Posted by Aerik on 04/22/07 08:18

>
> > Perhaps absolutely positioned divs? If you get the sizes and
> > proportions right, then it's just a matter of setting the margins
> > properly in the browser.
>
> Doesn't work. You don't know the characteristics of the printer (i.e.
> margins, etc.).
>
> A 1/2 inch top or bottom margin makes a big difference on a 2"x3"
> mailing label.
>
> > Simpler still (maybe even simpler than your Word / mail merge
> > solution): Find or create a template in Excel for your labels. In
> > all the cells, put in formulas pointing to the second sheet. On the
> > second sheet create an external data source that pulls from an html
> > table. The html table is dynamicly generated by php and holds your
> > data. It doesn't matter what the formatting of the table is, all the
> > formatting is done in excel. To get a new list of labels, in Excel
> > right click in the external data source and click "refresh". Easy.
>
> > Aerik
>
> Same problem.
>
> HTML is a recommendation only. It is not suited for exact positioning
> like the op requires.
>

Wait a minute - having done several implementations of exactly what I
described above (web data into excel for printing) - what do you mean,
"same problem"? Certainly in html there are a bunch of variables
besides the absolutely positioned divs to deal with, but I think it's
reasonable to assume the user can manage the margins in their print
setup - if not, then they're probably not equiped to load label stock
into their printer. I think the PDF is a fine suggestion, but the
level of complexity is not insignivficant (at least with the few pdf
libraries I've looked at). You've gotta learn the pdf class, get your
data into it into whatever font you choose, and get it positioned
right. Dumping it into any old html table and importing it into excel
is a piece of cake. Maybe not the *best* solution, but probably the
*simplest*.

Aerik

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