The short answer: one pack of small or medium stick-on labels covers most of a school bag, a pack of iron-ons covers the uniform, and the label that fits is the one whose character limit fits the name — not the biggest one on the page.
Stick-on label sizes
All of these are printed on waterproof vinyl with rounded corners, for clean, smooth, grease-free surfaces.
- Pencil labels — 5 × 42mm, 120 per pack. One line, 30 characters. Pencils, pens, rulers, sunglasses, chargers.
- Mini — 8 × 50mm, 60 per pack. 18 characters. Small stationery, scissors, dummy clips.
- Small — 20 × 50mm, 60 per pack. 2 lines, 15 characters each. The workhorse: drink bottles, lunch boxes, pencil cases, diaries, toys.
- Medium — 20 × 80mm, 60 per pack. 3 lines, 20 characters. Longer names, or a name plus a phone number.
- Large — 36 × 56mm, 64 per pack. 6 lines, 28 characters. Book labels with a name and a class number.
- Round — 20mm, 60 per pack. 2 lines, 8 characters. A short name only.
- Shoe labels — 27 × 28mm, 20 per pack. Applied inside the heel, with a clear protective cover over the top.
- Die-cut bottle stickers — 100mm long. Die-cut lettering with no background, up to 12 characters, so a name reads right across a drink bottle.
Clothing label sizes
- Small iron-on — 8 × 60mm, 70 per pack. 1 line, 25 characters. Socks, underwear, anything with a narrow tag.
- S-Medium iron-on — 15 × 35mm, 60 per pack. 2 lines, 15 characters.
- Medium iron-on — 15 × 60mm, 60 per pack. 2 lines, 20 characters. The usual pick for uniform.
- Large iron-on — 30 × 70mm, 40 per pack. 4 lines, 30 characters. Where laundry staff need to read it across a room.
- Small satin sew-on — 15 × 50mm, 60 per pack. 3 lines, 20 characters.
- Small woven — 15 × 50mm, 58 per pack. 1 line, 20 characters.
- Medium woven — 25 × 70mm, 58 per pack. 2 lines, 28 characters.
How many will I actually need?
Count the things, not the child. A quick way to arrive at a number:
- Starting school: walk the book list and the uniform list. Books, exercise books, a drink bottle, a lunch box, a pencil case and its contents, a hat, a bag. Most families land between 60 and 120 stick-on labels, which is one to two packs, plus one pack of iron-ons for the uniform.
- Starting daycare: bottles, sippy cups, dummies, containers, spare outfits, cot sheets, hats and shoes. One pack of small stick-ons and one pack of iron-ons covers the first year for most families.
- Labelling a wardrobe for aged care: count the garments and add a third. Facilities ask for every item, and that includes linen, hats and glasses cases.
- More than one child: give each child their own colour. Sorting washing and lunch boxes becomes glance-work, and it is the single change families say makes the most difference.
Pencils are the exception to counting carefully — they vanish. Buy the 120-pack.
One name, or a different name on each label?
Most packs print one name across the whole set. If you need a different name on each label — a teacher preparing class gifts, a group order, or one pack split between siblings — use the multi-name label packs instead.