars on sheet labels; thermal printers (Zebra, Brother, DYMO) are best for rolls and high volume.
• Black on white only. Scanners need contrast; red bars are invisible to most laser scanners.
• Keep the quiet zone — at least 10 times the narrowest bar's width of blank space on each side.
• Don't shrink too far. Code 128 bars get hard to scan below about 1.3 cm tall; very long values make wide barcodes, so keep SKUs short.
• Print one test sheet and scan every label type before printing hundreds.
• Use "Actual size" in the print dialog, never "Fit to page".

The app I built for this

Barcode Label Maker for Windows turns a spreadsheet into print-ready labels: import .xlsx or CSV (or paste cells, or generate a serial-number series), choose from 15 US Letter/A4 sheet layouts, 8 thermal roll sizes or a custom size, place spreadsheet columns on up to three text lines, and preview every sheet live. It supports Code 128, Code 39, EAN-13, UPC-A, EAN-8, ITF-14 and QR, adds check digits automatically, validates rows in plain English, checks bar sizes for scannability, handles quantities and skipped labels, and prints, saves PDF, or exports 300 dpi PNGs — offline, with no account.

For one-off codes, Barcode & QR Code Generator creates a barcode and QR code side by side and saves them as PNG.