We just purchased an iMac with the iWork suite. I used to use Microsoft Word to print individual envelopes of different sizes and also Avery mailing labels. Word let me specify which Avery labels I was using and would automatically print them. Can Pages do this too, or am I going to have to purchase Word for the Mac?
Pages does include templates for printing envelopes; select File > New From Template Chooser, then click Envelopes to find them. For a one-off job, simply type or paste the address over the placeholder. But if you do a lot of these and want to create your own template, replace the envelope template’s placeholders with Address Book fields, found in Insert > Merge Fields. The menus nested there let you add fields for your recipients’ name, company, street address, whatever you need. Choose File > Save As Template to keep this handy for later.
Pages' Edit > Mail Merge command is great for printing envelopes.
To print one envelope using your template, drag in a contact from your Address Book and watch the merge fields populate themselves. For a group, select Edit > Mail Merge, which lets you select addresses from Address Book or a Numbers document. It can create the envelopes as new documents so you can verify before printing, or just send them right to the printer.
Printing Avery labels isn’t a problem either. Just grab Avery DesignPro for Mac, a free download at Avery.com (look under Templates And Software > Software, or go here to find it). It’s full service and works great, integrating with Mail, Address Book, iPhoto, and other Apple software. We also found a variety of free iWork templates, including Avery templates for Pages, at iworktemplates.blogspot.com and iworkcommunity.com. (When searching, remember that iWork ’08 templates still work in iWork ’09.)
