Bottle labels

[redrocker652002]

I have gotten doing both bottles and kegs to keep things moving along and have a question. Do you folks use any software or website to print up labels for your different brews? I am not looking for anything super fancy, but something that is easy to use and fun to play around with. My wife is good with designing stuff and she wants to kinda be my label person. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

 

[MajorJC]

I've used this site: Beer Labelizer: Create Homebrew Labels for Free to design my labels. I'll then print them on plain copy paper on my color laser printer. After cutting them out, I dip them in a saucer of milk and stick them to the bottle. They stick good enough, as long as you are not going to have them iced down in a cooler. And the labels are easy to remove for the next batch.

 

[redrocker652002]

Fantastic. thanks. gonna take a look at it.

 

[Brushwood Brewing]

I started with a free trial of Canva (browser-based), and then moved to GIMP (downloadable program) for editing.

Canva was simple and had images available to pull from, but I couldn't justify the cost after the free trial ended.

GIMP is incredibly powerful if you know what you're doing, though I always feel it's a bit over my head. It's free though...

 

[hotbeer]

Milk didn't do it for my labels. At least not well. Sometimes they separated from the bottle as soon as they dried. Maybe it was my wife's 1%. I tried adding some flour and that helped somewhat.

I had an old container of wallpaper paste that is a powder you mix with water. Probably just wheat paste. It did much better and the labels still came off easily when wetted sufficiently. Sometimes just from the condensation on a hot humid day.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I will design the labels with whatever graphics program.
Then import the graphic into Word and use the name tag label template, print them on plain paper, then use a school glue stick to apply them onto the bottles.
I'll do an X across the back of the label with the school glue and a stripe down each side with the glue stick.
The glue sticks well and comes off easily later on.

 

[MajorJC]

then use a school glue stick to apply them onto the bottles.
I'll do an X across the back of the label with the school glue and a stripe down each side with the glue stick.
The glue sticks well and comes off easily later on.

I'll have to try that myself. I bought a box of 25 or so glue sticks for use with my 3D printer.

 

[JTOVERMOHLE]

I have used canva for a couple years. I did not sign up for the pay part of it. Many designs are free...plus you can upload pictures from the interwebs and design however you want. All free, never paid for any of it! Even start with a blank label and make it completely your own. And i also use milk....have used skim, 2% and whole and have not had any problems with the label coming off...and easy to remove with hot water once beer is gone.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

When I bottle for myself, I put the same color cap I used on a magnet on a magnetic dry erase board and write the info there. If I bottle another one, I'll cap them with a different color and repeat.

If it's just a couple bottles I pull from a keg to have later, I'll write a quick initial on the cap.

Bottling for giving away, I either use a 'Hello. My name is...' tag and write the beer name on it. If I'm feeling fancy, I will design and print a label. Clear coat the printed side, cut out, then use spray adhesive to stick to the bottle. This will survive coolers, water, condensation sweat, etc. Not sure if the labels come off easily, but honestly, I don't care...never gonna see that bottle again.

 

[Brushwood Brewing]

A tip I learned last week: I had been avoiding Canva recently because the free version did not let me download the design with a transparent background. (The colored background did not play nice with my Kraft brown labels.) I ended up downloading the design with a white background, uploaded into my Microsoft Word label template, and used the native "recolor" tool to replace the white with transparent. Worked great!

 

[JTOVERMOHLE]

A tip I learned last week: I had been avoiding Canva recently because the free version did not let me download the design with a transparent background. (The colored background did not play nice with my Kraft brown labels.) I ended up downloading the design with a white background, uploaded into my Microsoft Word label template, and used the native "recolor" tool to replace the white with transparent. Worked great!

There are free programs out there (i cant remember which one i use) that you can upload a picture and it will remove the background, then re-save it as a transparent backgrounded image. Problem solved. Your way sounds like it is worth a try though as well!

 

[Beer_Labelizer]

I've used this site: Beer Labelizer: Create Homebrew Labels for Free to design my labels. I'll then print them on plain copy paper on my color laser printer. After cutting them out, I dip them in a saucer of milk and stick them to the bottle. They stick good enough, as long as you are not going to have then iced down in a cooler. And the labels are easy to remove for the next batch.

