Section 4.5. Printing Envelopes | PCs: The Missing Manual

4.5. Printing Envelopes

An envelope can slide into a printer in way-too-many ways, but only one way works. Naturally, everybody wastes a few envelopes when printing addresses. To waste the least amount, try these hints:

Some printers offer a special tray just for envelopeslook for an icon of an envelope on the tray, conveniently showing which way to insert the envelope. Match the icon's fold with the one on your envelope.
Some courteous printer software shows you a helpful image demonstrating the proper way to insert an envelope into the feeder tray. To check your printer software's courtesy level, choose Start Control Panel Printers and Faxes. Right-click your printer, and then choose Printing Preferences. Head for the Paper Size area, and then choose Envelope from the drop-down menu.
As a last resort, cut a piece of paper to the same size as your envelope, and then draw a flap on it. Run it through your printer to see whether it prints on the top or bottom side, and whether the flap should face to the right or left. When you find the direction that works, draw an arrow onto an envelope and tape it to your printer facing the correct direction.

Figuring out the right way to insert an envelope is the hardest part. Once you've figured it out, you can do things like quickly print up a bunch of preaddressed envelopes for monthly bills that don't include their own return envelopes.

Microsoft Word offers a built-in envelope printer, shown in Figure 4-9. To print envelopes in Word 2003, choose Tools Letters and Mailings Envelopes and Labels. In Word 2000, choose Tools Envelopes and Labels.

Figure 4-9. With its Face Up, Face Down, and Clockwise Rotation options, Microsoft Word shows an astonishing 18 different ways to feed an envelope into a printer. Only one method works, giving you a 94.5 percent chance of failure. When you figure out the correct way to feed an envelope into your particular printer with your particular software, draw a large arrow onto an envelope and tape it to your printer for future reference.

Some printers print only on standard "letter- sized " #10 envelopes designed for standard 8.5 x 11 inch paper. Smaller envelopes, like those made for greeting cards and invitations, may never come out of your printer without a pair of tweezers and a few expletives.

Large envelopes with metal clasps, like those made by Kraft, won't roll through a printer. Instead, print mailing labels and stick them on those envelopes. In fact, some people find it easier to simply print out mailing labels for all their envelopes, neatly bypassing the problem of lining up envelopes in the printer.

Tip: Windows offers a wide range of decorative fonts. These fonts look great on greeting cards, but your "Al Capone" font will confuse the post office's optical character recognition system. Stick with more traditional fonts like Times Roman when printing materials for the mail.