Craft fair price tags: sizes, what to print on them, and how to make a sheet in 2 minutes

Most shoppers at a market will not ask what something costs. If they have to, a lot of them just put it down and keep walking. Clear price tags on every item fix that, and they are one of the cheapest things you can prepare before a fair. Here is what size to use, what to put on each tag, and the fastest way to print a full sheet.

Which price tag size to use

There is no single right size, but three sizes cover almost every handmade table. The right one depends on how big the item is and how much you need to say on the tag.

Those sheet counts assume a half-inch margin on each edge, which is what most home printers can actually print without clipping. If you are choosing between two sizes, go with the smaller one. A tag that is too big competes with the product; a tag that is too small is still readable from arm's length if the price is printed large.

Hang tag or table tag?

• Hang tags (punched and tied with twine or a safety pin) work for wearables, bags, and anything a shopper picks up and turns over. Use medium or large so the hole does not eat the text.
• Flat tags placed in front of or under an item work for soap, candles, ceramics, and anything grouped in multiples. Small or medium.
• Tent tags (a large tag folded in half so it stands up) are good for one sign per product group: "Lavender soap — $6 each, 3 for $15."

What to print on a handmade price tag

Keep it to what a shopper needs to decide, in the order they need it.

1. Price, big. This is the thing people scan for. Whole dollars read faster than .99 and make cash sales easier ($6, not $5.99). If you charge sales tax on top, say so on a sign at the table rather than on every tag.
2. Item name. "Lavender Soap," "8 oz Soy Candle — Cedar," "Hand-knit Beanie." Name the variant if you sell several that look alike.
3. One short note (optional). The material, scent, size, or one selling point: "goat milk, unscented," "fits 20–23 in head," "food-safe glaze." One line. If it needs two, it belongs on a sign, not a tag.
4. Your shop name. Small, at the bottom or as a header. When the item gets home or gifted, the tag is how they find you again.

Things that do not belong on a tag: paragraphs, internal SKU codes only you understand, fonts under about 9 pt, and multiple prices (put "any 3 for $15" on a tent card next to the group instead). A tag that lists one clear price sells; a tag that makes someone do math does not.

Paper, printing, and cutting

• Paper: 65–80 lb cardstock is the sweet spot. Heavy enough to stand up or hang, light enough for a home inkjet or laser printer. Plain copy paper is fine for flat tags in a pinch, but it curls under a candle by mid-afternoon. Kraft cardstock looks handmade without any design work.
• Print at 100% scale. In the print dialog, turn off "fit to page" or "shrink to fit." If your printer scales the page, a 2-inch tag comes out at 1.9 inches and your cut lines drift from row to row. Print one test sheet and measure a tag with a ruler before you print ten.
• Cutting: A guillotine or rotary paper cutter cuts a whole sheet in a handful of passes and keeps edges straight. Scissors work; just cut on the dashed lines between tags rather than around each one. A corner-rounder punch is a cheap upgrade that makes the tags look store-bought.
• Hang tags: A standard 1/8-inch hole punch plus jute twine, baker's twine, or 1-inch safety pins. Punch before you cut the sheet apart if you can; it is faster.
• Print extras. Tags fall off, get wet, or get handed to a customer with the item. Print 10–20% more than you need, plus a few blank ones for the item you priced at the last minute.

How to make a sheet of price tags in about 2 minutes

You can lay tags out in a word processor with a table, but getting the cells to a real physical size and keeping them from reflowing is fiddly, and you will be redoing it before every fair. A dedicated tag maker is faster. Here is the whole process in TagLeaf:

1. Paste your list. One item per line: Lavender Soap, 6.00, handmade. The format is forgiving: name, then price, then an optional note. A spreadsheet column copied and pasted works too.
2. Set quantities. If you have 12 bars of lavender soap on the table, set quantity to 12 and you get 12 identical tags instead of typing the line 12 times.
3. Pick a size and page. Small, medium, or large; US Letter or A4. The preview shows exactly how many fit per sheet.
4. Add your shop name so it prints on every tag.
5. Print at 100% scale on cardstock, then cut on the dashed lines.

The free version handles up to 20 tags in the Kraft style, which is enough for a small table or a test print. Pro is a one-time $9 for unlimited tags, five styles, your logo on each tag, CSV import, and sheets that save between sessions so you can reprint before the next market without retyping.

Before you print: a quick sanity check

• Does every item on the table have a price, including the ones in the basket at the front?
• Are prices consistent between the tag and any signs? If the sign says "3 for $15" and the tag says $6, shoppers will ask which one is right.
• Have you actually decided on prices, or are you guessing at the last minute? If you are guessing, read how to price handmade items for markets first. It is a short formula, and it prevents the common problem of underselling a whole table.
• Packing for your first fair? The first craft fair checklist covers the print list, the toolkit, and what people forget.