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Adding Graphics to Labels Using Libreoffice

Adding Graphics to Your Labels

When people think of labels, the first thing that comes to mind is lines of text like addresses or tab markers. But these are just the simplest uses for labels. Photos, greeting cards, business cards, inserts for CD jewel cases — all of these can be created with a color printer and a package of labels. And with thermal transfer technologies, the possibilities expand to include everything from printed T-shirts to buttons for political campaigns and causes. All of these and more can be created using LibreOffice to create your own graphics.

LibreOffice is a complete office suite that is free for the download on Linux, MacOS, and Windows. You can create designs to add to any label in LibreOffice Draw application. You can edit images in LibreOffice’s Draw application, or create your own using Draw’s “primitives” — basic shapes ranging from circles and squares to stars and crosses. Another useful tool is Insert| Fontworks, in which you can arrange text in creative ways, substituting your letters for those in the templates:

A painless way to learn how to design your images is Robin William’s The Non-Designer’s Design Book. Williams (No, not that one) suggests keeping in mind four basic principles for arranging different aspects of your design: alignment, contrast, proximity, and repetition. More than one of these principles can be used at the same time. For example, in the business card below, the lines with contact information are all right aligned, while the company logo and the contact information have contrasting backgrounds:

If your design skills are not up to the task, you can download royalty free images and free fonts from hundreds of Internet sites. Another useful tool to download are dingbat fonts — fonts in which typing a character prints an image instead of a letter or symbol. For example, here is a small image created with a dingbat that consists of whimsical, nursery rhyme characters use with Fontworks:

 

 

 

When you design the images for labels, keep in mind the size of the labels. While it is easier to design at a much larger size than the label itself will use, if you have to shrink down an image, it is going to lose much of the detail. In addition, too much color could reduce the image to a few blobs of color. You should always experiment, but when working with smaller labels, think in terms of simple designs and a few bold colors.

Similarly, remember the background on which the image will be displayed — either its own, or the color of the label. The basic rule for legibility is light colors on a dark background, and dark colors on a background. Most of the time, a background of many different colors will be confusing.

 

Preparing the Label Sheet

In LibreOffice, a label sheet is created by producing a file for the Writer application with outlines that are equal to the dimension of the label. If your label is a thermal transfer or an unusual size, you will need to measure the size of the label carefully, and then select File | New | Writer Document. Set the page to the same size as the label sheet using Insert | Page. Then add Insert | Frame | Frame and set the frame so that it is the same size as your label(s), and positioned in the same way on the page.

With any luck, LibreOffice may support the manufacturer and type of label you are using. To check, To start preparing labels, start LibreOffice’s Writer word processor and select File | New | Labels. From this window, you can select the label type and how it is fed into your printer. You can also enter any text for your labels, either manual in the empty pane provided, or else from a database (check the online help for how to create and connect to a database.) You do not need to add text, and images will have to be added later, when the label sheet is prepared.

 

If your label sheet is not supported, you can set Writer to use it on the Options page, where you can enter the size of each label (if each page has more than one) and the spaces between the labels. You can also create a custom label sheet manually from an empty Writer document by measuring the label sheet and by using Insert | Frame | Frame and setting frames so that each the same size as your label(s), and positioned in the same way on the page. Probably, too, you will want to select the frame and right-click on it to make the borders of each frame invisible when you print.

The last step in preparing the label is to select Synchronize contents on the window’s Option tag. This feature sets the resulting file you create so that all changes to the first label on a page can be duplicated on the other labels with a single click.

When you are ready, click the New Document button. Writer will open a new file, showing frames for each label on the sheet and a floating Synchronize Contents button. This button is especially useful for adding images.

 

Adding Images to Your Labels

If your label is big enough, you can create your image using the Draw toolbar in the file created for printing by LibreOffice. Even then, though, you may find using Draw easier.

If you are using Draw, your last step should be to select all the separate elements by running the mouse cursor around all of them so that their frames and selective points show. By selecting Shape | Group, you can move and resize all the elements as if they were only one.

Then click on the grouped elements and select Position and Size from the right-click menu to reduce the size of the image so that it fits on the label. This step is necessary because if the image is too large for the label, adjusting it can be difficult. When you are ready, you copy and paste the image to the first label on the page. Clicking Synchronize Contents will replicate the first label on all the other labels. You are then ready to print.

A Matter of Practice

Adding images to a label may seem awkward at first, but it is really a matter of practice. After a few tries, you will start to see that LibreOffice’s tools are actually designed to save you effort and frustration. Once you are comfortable with the steps, you will find that, when you go beyond text, labels actually have more possibilities than you originally suspected.

By Bruce Byfield, author of Designing with LibreOffice.org – visit and download the book here

Preparing Labels With Libreoffice Video By Bruce Byfield

How to Prepare Labels with Libreoffice.org by Bruce Byfield.

