Office 2011 for Macintosh: The Missing Manual

Chapter 5. Printing Documents, Envelopes, and Labels

The paperless office hasn’t arrived yet. At some point, most Word documents head for the printer. Even when you email a document or create an Adobe Acrobat (PDF) file, your recipient may want to print it. Many people proofread a hard copy before sending off any document, believing they’re more likely to catch mistakes that way.

Word puts a lot of printing power at your fingertips. The first chapter touched on the quick-and-easy way to send your document to the printer. This chapter shows you how to do things that would make Gutenberg drop his type. You’ll learn how to choose and use the best printer for the job—say, your color inkjet for photos, a laser for documents, and a PDF file for good measure. And if you’re sending that document via snail mail, then you’ll need to print an envelope or a label. Word’s got you covered there, too.

When you need to write to 650 of your closest friends with a personal message that you know will be of the utmost interest to them, it’s time to dust off Word’s mail merge. Sure, you could send a letter to Dear Occupant, but it’s so much better to address it to Dear Edward and mention some personal details in the body of the letter. If those 650 letters are going to go out snail-mail, you’ll need envelopes or at least labels to match. (Now, if only Word could lick the envelopes.) This chapter shows you how you can write one letter and reach a crowd.

Choosing a Printer

If you print a lot, no doubt you ...