printing honey labels

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gill68

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Hi,
I am rather hoping that this year I will have some honey to jar. I wondered if anyone else could offer advice on the pros and cons of printing your own versus getting some from one of the big bee equipment suppliers?
The one main thing that I am a bit worried about if I print them myself, is from experience with ordinary pc printer ink. I make jams and chutneys and have always printed labels myself, but quite often the ink seems to blur after a while, just being exposed to the damp in ordinary air.
Does anyone have any experience of any special more permanent ink or labels ( rather than the address labels that I use) that would maybe work better?

Thanks everyone ( here's to a good spring!)
Gill
 
I think that unless you are well versed in the trading Standards Law,you may well be advised to have them done for you,I looked at it found so many EU regs decided to play it safe for peace of mind.
regards,
Stephen
 
I agree with Stephen, the regs are a pain and tbh the cost of lables profesionally done is so small it wouldn't be worth your while, in my opinion, spending several hours creating your own, unless however you have your own specific requirement or branding.

I also seem to remember somewhere reading that label print must be colour fast ie not run when wet, i might be wrong tho.

C B
 
I print my own and will continue to. All you need to do is contact trading standards they will have a look at your label tell you what needs to be changed once that is done they will keep one on record.
I use avery design pro (its free)
As for lthe labels smudging a bit just dont print them out until they are needed.
The reason I make my own is I wanted something different to the other labels on sale. I use a picture I took for the background.
As you make your own chutneys you can print off 1 label if you want instead of having to order 100 at a time.:cheers2:

Have a look herehttp://www.aalabels.com/Products-of-T27-15+Address+Labels+per+A4+sheet+++64+mm+x+52+mm.html

They have a lot of different labels with different adhesives and finishes.
 
It may help to use a laser copier rather than an ink-jet. The toner will not 'run'. Monochrome are simple easy and cheap. Not so sure of the economics for a colour label.

Regards, RAB
 
I've had some printed professionally which turned out really well. They're one company and make a variety but I can't remember theire name. I know they also do Tamper Proof Tape for my work, I'll ask in the office!
 
IMO, honey jars that LOOK good with very nice labels fetch more than home printed labels that look ok, take pride in your produce and you will reap the rewards in a higher selling price.
 
I used to think that but now I've swapped over to plain black and white laser printed lables and it has had no impact on sales - they have increased if anything. However, I am only selling to one shop so this may not be representative of everywhere - but traditional honey labels are looking very old fashioned to me these days. I aim for a cleaner more minimalist look. Like these people: http://www.lovebonnemaman.co.uk/
 
I have used selfadhesivelabels dot com (Mercian Labels) and am pleased with the result.
 
A few members have recomended this company as being very good if you want to buy in labels;
http://tinyurl.com/yf3yrs2

The labels look very nice, but label B is NOT compliant. It shows a picture of a Grape Hyacinth flower. Unless the majority of your honey is from this flower, then you cannot put it on the label. Even these guys do not know the regs.
 
The labels look very nice, but label B is NOT compliant. It shows a picture of a Grape Hyacinth flower. Unless the majority of your honey is from this flower, then you cannot put it on the label. Even these guys do not know the regs.

I agree with you about label B but the labels are very good quality and the person i spoke to was very friendly.
The sequential numbering is very handy too, to keep a track of what's gone where.

Darren.
 
I have used selfadhesivelabels dot com (Mercian Labels) and am pleased with the result.

Hombre:
I was a bit taken aback by their statement: "... even on short print runs from just £150." This seems a lot! What sort of quantities are we talking of?
 
1000 labels at a total price of £194.85 equating to approx 20p per label.

If you wish to place your product up market, then you have to have to make sure that your label is good to go.

For the next 1000 I will look elsewhere as well, but I am happy with the job done, to my supplied design.

BobH1 500 labels were the same price. I specified that I wanted a minimum order quote and wished to know what my money would buy. The answer was 500 or 1000, a bit of a no brainer you will agree.
 
Hombre:
I was a bit taken aback by their statement: "... even on short print runs from just £150." This seems a lot! What sort of quantities are we talking of?
Wow! I work with Mercian Labels! :blush5: In answer to your questions, it takes time to set up a printing press, and most of the initial cost is associated with the set-up. After that, the longer you can keep it running the cheaper each label becomes. If anyone is looking for labels, we would be very happy to do them, and could bunch orders together to save costs. They need to be on the same material (OK, that's paper!) and they need to be the same size. There would be a small initial artwork charge for each different design, but after that the more the merrier. We would laminate them as well, for extra protection. Sorry, you have to ring for prices because there are so many different things that can alter the price, and also we get a lot of people asking for 'freebie' samples, which actually cost us quite a bit of money! We really are trying to keep British manufacturing going, any help appreciated!
 
If you want your product to stand out then you need, yes need a good label.

It seriously pays off.

Mine used to cost about 20p each and added some £1-50 to the value so a very good investment.

PH
 
:iagree:

i used to have my old lables printed by a proffesional and it does easily increase the jar price.

i must admit i am looking in to having some art work done by a proffesional so i have a standard printed background and can then over print with any other product details i sell.

apart from the honey the big selling points are the jar shape and the lable.

i was selling 350gram of honey in small kilner style jars with great lables for the same price i could sell 500gram jars for and with a better profit lines
 

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