I want to make some labels

General brewing information, questions and discussion. Topics that do not seem to fit elsewhere.

Moderators: slothrob, 2row

dartedplus
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
Posts: 339
Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2001 11:33 pm
Location: Hummelstown, PA, US

I want to make some labels

Post by dartedplus »

I'd like to make some labels for my beer, but I'm unsure of what kind of program would be good for doing this, and then what should i print these labels onto. If anyone is currently doing this let me know what you use. Thanks, Ed
TTTony
Light Lager
Light Lager
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2001 2:42 pm

brewsource.com

Post by TTTony »

Brewsource sells labels. Although I've never used them, they sound fine. The are "dry gummed" so they'll come off easy when your done with the bottle. You wouldn't want to use a regular printer label because the adhesive is too good and you'll never get it all off afterwards. As for what program to use, just about anything. Paint Shop Pro is a great program for doing just about any artwork. They have a trial version available for download at www.jasc.com.......Good luck!
xbrewer
Light Lager
Light Lager
Posts: 25
Joined: Fri May 11, 2001 6:37 pm

plain paper

Post by xbrewer »

Why not print labels on plain printer paper? I've read somewhere (Zymurgy perhaps) that milk makes a good adhesive for beer labels. It holds the label when dry but comes off very easily when wet. You might want to spray or brush some kind of water resistant finish on them to keep the ink from running.
l48shark
Double IPA
Double IPA
Posts: 121
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2001 11:02 pm

Online Labels

Post by l48shark »

Check out www.myownlabels.com. I have not used their product yet, but this was recommended to me by a homebrew club member. I have printed labels that I designed in Windows Paintbrush on regular paper and attached with a glue stick with success, but the colors ran when the labels got wet in the cooler. The labels from the website are not supposed to run when wet.

-Tom
xbrewer
Light Lager
Light Lager
Posts: 25
Joined: Fri May 11, 2001 6:37 pm

$$$

Post by xbrewer »

Looks kind of pricey to me.
User avatar
jeff
Imperial Stout
Imperial Stout
Posts: 1602
Joined: Sun Jan 09, 2000 8:16 pm
Location: Hollywood, SC
Contact:

Here

Post by jeff »

It is very common for home brewers to desire to augment their custom brew with a custom label. After all, a bottle without a label just doesn
andytv
Double IPA
Double IPA
Posts: 206
Joined: Tue Jan 30, 2001 8:55 pm

Labels; Software, etc

Post by andytv »

I know this response is a little late, but here is what we do in my brew club;

Use a good graphics program to create the lebel. I use Microsoft Visio (a bit pricey but very versatile). You'll find that visio has numerous applications, from label design to process mapping and facility layouts (sort of like CAD for the windows savvy). Visio allows you to save your logo, label template etc, and you can add just about any graphic you pick up online.

After creating the scale label w/ Visio, I paste them into a cheap label software program, like the one that comes with your printer (can also paste into Word or excel, but it is a little more difficult to format the page).

You will find that Avery has numerous label sheets available (Maco is a cheaper off-brand). They also feature an easily removable label. We use the cheap 2X4" shipping labels. They can be removed by soaking the bottles in cold water for a few days, add bleach to the water and you have a bottle pre-cleaning bath.

The only drawbacks are

1) Printer ink, which can be overcome by making the labels at work, but make sure you also make some flashy color reports for your boss to justify the ink usage.

2) They do bleed. They won't last 5 minutes in an ice cooler.
Teeroy
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Apr 16, 2006 4:17 pm
Location: Nebraska

Color Xerox

Post by Teeroy »

Got this from another website, tried it, and it worked well.

Make a sheet of the labels you want, using any of the techniques above, then take your sheet into Kinko's/Office Max/wherever you want that can do color Xerox copies. Have them run as many sheets as you need. You'll have to cut them and glue them using a glue-stick, but the colors won't run.
mcginnis842
Light Lager
Light Lager
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2006 5:14 pm

Post by mcginnis842 »

I use Avery Adhesive Name badges (#8395) and Photoshop.
Mine come off the bottle after a 30min to 1hr soak with a little pull with paper towel and if left longer the labels will usually fall off by themselves while soaking after about 2hrs. For inkjet labels they do quite well. Even on max dpi the ink doesn't completely run if they get wet. It just seems to fade a little. Of course I never store my homebrews in ice filled coolers.

Price isn't too bad in my opinion, I paid $25 for 160 labels which will last me about four batches with a label on every bottle.

As for designs I make my own in Photoshop then same it as a Tiff and print them out using the Avery template in word.
paintbomb
Light Lager
Light Lager
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 3:48 pm

Post by paintbomb »

If you end up printing on regular paper and are looking for a quick and easy adhesion method, try using spray adhesive. It's about $3 at any arts and crafts store. You can just lay out several labels at a time and give em a quick spray and they're ready to go. It takes a lot less time than trying to paste em one by one. The glue can be a little strong, but a good soak should get em off.

I personally only label the bottles that are to be given away for presents. All the beer to be consumed at home gets a quick swab of acryllic paint on the caps. I use different colors for different styles and keep a sheet around as a sort of key. It takes about 5 miniutes to label a whole 5 gallon batch this way.
User avatar
slothrob
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1831
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2006 1:36 pm
Location: Greater Boston

Post by slothrob »

OnlineLabels.com has sheets that contain removable labels. I've left them on for a few weeks, and they hold tight, but peel right off. The Inkjet running issue can supposedly be fixed using a waterproofing spray designed for the purpose, but I haven't tried it yet.

Usually I just print the 1/2" or 3/4" dot labels, which fit onto the cap and can contain a short name, a date, and a %ABV in a readable sized font. They work well in a cooler because you can see the beer name from above, but I use reusable freezer blocks to avoid running the ink.
BTP v2.0.* Windows XP
Eddie O.
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:16 pm

Label Making Paper

Post by Eddie O. »

I use label making paper (gummed paper). It is about $6 for 18- 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper. If you do not mind a little smaller than normal labels you can fit 8 per page. but for regular size labels you can put 6 per page. The great thing is you can do any shape or size you want, they are not pre-cut. Anyway that works for me. Oh yeah and they are really easy to get off, just soak for a couple of minutes. Hope this helps.
User avatar
bfabre
Double IPA
Double IPA
Posts: 139
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2007 11:05 pm
Location: Tenino, WA

lables

Post by bfabre »

I'm with slothrob
The dots are wonderful they state what the beer is along with any other viable information and you do not have to soak or resoak the bottles to remove the lables before the next use. The info comes off with the cap.
"B"
User avatar
hansolo
Pale Ale
Pale Ale
Posts: 53
Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2008 7:25 am
Location: MI

Post by hansolo »

I am currently making labels on GIMP. you can download it free at http://www.gimp.org/. I print on shipping 2" by 3" shipping labels(i get the OfficeMax brand because they are cheaper than Avery). If you are keeping bottles in fridge, these work just fine. When you reuse the bottles, just soak them in hot water and they pretty much pull away.
WWW.CAFEPRESS.COM/EHINNOVATIONS
T-shirts and more for homebrewers and people with a sense of humor
BritBrewer
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 10:23 am
Location: Asheville NC

Waterproof map paper

Post by BritBrewer »

I use waterproof map paper when I print out trail maps and they seem to hold up well, so I thought it might be good to use for printing labels. I'm gonna brew my first beer next week and will try it out, so I'll let you know how if it works. It might be a little pricey, but I already have some paper at home so it's worth a shot! If not, I like the idea of the cap dots!
Post Reply