How to print food labels at home on Avery sheets
You can print cottage food labels on a home printer with standard US Letter label sheets. Our free label maker makes a ready-to-print Avery 5163 or 5160 sheet PDF. Here is how to pick a sheet, print it at the right size and check the fit before you use your labels.
The short version: download the Avery sheet PDF from the tool, print one page on plain paper at 100% (“Actual size”), hold it against your label sheet to check the fit, then print on the labels.
Last checked against the official text. Sources
Two sheet sizes the tool supports
| Avery template | Label size | Labels per sheet | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5163 | 2″ × 4″ | 10 | Longer labels: a full ingredient list, allergens, net weight, business details and a state statement (our sample sheets use it) |
| 5160 | 1″ × 2⅝″ | 30 | Short labels only, such as a product with few ingredients |
Sizes and labels per sheet as listed on Avery’s template pages. Avery lists other products that use the same templates, including 8163 for 5163 and 8160 for 5160; check the template number on your pack.
Step by step
- Make your label in the label maker.
- Choose the sheet under “Print on Avery label sheets (free)” and download the sheet PDF. It is one US Letter page with your label on every spot.
- Print at 100%. In the print dialog choose “Actual size” or 100%, not “Fit to page”. Scaling changes where the labels land and makes every letter smaller.
- Test on plain paper first. Hold the test print against a label sheet up to the light. The tool can draw label outlines to make this easier (“Draw label outlines”).
- Print on the label sheet once the test lines up.
Sample sheets made by the tool (fictional Sample Kitchen): Ohio sugar cookies, Avery 5163 (PDF) · Texas pecan brittle, Avery 5163 (PDF) · more examples.
Keep it legible
- Minimum size. Required information must be at least 1/16 inch tall, measured on the lower-case “o” (21 CFR 101.2(c)). The sheet PDF never shrinks text below that, or below your state statement’s or net weight’s own minimum. If a label is too long for the sheet, the tool tells you instead of making a file. See minimum type size.
- Contrast. FDA lists “insufficient background contrast” among the things that can make required information not prominent enough (21 CFR 101.15(a)(6)). Florida and Michigan also ask for their statement in a contrasting color.
- Where the label goes. The net weight belongs in the bottom 30% of the package front (21 CFR 101.7(f)), and some state statements must be on the front. If a big package needs a large net weight line, the tool can print it as a separate sticker. See the net weight guide.
Cottage food: your state may add rules
The rules above are federal. If you sell from a home kitchen, your state’s cottage food law decides what your label must show, and it can add its own requirements or set them differently. Some states also set where their statement goes or how large it is: check your state page before you print a full run.
Always check your state page and your state agency before you print. Our state guides: Arizona · California · Florida · Georgia · Michigan · Ohio · Oregon · Texas. Another state? See cottage food labels.
Make the label
Make your label, then use “Print on Avery label sheets (free)” in the tool to download a 5163 or 5160 sheet PDF.
Open an example label in the toolStart a blank label
The label maker is free: clean PNG and PDF, no account, no watermark. No AI: it formats exactly what you enter, and you check the result. See more example labels, or let us do it: done-for-you labels, $39 →
Sources
Last checked . We read each of these official sources; quotes on this page are copied from them. Regulation text is from the eCFR (up to date as of October 19, 2026); sheet sizes are from avery.com.
- Avery template 5163 (2″ × 4″, 10 per sheet)
- Avery template 5160 (1″ × 2⅝″, 30 per sheet)
- 21 CFR 101.2(c): minimum type size
- 21 CFR 101.15: prominence of required statements
- 21 CFR 101.7(f): net weight placement
This page explains federal rules in plain English. It is not legal advice, and FDA does not approve labels. Found something wrong? Contact us · How we verify