I do my specimen labels on my Macintoshes. For specimens in open trays I
use 3-point font with Macdraw II. Labels measure about 35x25mm. With this
program I can use layers, so that I can have lines of fixed text with blank
spaces I can fill in using a second layer. This way the existing text does
not run along as I add letters in the gaps. It's a bit fiddly but gives
excellent results.

However there is one major problem, and that is: The layers do not quite
match in size. Each label, for some queer reason, has a layer tiepoint near
the top line, and every line below that becomes slightly more
out-of-alignment than the one above. By the time the bottom of 17 lines the
mismatch is a whole line out! Different Macs read the same program
differently, and so the mismatch varies from computer to computer. This is
infuriating, as I type the labels to accomodate the mismatch in the machine
I'm currently using. When I start using a newer Mac the preexisting labels
must be altered line by line if I want to reprint them.

Other programs do not offer the font-size desired, and none have the
ability to fill-in fixed gaps in text.

For specimens in glass tubes under 16mm diameter I use Macdraw to do simple
one-layer 3-point labels, which have 4 lines of text and measure 45x7mm.

All labels are printed with 0.1mm-line borders for easy trimming with
scissors (I don't try to use a guillotine with such small bits).

If anyone knows of a cure for the Macdraw problem, I'd love to hear it.
Perhaps my files can be opened in Claris Draw without the mismatch?

Andrew G