I want labels

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Thehopguy

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I've searched but haven't found any how-to's. What kind of paper is this printed on and how? How do you get it to stick to the bottle? And, I've looked through the "Show your label" threads and have seen some very nice labels, very professional looking. How are these created??
 
Folks with money to burn use photoshop,it costs but is good. I used paint.net,it's a program that replaces Microsoft paint with one that has some photoshop features. Here's one I made with it that is "generic",where I can insert BOD,ABV,& name of beer;http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss71/unionrdr/lblpic.jpg
It has a tool box upper left of the work area with geometric shapes,& various functions to control,bend,warp them. Easy & fun,it let's you show yet another facet of your creativity besides brewing. You can also insert pics or other art as well.
 
I went to walmart and bought a pack of shipping labels, roughly 2" x 3"

Work great as labels, but they're a pain if your bottle ever gets wet. I know there is "waterproof label paper" out there, just never bought and/or tried it. I think they'd work better with laser printing too (as opposed to inkjet).
 
My wife bought me some "professional label paper" at the LHBS. you can print them on these regular size sheets on an inkjet,but you need a sealer spray to use on'em to make'em waterproof. Then cut out,moisten with damp sponge,& apply. The company says they're easily removed too. I hope as easy as Paulaner.
 
Check out Revvy's post on bottle tags. I like them because they can be reused and don't require any work.

If you do labels and don't enjoy scraping them back off, use milk to attach them.
 
There are websites that make pretty nice labels, too. I just print on regular paper and tape them to a few of the bottles.

B
 
I just finished with a run of Avery 55464 reposition able laser address labels. They're just about perfect.

image-2865998122.jpg
 
I use my laser printer, Hammermill paper, an Avery glue stick and Photoshop to make my labels. I had Photoshop already, to work on my digital images/photos (another hobby of mine)... You can use the software of your choice to make the labels. I like Photoshop since it does a solid job of the images I'm placing on the labels. I can also easily tweak the image a dozen ways to Sunday, easily.

Personally, I don't want to spend more money on supplies for labels. They're only temporary anyway. I have thought about the neck tags, but I'd want to use card stock, or heavier paper for those, and that would cost more than just printing the labels as I have been. I have a system/method all setup to put the labels on the bottles. Doesn't take that long, looks good, and such. I get plenty of compliments about my labels, so I'll continue doing it this way.
 
Andy Biggs' beer labelizer is the absolute easiest way to create labels. Then, just print them on a heavy inkjet paper. if you want them to be more durable, you can spray them with a light coat of clearcoat spray paint. Many people have had good success just brushing a little milk on the back of the label to use as glue.

Here are some of the labels I made with Andy's program:

BrewedNudeLabel.jpg


TitsBeerLabel.jpg


TitsBeerLabel1.jpg


4238-brewed-nudelabel3.jpg
 
Check out other options in the labeling forum for attaching labels beyond using the Avery ones. I hate getting those things off of bottles. Turns out that just using plain old printer paper works well when attached with a little milk. And the labels come off with warm water. If you want a bit of a better hold, you can mix up a thick solution of gelatin, vinegar and water.
 
I am also a fan of the the tagging as opposed to labeling method as it leaves nothing to clean off the bottle, and I just find it easier to be honest. I had posted my method in the Labels forum awhile back:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f46/rubber-stamp-alternative-labels-199213/

What I did was have a rubber stamp made and just left space to write in some details on the alcohol content and type of beer. Sometimes I'll write on the back. This way I can use the same stamp for all my beers, and coder as well. The tags are just regular shipping tags picked up at Staples.
 
I just whip something up on Excel or Word, I'd love to have photoshop though.

Milk works very well as glue. They stay on, but are easy to wash off later.
 
I designed a basic template in photoshop that I can just replace the beer name, abv and date. Then I send them to kinkos online, and they print them on standard paper. Pick them up, cut them out, dip in a shallow bowl of milk and stick them on. A short soak in water and the label will fall right off. Wash, sanitize, repeat! A 5 gallon batch costs me about 4 bucks to label this way.

The labalizer website is very cool if you dont have or know how to use photoshop.
 
GIMP or pixlr.com is basically photoshop in a browser window

for my labels, i use a mixture of a bit of elmers glue and a bunch of water, soak them for a sec, smack them on and let them dry, comes right off with hot water and holds on pretty dang well.
 
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