Dimensions / Industrial & logistics / Shipping labels / Half-sheet label
A half-sheet label is 8.5 × 5.5 in (215.9 × 139.7 mm), printed two to a US Letter sheet with no margins: that is the Avery 5126 layout in the gLabels template data, and WorldLabel lists 0" margins. Staples sells Avery’s TrueBlock 95900 for laser printers at 500 sheets a pack. FedEx’s Ship API has matching paper stock types for the top and bottom half of an 8.5 × 11 sheet, but labels printed on an inkjet printer are not accepted; UPS lists thermal and laser printing only. At 8.5 in the label is far wider than a 4-inch thermal printer takes (ZD421 media 108 mm), so it is an office-printer label.
| Label: width × height | Same in mm (our conversion) | Labels a US Letter sheet; margins |
|---|---|---|
| 8.5 × 5.5in | 215.9 × 139.7mm | 20 in |
Sources: gLabels, WorldLabel. Checked October 2026.
A USPS barcode from a 600 dpi laser printer, a carton and a batch of labels are filled in. Enter your own; each check follows a rule or figure on this page.
The barcode runs across the label width. With quiet zones it is (11N + 66) narrowest bars wide (GS1 General Specifications): 176 for an SSCC, 264 for a 34-digit IMpb. The narrowest bar has to be a whole number of printer dots.
9 dots at 600 dpi make the narrowest bar 0.381 mm (15.00 mil), inside USPS’s 13–21 mil. With quiet zones the IMpb is 264 of those, 100.6 mm, within the 215.9 mm label.
A 34-digit IMpb from a 600 dpi laser printer at 9 dots a bar (0.381 mm, 15 mil) is filled in. Half a Letter sheet is wide enough for any bar USPS allows.
With 20 mm clear all round, the 215.9 × 139.7 mm label needs a face of 255.9 × 179.7 mm; the 305 × 254 mm face has room.
A 12 × 10 in carton top (305 × 254 mm) is filled in; with 20 mm all round, a half-sheet label needs 255.9 × 179.7 mm.
50 labels take 25 Letter sheets, 2 to a sheet with no margins. FedEx accepts labels from a laser printer.
Avery 5126 and the labels laid out like it put two on a US Letter sheet with no margins. FedEx takes laser labels and turns down inkjet ones.
Selling half-sheet labels? Photograph a sheet, mark the two labels and the margins in SizeMarker and send it with your quote.
Mark a photo| Product | Size; per sheet | Printer; pack |
|---|---|---|
| Avery 95900 TrueBlockThis page | 5 1/2" x 8 1/2"; 2 labels a sheet | Laser; 500 sheets a pack |
| Avery 5126 TrueBlockSchool Specialty | 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 inches | Laser; pack of 200 |
| Avery 5126 templategLabels data | 8.5in x 5.5in, 1 across and 2 down, no margins, 5.5 in pitch | US-Letter |
| Same layout as 5126gLabels data | Avery 5526, 8126, 15516 and 18126 | — |
| WorldLabel WL-400WX-100 | 8.5" x 5.5"; 2 a sheet; margins 0" | Laser and inkjet |
| TrueBlockStaples | Blocks out everything underneath the label | — |
Sources: Staples · School Specialty · gLabels · WorldLabel
| Carrier | What it says |
|---|---|
| FedExShip API | Paper stock types PAPER_85X11_TOP_HALF_LABEL and PAPER_85X11_BOTTOM_HALF_LABEL; labels printed on an inkjet printer are not accepted |
| FedEx laser labels | Usually printed on US Letter or A4 and folded in half to fit the label pouch |
| UPSGuide to Labeling 2017 | Thermal direct, thermal transfer or laser; minimum ANSI grade B; inkjet is not listed |
| USPSParcel Labeling Guide; Publication 199 | The guides name 4x6, 4x4 and 6x3 inch labels (returns 3x6) and say nothing about half sheets |
| USPS placementPublication 199 | Squarely on the largest side, centred if possible, not folded over to another side |
| DPD | Inkjet is allowed on high-quality inkjet paper |
| FedEx placement | Top or largest side, at least 2cm from edges if possible |
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Half sheet in mmOur conversion | 8.5 × 5.5 in = 215.9 × 139.7 mm |
| Carton face neededOur calculation, 20 mm clear all round | 255.9 × 179.7 mm for a half sheet; 141.6 × 192.4 mm for 4 × 6 (101.6 × 152.4 mm); 145 × 188 mm for A6 |
| Thermal printersZebra | ZD421 media up to 108 mm, ZT411 up to 114 mm: an 8.5 in (215.9 mm) label does not go in |
| Sheets for a batchOur calculation | 2 labels a sheet: 50 labels on 25 sheets |
| Barcode roomOur calculation, GS1 (11N + 66) X | A 34-digit IMpb at USPS’s widest 21 mil is 140.8 mm with quiet zones, well inside 215.9 mm |
| Laser bar sizesOur calculation at 600 dpi | 9 dots 0.381 mm (15 mil); 10 dots 0.423 mm (16.67 mil) |
8.5 × 5.5 in, 215.9 × 139.7 mm: half a US Letter sheet, two labels a sheet with no margins.
Yes, from a laser printer: FedEx has top-half and bottom-half paper stock types for 8.5 × 11 sheets. Labels printed on an inkjet printer are not accepted.
Avery 5126; the gLabels data gives 5526, 8126, 15516 and 18126 the same layout, and Staples sells the TrueBlock 95900 at 500 sheets a pack.
Yes: 215.9 × 139.7 mm against 101.6 × 152.4 mm. With 20 mm clear all round it needs a carton face of 255.9 × 179.7 mm.
Not a 4-inch one: the Zebra ZD421 takes media up to 108 mm and the ZT411 114 mm, against 215.9 mm for the half sheet.
Buyers ask for the label and sheet size, the margins and the pitch, which templates it matches, whether it is for laser or inkjet, whether the face blocks out old labels, the adhesive and sheets a pack. Mark the real sheet, its two labels and the margins on your own photo in SizeMarker, as in the picture at the top, and send one product card for WhatsApp or WeChat.
Shipping the parcel
Volumetric weight calculatorDimensional weight of the labelled carton