This tutorial covers using templates, how to import images and use text, in-depth instructions on using mailmerge and more.

For more reading on using labels with Libreoffice:

Creating fancy labels with Libreoffice

Mail merge address labels with Libreoffice

Working with Barcode with Libreoffice/Openoffice

Have more questions about using labels, feel free to visit the forums and engage the community in helping you

Home Finance Printables: The Harmonized House Project

Home financial Worksheet

The Harmonized House Project are organizing planners and productivity printable worksheets. This collection is our for organizing your home finances. The Harmonized House Project is created and designed by Erin Rippy of InkTreePress.com These worksheets are perfect for your home management binders. They are editable, ready to personalize and print.

This Home Finance collection includes multipurpose labels, binder labels and tags, annual budget, debt worksheet, monthly budgets, bank accounts, tax deductions and more …. and the best part is, it is for FREE… Enjoy!

home finance worksheet

PDF Templates are editable and the fonts can be changed including type, size, color, bold….: Control +e on a PC and Command +e on a Mac

Visit The Harmonized House Project

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Blog-it: Bloggers Organizational Printables

Bloggers organization printables

Blogging is not easy and one really needs to be organized to be successful. This collection of organizational printables is perfect for the Crafters who blog,  Moms who blog at home or anyone who needs to get their blog organized.

It is part of  The Harmonized House Project Printable set. Templates are editable with fillable fields and are free to download. Designed by Erin Rippy of Inktreepress.com Download the PDF template, fill it out with your personalized information and print out. Printable sheets are perfect for a binder.

Blogging_this_week

DOWNLOAD: Blogging_this_week-Fillable

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2014 PDF Fillable Calendar Pro for free

21-4 calendar

Check out our free, fillable, editable and printable PDF document template 2013 calendar with notepad. It has the features you need to keep your life on track on calender pages  that are a fully printable 8.5″ x 11″. Please also check out our PDFplannerPRO, a fillable printable planner, organizer, diary and more! If you need our 2009 Calender,  2010 Calendar,  2011 Calendar,  2012 Calendar  and the 2013 go for those items as well!

Right click on link and “save file as”. Best used with Adobe reader.

Change fonts, size and colors: select Control +E if you’re using a PC or Command + E on a Mac. A toolbar will appear giving you additional text properties. Select “More” in the font properties toolbar for paragraph alignment and more.

2014-calendar-1

For a blank plain editable Calendar with dates in the top right

Inventory Organizing Control: The Harmonized House Project

Harmonized_House_Pack3

Inventory Control is part three of  this really awesome organizing Family Planner The Harmonized House Project It is designed by Erin Rippy of InkTreePress.com and is FREE for download. This is part one of several collections to come to help you organize your home with the Harmonized House Project planner -:) Here is the Family Calendar Worksheet. These organizing printables are in filable and editable PDF templates, so you can personalize with your own information. Included are several covers for you to choose from.

The home inventory control kit included labels for file folder labels, divider tabs, some really fun round labels (our WL-5375) and lots more, Enjoy -:)

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2013 Quarterly Executive Planner Pro v3 PDF Special

This amazing executive quarterly Calendar Planner v3 Pro Special is developed by Alex Pavlovich. It is brilliant! You can use it to organize just about everything. Download it now and start checking out all the functionality. Click on the month and it jumps you down to the calendar for that month. See the Monthly $ Expenses on bottom right – it auto adds for you! Click on the date in a month and it jumps you down to a Dailly-To-Do, Time-Organizer, Daily-Diary, a Daily-Notepad and more!

Monthy Calendar with fillable editable field

Lots of functions:

– Fillable Monthly Calendar

– Daily Diary

– Monthly Expenses/Budget with auto add

– Daily To Do

– Daily NotePad

– Time Organizer

– Personalize with your own Logo and Information

– and lots more…

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When your mind is a Blank Label

Blank Labels

Blank Labels

Are you having a problem thinking how you will design your next label.  Are you keep coming up blank. Do you feel stymied when it comes to using labels? Do you think labels are dull? Do you have piles of blank labels gathering dust in that bottom drawer? Have you looked all over the net for label design ideas and not sure what is right? You’re in the right place, then. We’re here to help you overcome your “labelphobia” so that you can realize your organizational and productive potential. Labels can simplify your life if you know how and when to use them and find great design for your needs. They also can make your life more colorful and exciting!

So, we welcome you to Worldlabel.com  a company that makes Blank Labels for laser and inkjet printeres and has a great blog full of free label printables to print on those blank labels. Our company has been in business for a decade, and we offer labels, label designs and design ideas to people the world over. Now, we want to expand on our services to provide users with even more resources. No matter whether you’re a work-at-home mom, a CEO, an artist or a non-creative type – we’re here to help you make the most of your talents and time with our ideas, tips, tricks, hacks and more.

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