Printing labels from a CSV file
One spreadsheet, one sheet of labels. The details that matter are the column names, whether a number keeps its leading zeros, and what happens to a row that doesn't fit the format you chose.
A worked example
A minimal CSV for barcode labels needs one column per field you want on the label, plus one for copies if you want that per row:
| sku | caption | copies |
|---|---|---|
| 00123 | Widget, small | 2 |
| 00124 | Widget, large | 1 |
| 00125 | Widget, blue | 4 |
Save that as plain .csv, not .xlsx, before importing it into the label maker.
Leading zeros
00123 is five characters, not the number 123. Most spreadsheet programs will happily rewrite it as 123 the moment you type it into a column with default (General) formatting, and that change survives the save. Set the column's format to Text first, or paste values in as text, and check the raw file — open it in a plain text editor, not the spreadsheet — before you import. A Code 128 or EAN barcode that is meant to hold five digits will not match your records if the zeros are missing.
Column mapping
The importer maps CSV columns to label fields by name: the value to encode, an optional caption printed under the code, and an optional copies count. Column order in the file doesn't matter — the header row does. Keep the header names short and consistent, and keep exactly one value column per label if you're generating a single code per row.
A copies column
If a "copies" column is present, each row can ask for a different number of labels — useful when one item needs six labels for a shelf run and another needs one for a sample. Rows without a value in that column fall back to a single copy. This is different from setting one global copy count for the whole sheet: it lets you mix quantities in a single import.
When a row has an error
A row is skipped, not silently blanked, when its required value is missing or when its content fails the checks for the symbology you picked — for example, letters in a column you're encoding as EAN-13, or a value that's the wrong length for a fixed-length format. The skipped rows are reported by row number so you can go back to the spreadsheet, fix that line, and reimport rather than hunting through a printed sheet for the one label that's wrong.
Related
Sequential asset tag numbering · Fixing label print alignment · Bulk generator · Label maker
CSV label printing — common questions
Why did my SKU lose its leading zeros?
Spreadsheet software treats a column of digits as a number by default and drops leading zeros on save. Format the column as text before typing values, or open the raw .csv file in a plain text editor to confirm the zeros are actually there before you import it.
Can one column control how many copies of a label print?
Yes — map a column to "copies" and each row can request its own count, so a fast-moving SKU can get more labels than a slow one in the same batch, without splitting the sheet into two jobs.
What happens if one row is broken?
A row that is missing its required value, or whose barcode content fails validation for the symbology you picked, is skipped and reported by row number rather than silently dropped or substituted with blank artwork. Fix that row and reimport rather than trying to patch a single label after the sheet is laid out.