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Label Templates

Introduction

A template defines the overall layout and physical structure of the label, including its dimensions, margins, padding, and page arrangement such as rows, columns, and spacing.

  • Dimensions (height, width)
  • Margins
  • Padding
  • Page arrangement (not applicable to thermal labels)
    • Rows
    • Columns
    • Gaps
    • Page margins
    • Row/column spacing

Note: All template measurements are defined in inches.

Template Fields

Every control in the Label Studio's Template Builder writes one of these fields, so a template built visually and a template written by hand are the same object.

Field Studio control What it sets
labelWidthIn Label Width The width of one label
labelHeightIn Label Height The height of one label
labelPaddingXIn Label Padding X Unprintable margin on the left and right of each label
labelPaddingYIn Label Padding Y Unprintable margin on the top and bottom of each label
pagesizeXIn Page Size X The width of the sheet the labels are printed on
pagesizeYIn Page Size Y The height of the sheet
pageMarginLeftIn Page Margin Left Distance from the left edge of the sheet to the first column
pageMarginTopIn Page Margin Top Distance from the top edge of the sheet to the first row
xGapIn X Gap Horizontal space between adjacent labels
yGapIn Y Gap Vertical space between adjacent labels
numColumns Number of Columns Labels across the sheet
numRows Number of Rows Labels down the sheet

Padding is not the same as page margin. Padding is inside a label and reduces its printable area, which is what layout fractions are measured against. Page margins are outside the labels and position the grid on the sheet.

Thermal Labels

A thermal printer prints one label per page, where the page is exactly the size of the label. That is not a separate kind of template; it is an ordinary template whose page happens to hold a single label:

  • pagesizeXIn and pagesizeYIn equal the label dimensions
  • numColumns and numRows are both 1
  • every margin and gap is 0

The Label Studio's Thermal Label toggle is a shortcut for exactly that arrangement. It pins those eight values and locks their controls; it is a convenience in the editor and is never stored in the template itself. See The Thermal Label Toggle.

The 3"x1" example below is a thermal template.

Examples

Here is an example template for a 3"x1" thermal label, with 1/8" margins:

{
  "labelHeightIn": 1,
  "labelPaddingXIn": 0.125,
  "labelPaddingYIn": 0.125,
  "labelWidthIn": 3,
  "numColumns": 1,
  "numRows": 1,
  "pageMarginLeftIn": 0,
  "pageMarginTopIn": 0,
  "pagesizeXIn": 3,
  "pagesizeYIn": 1,
  "xGapIn": 0,
  "yGapIn": 0
}
Note: printable area border drawn as a visual aid

3x1 thermal label template

3x1 thermal label template

Here is an example template for an 8.5"x11" sheet of Avery 8160 labels (3 columns and 10 rows, 30 total), with 1/16" margins:

{
  "labelHeightIn": 1,
  "labelPaddingXIn": 0.0625,
  "labelPaddingYIn": 0.0625,
  "labelWidthIn": 2.625,
  "numColumns": 3,
  "numRows": 10,
  "pageMarginLeftIn": 0.1875,
  "pageMarginTopIn": 0.5,
  "pagesizeXIn": 8.5,
  "pagesizeYIn": 11,
  "xGapIn": 0.125,
  "yGapIn": 0
}
Note: printable area borders drawn as a visual aid

Avery 8160 label template

Avery 8160 label template

Next Steps