How to Design Your Dashleigh Labels in Canva

Every Dashleigh label sheet has a free Canva template laid out to match it exactly, so whatever you design inside an outline prints inside a label. This guide covers the whole job, from the template link to the first print.

Step 1: Open your template in Canva

1. Find the template number on your label pack. It's a four-digit number, such as 8395. It's also listed on the product page where you bought the labels.
2. Go to Find Your Template and search for the number or the label size.
3. On the template page, under Choose how you'll design, click Open in Canva.

Canva shows a preview of the sheet. Click the purple button below it (it says View template, or Use template for new design if you're already signed in). Sign in or create a free account if Canva asks. Canva then opens your own copy of the sheet, named something like "Copy of Template No. 8446", so the original stays blank for next time.

If a Print with Canva panel opens on the right, close it with the X. That's Canva's paid printing service; you'll print these labels at home.

Step 2: Design your first label

The sheet opens at full size (8.5 x 11 in.) with every label outlined. Don't resize the page; the outlines only line up with your labels at this size.

• Text: click Text in the left panel, add a text box and drag it into the first outline. See how to add and edit text on a label in Canva.
• Shapes, icons and backgrounds: use Elements. A rectangle sized to the outline makes a simple background color.
• Your logo or photos: use Uploads, then drag the image into the label.

On some sheets (8446 is one) the labels sit sideways on the page, so the long side runs top to bottom. Turn your text to read along the label: select it, click the ... menu in the toolbar, choose Position and type 90 or 270 in Rotate.

Keep text and logos at least 1/8 inch inside the outline. Printers can shift a sheet slightly, and the margin keeps your words on the label. Background colors can run to the edge.

Step 3: Copy it to the rest of the sheet

1. Drag a box around everything in your first label to select it all (or Shift-click each piece).
2. Click Group in the toolbar (or press Ctrl+G / Cmd+G) so the label moves as one piece.
3. Copy it (Ctrl+C / Cmd+C), paste it (Ctrl+V / Cmd+V) and drag the copy into the next outline. Repeat for each label.

Canva shows pink guide lines as you drag, which help you center each copy in its outline. To make different labels on the same sheet (say, one per scent), copy the first label and change only the text.

Step 4: Remove the outlines before you download

The outlines are a background picture. If you leave them in, they print on your labels.

1. Click one of the outline lines (not your design) to select the outline layer. A purple frame appears around the whole sheet.
2. If the padlock in the small menu shows locked, click it to unlock the layer.
3. Click the trash can, or press Delete.

Rather keep the outlines in the file for later edits? Select the layer, open Transparency (the checkerboard icon, in the toolbar or under its ... menu) and set it to 0. The outlines disappear from the print but stay in the design.

Step 5: Download a print-ready PDF

1. Click Share (top right), then Download.
2. Under File type, choose PDF (Canva suggests PNG, so change it).
3. Under Presets, click Print. It gives the sharpest text for printing.
4. Leave Color profile on RGB, then click Download and save the file somewhere easy to find, such as your desktop.

Step 6: Print at 100%

Open the PDF and print at Actual size or 100%, not Fit to Page. Fit to Page shrinks the design and moves it off the labels. Print one test page on plain paper first and hold it against a label sheet up to the light. The full checklist is in how to print labels that line up.

Want a head start? Use a free design

Your template page lists free Dashleigh designs made for that sheet, under Start from a free design. You can also browse every design in the free label design directory.

1. Click a design to open it in Canva, then click the purple button to make your own copy.
2. Change the text, colors and images to suit your product.
3. If the design is a single label, select everything in it, group it and copy it. Paste it into your blank sheet from Step 1 and drag it into each outline. If the design is already a full sheet, skip straight to Step 4.

Already have a finished label design?

If you designed your label somewhere else, or bought a label design:

1. Save the design as a PNG at the exact size of your label.
2. In your Dashleigh sheet in Canva, open Uploads and click Upload files.
3. Drag the image into the first outline and resize it to fit, then copy it to the others as in Step 3.

Some templates come in a drag-and-drop version, where each label is a frame (it shows a picture of blue sky and hills). Drop your image on a frame and it snaps to the label size on its own.

Common questions

• Do I need Canva Pro? No. Every Dashleigh template works in a free account. Some Canva fonts and graphics are Pro only (they carry a crown). See how to use Canva for free.
• Can I change the size of the template? No. The page has to stay 8.5 x 11 in. for the outlines to match your sheet.
• My labels print slightly off. Almost always a print size that isn't 100%. See how to print labels that line up.
• More Canva questions (copy one label to all, Pro crowns, grouping): see Canva label questions.

Prefer Word? See how to use Dashleigh label templates in Microsoft Word.

Still stuck? Email customerservice@dashleigh.com with your template number and a screenshot, and we will help.