Hey thanks for mentioning us, i'm glad you've had good luck using our print at home beer label designs and milk to apply them. I should also mention we've got a sale on at the moment for our professionally printed labels. If you use the coupon code JULYSALE you'll get 50% any of the labels we print. It's for the rest of July. www.beerlabelizer.com

 

[arcain]

I printed off my labels with my normal printer they look great when dry but the ink runs as soon as there is any condensation. i.e. when I put them in the fridge. any solutions out there?

 

[MajorJC]

I printed off my labels with my normal printer they look great when dry but the ink runs as soon as there is any condensation. i.e. when I put them in the fridge. any solutions out there?

I'm guessing you are using an Inkjet Printer. To print labels that don't bleed or run you have to print them on a Laser Printer. If you don't have a laser printer then you can probably go to a local print shop or library and get them printed. Before I bought a color laser printer, I used to get them printed at Office Depot for $0.10 per page. I'm sure the price has probably gone up. It was about 20 years ago.

 

[patrick66]

Hey thanks for mentioning us, i'm glad you've had good luck using our print at home beer label designs and milk to apply them. I should also mention we've got a sale on at the moment for our professionally printed labels. If you use the coupon code JULYSALE you'll get 50% any of the labels we print. It's for the rest of July. www.beerlabelizer.com

Do you have any labels that wrap around the neck of a Grolsch bottle? I could not find them. Thanks,

 

[Beer_Labelizer]

Do you have any labels that wrap around the neck of a Grolsch bottle? I could not find them. Thanks,

I’m afraid we don’t have any label designs that wrap around the neck of bottles. All of ours are designed for the main part of the bottle.

We are about to make all our designs free to print at home for the month of September. So if you can wait to September 1 you’ll be able to print any of our designs on your home printer to try.

@MajorJC is correct, ink jet printers aren’t great for labels as the ink runs with condensation. Also @hotbeer you are on the right path regarding trim or low fat milk. It just doesn’t seem to stick as well as full fat or whole milk to the bottles. Another useful tip is to stick with the rectangular label designs if you are printing them yourself. They are way easier to cut out with scissors than the oval shapes. If you decide to order the labels we print ourselves then they are already cut out and on self adhesive vinyl which sticks like crazy to bottles. But they also cost a fair bit, which is why we have the home printing options.

Hopefully that info helps. Good luck with all your brews team.

 

[arcain]

I ended up printing the labels with my old inkjet and it actually worked fine. Condensation hasn't been a problem at all - I think the key is to have a design with not much ink. Semi skimmed milk for the glue was also a winner.

 

[bike2brew]

I have gotten doing both bottles and kegs to keep things moving along and have a question. Do you folks use any software or website to print up labels for your different brews? I am not looking for anything super fancy, but something that is easy to use and fun to play around with. My wife is good with designing stuff and she wants to kinda be my label person. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

I found someone's link to these Avery labels (5408) and gave them a try this week. They work great for me. Much better than my bottle date annotation.

 

[hotbeer]

I found someone's link to these Avery labels (5408) and gave them a try this week. They work great for me. Much better than my bottle date annotation.

Most of my beers I just write on the cap with a sharpie and don't make pretty labels for the side. I'm just not artsy enough for that. Nor do my beers get drunk by those that might appreciate those efforts. They just want beer!

Thanks for reminding me of those. My hand is old and gets cramped up trying to write small enough. I think I'll order some today for my next batch.

 

[bike2brew]

I am with you on that. When I want to appreciate the beer visually I just pour it in a glass rather than look at the bottle. Also, no lables to remove as once is enough. My sharpie hand was also quite illegible.

 

[BalloonGuy]

I have a pretty decent print shop and I use the dot labels too. It is just so much easier than anything else.

 

[Drewch]

I ended up printing the labels with my old inkjet and it actually worked fine. Condensation hasn't been a problem at all - I think the key is to have a design with not much ink. Semi skimmed milk for the glue was also a winner.

In my experience, if you apply a light coat of matte sealant before adhering it to the bottle, it helps keep the ink from running.

Most of my bottles just get a batch number on the cap, but I do labels for the ones I bring to club meetings or otherwise share.

 

[Allen B]

I use a thermal printer to print my labels. As long as I buy a roll of label paper, I can print whatever I want.

 

[Henry Davila]

I use a thermal printer to print my labels. As long as I buy a roll of label paper, I can print whatever I want.

Hi Allen, I am interested to buy a thermal printer, it's inexpensive way to label my beers I'm conscious its limitation like black and white and 300DPI resolution, I would like you share some design of your label to understand what can I get from this kind of printer. Thanks.