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What's your prefered method for labels?

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wayneb said:
You can get an acrylic spray "fixative" (sometimes called a clear coat preservative) in most hobby and craft shops that will make your ink-jet labels less susceptible to running when exposed to incidental amounts of water. The spray trick is something that I use for my labels and although it isn't perfect (it won't preserve print integrity while you're soaking the labels off, for example), it does a very good job of keeping the colors from smearing when condensation forms on the outside of a chilled bottle.
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Wayne,

I actually did that for the labels on some of the bottles I took to War. They spend a day in an ice chest in the van, then a week in a small fridge in a very hot tent that is opened repeatedly to fetch Gatorade, and then an hour chilled on a picnic table waiting to be sampled. Repeated condensation exposure...

I had mixed results but your method does improve things. I suppose it is a "medium" cost solution since the acrylic sealers/postcoats are a little pricey. But certainly a laserjet printer and cartridges is high end price-wise...
 
I use (and forgive the plug) OnlineLabels.com for all my labels and I use their Maestro Label Designer program.

I all works pretty well for me, although I would REALLY like to start working with Photoshop and making some really professional looking labels with even higher quality!
 
I'm pretty low tech -- I made labels by drawing out the sections by hand, using a photcopier and cut and paste work to put it together. Clear vinyl shelf protector goes on the front, the label is put on using a glue stick. Simple, and it comes off the bottle easily.

--
 
BrewinNColorado said:
keepitlow-

Those bottles are ok, however they are only 375ml, so you will need twice as many. I am furtunate enough to live near Redstone, so get a lot of their bottles, including these. If you have plans on coming to Colorado, let me know, I have 11+ of those bottles, which you are welcome to have.
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Thanks. That is very nice of you. CO is a great state for health and outdoors lifestyle. Looks like they have good meaderies too!
 
Software: Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator

Labels: Standard white label-making sheets like: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=6055
These sheets allow me the freedom to be as artistic as I want to be as well as being inexpensive and easily removable. The printing, paper cutting, and label application is time-consuming, but well worth the effort in the end.

Printer: Some garbage printer that came with my computer, but I will be upgrading to a better printer soon - just for my mead and beer bottle labels.

Label contest anyone?
 
I'm fortunate enough to work for a place that deals with a lot of tape stock so there are tons of inexpensive VHS tape labels hanging around. They're the perfect size for bottles, can be made effortlessly in Word, and they come off very easily. True, a bit of condensation will make the ink bleed a bit but it's a cheap and simple alternative to the wine labels they sell at the homebrew shop.

Here's a link:

http://www.meritline.com/laser-inkjet-white-vhs-face-label-compare-to-avery-5199-f---p-21762.aspx

500 labels for 7 bucks!!!
 
I use a free program called Avery DesignPro and print 1-inch circular labels. I use label style 5410, which is a sheet of 12, 1-inch labels. The one inch circle is big enough for me to put a small back-ground graphic and all the text I need. I use a laser printer, which limits me to b/w, but the labels stick well and the writing is solid against water and alcohol. I do alot of bottling in beer bottles, and the 1-inch label fits perfectly on the crown. They won't win any awards, but I enjoy making them and they are very useful.
 
For those with an inkjet, you can use a spray clear-coat of paint. I would recommend what model builders use to seal home-printer decals. Testors makes some: Decal Bonder, part # 9200.

My personal favorite clear coat is Future Floor Polish (Now sold as Pledge with the power of Future). Go to a hobby store and get a cheap plastic "airbrush kit" ($20-$30US). Don't thin it, just jay the labels flat on some newspaper and spray them with a light coat. When dry, coat it again if you want.
Model builders love this stuff as it is self leveling and waterproof.
A word of caution: Windex and ammonia will strip it right off, so be careful.
This page shows what it is marketed as in other countries.
 
I use some word art in word and make 6 lables per page on a regualr piece of paper. I have a color laser to print with. They bleed, but not too bad. Once they are wet and cold, it's time to drink anyhow!

As for glue ... why hasn't this been said already? Way back in the good old days milk was all the rage on Rec.Crafts.Brewing. I think it morphed into the Homebrewers Digest over time.

Anyhow ... MILK! I get a saucer and put a little milk in it. Then take the pieces of paper labels and slide the back side so the milk coats it. Stick it to a bottle and roll the bottle on a towel to soak up the extra plus set the lable smooth.

I have had some of these labels on for over 13 years. Others fall off in a few months. Either way, they come off in water very easy.

No, the milk does not seem to sour. Never had a bad smell from any of them.
 
We use milk as well, but those Avery removable labels sure have us wondering if there isn't an easier/cleaner way...
 

There's no reason why milk shouldn't work, and if it dries before it goes funky it will never smell... they did used to make paint out of milk, after all, and it stays on pretty well!

I use a store brand version of shipping labels, equivalent to Avery 8663 (10 per sheet) and are good for inkjet or laser printing, I bought a colour laser printer just for my labels because the ink from the jet printer runs (although for my mom's wedding I had pretty good success by spraying the sheet of labels with clearcoat before applying to the bottles). Haven't had laser printing run at all so far.

I have my "Chateau Chevette Wines" name in purple along with my disclaimer in tiny-text "(no purple Chevettes or Chevette parts were included in this wine, but a maroon Acadian was probably used for cargo shipping and handling somewhere in the process)", the type and stlye of wine in an appropriate colour for the ingredients, then in black, date started, date bottled, approx alcohol content, whether it contains sulphites or oak or anything else of note, and that little 1" high Chevette avatar I use here is in the bottom right corner of each label. Because I can.

And I label the corks with a code and the year bottled (yay mini-sharpies) so that I can tell what they are while they're still in the rack.

These labels work fine on beer, dessert, 750 ml and half-gallon bottles, and come off just fine with a 5-minute soak in hot water, which is how I generally clean all my bottles anyway, soak then scrape the label off with a dull knife, then scrub the insides with the bottle brush. Sometimes I get the timing and temperature just right to soften the glue so I can peel them off in one piece before the paper softens too much but I'm not exactly sure what the proper conditions are so I haven't perfected it yet :)
 
I stuck some test paper labels on some bottles in with 2% milk about 5 years ago, and then stored them in my basement. I found them again last week, and they are still in great condition. Also did glue stick and rubber cement ones as well, and they all survived just fine. I still prefer glue stick or milk, for ease of removal when I'm only going to be storing the liquid for a short time (2-3 years... ;-)
 
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