One advantage of printing your own labels is this. You wake up one morning and your partner has bottled all your honey for you... and didn't think to weigh how much honey was in each one. They just filled them by eye.
Do you
a) Shout and rebottle and label?
b) Work out that they had accurately filled them with 14oz of honey and print appropriate labels, while appearing appropriately appreciative?
In answering this consider whether you want to live in a peace zone or a war zone
Retrospective check weigh.
Suggest you work in grams, and on a 1 gram scale.
Weigh a number (5? 10?) of empty jars plus their lids.
Calculate the average weight of one jar.
Round it UP to the next gram.
Add on the prospective honey weight - 397g for 14 oz.
Weigh a filled jar.
Ensure it is at least a few grams over the intended honey + jar weight.
Repeat until satisfied.
(Have you checked the accuracy of your scales? - Are they really accurate to 1%?)
You can check your scales by weighing any single chosen (filled) jar both on your scales and on scales at the post office. Record the results in your honey production book!
This exercise will also serve to demonstrate how seriously you take the matter of weighing.
Its not just something you need to do. Its something you NEED to do very carefully to ensure no slip-ups.
Its likely that there isn't any great problem. The eye can be very consistent. However, should you discover inconsistency, you have the option of either using a spoon (or honey lifter) to top up where needed, or to adjust your idea of a honey weight to claim - maybe 385 grams?
On the other hand, you could do a full statistical analysis of the weights of a calculated number of jars and ensure that the batch average and maximum deviation from average are within limits. Then you can put one of those funny little 'ce' marks on your label.
Or you can just take care
never to sell short measure ...
/// One of the problems with using "jam jars" rather than specific "honey jars" is that the jam jars LOOK as though they haven't been properly filled when they do really have properly measured 4, 8 or 12 oz of honey in them.
This is because honey is more dense than jam.
It is a problem that I am prepared to deal with by over-filling, beyond the stated quantity.
OK, I'm not maximising my return (or rather minimising the cost of my hobby), but I'm relaxed about not being tight with my honey.
Legally, there is no problem with being 'generous' - UNLESS you are claiming to sell on the basis of
average weight (which is where that CE mark comes in). If you are claiming an average, and have lots of jars comfortably over, the implication is that someone else has had very short measure, and you are in trouble. Don't go near that ruddy mark!
Much better to claim a 'minimum weight' of each package ... and be absolutely sure none fall below it.
