How to Print on Post-It Notes

by Amanda Dills
November 18, 2022

For World Kindness Day this year, Francis Tuttle distributed blue Post-It notes to employees and encouraged them to use them to share “a positive note of appreciation, a compliment, or a warm fuzzy to make someone’s day for a random act of kindness.” In ID3, we decided to pass that kindness on to our instructors and colleagues in the form of hot cocoa mix and a cute, printed message on the Post-It.

Getting the printed message onto the Post-It note took a bit of trial and error, but once we worked the kinks out the whole system worked quickly and easily.

You could use this method to create all sorts of post-it based activites and resources for your students, including:

  • daily exit tickets
  • weekly check ins or tracking
  • “muddiest point” checks
  • pop quizzes
  • notes of encouragement
  • and more!

To make your own printed Post-Its, you will need:

  • A computer program that lets you design documents
    (I would recommend Canva, PowerPoint, or Google Slides, but you could use Word or another program as well.)
  • Post-Its
    (We used the 3×3 size, but you could make this work with any size)
  • A printer you can use to print one page at a time
    (If your printer is a different room from your computer, it is also very helpful to have another person to help you, so that one of you can be setting the post it notes and loading the printer and the other can be sending the document to the printer)

Step One: Test and Plan

You may need to do some testing and trial and error to answer the following questions:

  • Which way do you need to insert paper into your printer to ensure that it prints on the side you want and in the direction you want?
    (The easiest way to test this is to write something like “bottom, face up” on the top sheet in your paper drawer, and then compare that to the side and direction of your print.)
  • Can your printer handle printing on a Post It, and does it work better with the sticky strip of the Post It towards the top or bottom of your paper?
    (For us, it worked best to have the sticky strip towards the top, which meant we’d be printing our Post It images right side up.)
  • How many of your Post Its can you fit on a standard sheet of printer paper?
    (For 3″x3″ Post Its, the answer is 6.)

Step Two: Design Your Post-It

Using your design tool of choice (Canva, PowerPoint, Google Slides, Word, etc), start your design with blank squares or rectangles slightly (like 1/8″ larger than the size of your Post It).

Then, fill in each square with whatever design, message, or template you choose. (Use copy and paste or duplicate functions to repeat this design each square.)

Use the links below to download the template we used in whatever tool is best for you: 
Canva |  PowerPoint  |  PDF

Print a plain-paper version of your design, with the square borders. This will become the “template” document you use to print your sticky notes.

Hint: We ended up printing a few templates because we had multiple people working on loading up the Post-It pages for printing.

Step Three: Create a “borderless” version of your document.

Duplicate your page that includes the design and the border; then hide or delete the square borders on the second page. This will make it so the borders do not show on your printed Post-Its.

Step Four: Load and print your first Post It Sheet.

On the template, stick one Post It note in each square, fully covering the content inside the square. Load the paper with the Post Its into your printer, making sure it is positioned in such a way that it will print correctly onto the Post Its.

Send one copy to the printer; make any changes to the design or process as needed.

Step Five: Repeat

You will want to print one page at a time, re-loading your template paper with blank Post-Its each time. If you’re like us and have your printer in a separate room from your computer, it may help to have someone else either send items to the printer or load up the Post-Its onto the template page and reload it back into the printer.

If you have any questions about this process, or want help creating printed Post-Its of your own, please don’t hesitate to CONTACT ID3.

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