Best way to print labels

[omnimirage]

I'm wanting to sell at local farmer markets, because I'm needing to find a way of distributing honey, but none of my products have labels on them, which I figure is needed to be able to compete with the other guys.

I'm really not sure the best way to print labels. The quotes I got from companies to print and then ship labels to me ended up costing too much: about $0.4 per label. I figure I need to print them myself. I've been told that I can buy these sticker sheets that work in a standard printer, avery was the brand suggested to me, seems like I can buy them relatively cheap in Australia.

Is there a better way of going about this?

[Bakersdozen]

I am so glad you asked this question.  I will be curious to see the replies. 
Before you begin, you might need to check with local government on label requirements.  The state I live in recently changed their requirements on honey labels and I need to update mine. I have been dragging my feet on this chore.

[SmokeyBee]

I've never printed honey labels, but I've printed labels for other purposes before and Avery makes it easy. The templates are already in MS word to make them print correctly. You just choose the format from the number on the Avery packaging in Word.

[omnimirage]

Uh, any idea where I can check what my local labeling requirements are?

[CBT]

It’s called Google and very impressive when you type in something like southern Australia honey label requirements.

[apisbees]

For retail sails it looks like the main requirement is having product of Australia on the label. and Ingredients if it is not pure honey so if you are adding flavors or spices to it. It appears that if you are selling your honey directly to the customer from your property or at a farmers market, the rules are different than selling through a retailer. But if your getting labels made get them made right with all required information on them. so you do not need to revisit labels in the future.
In the meantime Here is a generic label with a place to put name and weight in. at $0.08 a piece when ordering 1000 it will get you through. 
http://www.redpaths.com.au/products/labels/?productdtl=4823
The nutritional stickers can also be bought for the back of jar at a little over 7 cents a label.
http://www.qualitybeekeepingsupplies.com.au/index.php/catalogue/112-labels-nutrition-sheet

[efmesch]

For a person selling his/her own honey, the best way to go is home printed labels. 
If you can buy Avery labels, (they are available in all sorts of sizes) and have access to a computer and a home printer, there's litle you can't do. 
Use your own or downloadsd pictures (make sure they aren't restricted if you download them), choose the fonts you want, adjust their size to suit your taste---the sky is the  limit. 
I started printing my labels when computer printers were black and white dot matrix (anyone remember them?)  and have graduated over the years to a colored laser printer.  There's a great deal of satisfaction in producing and printing your  own labels and customers like the feel of the natural, home made "decoration" to home-produced honey.
Updating and upgrading your labels is a rewarding sideline and since the biggest costs have already been paid for (printer, ink and label blanks) you don't have to feel that, in order to save money you need to order large quantities of professionally printed labels. Print as many or as few as you need. If you decide that you don't like what you have produced, making changes is as easy as pie.  No need to use up large stocks of expensive professional labels.
I've said nothing about the legal aspect of what must be included on the label---others have answered adequtely.  I merely have put in my say in trying to encourage you to go the way of home-made labels.             

[apisbees]

Although I do not disagree with Efmesch, I will caution you on some of the pitfalls. When printing your own labels, the quality can very a lot depending on the printer you use and also the paper that you have access to for a reasonable price.
First printers, Lazar jets and thermo printers will give a vivid label. Their down fall is the cost of them and the cost of cartridges or thermal ribbons.  Ink jet printers the ink will smudge and run if it gets wet making your honey brand look worse than if it had no label at all. Nor all ink for ink jet printers are equal Inks from HP, and Canon are die inks and do not stand up to water. The ink used by Epson is a pigment ink and withstand water better. You may get the jar of honey to the customer in pristine condition, but is the label going to stand up to the customer wiping it with a wet cloth after they dribble honey down the out side? All this being said if you print your own, buying packs of precut size labels is very expensive way to go. You can buy 100 full A4 sheets, print however many labels you can fit on a sheet for the size of label you are making and cut the sheets your self. At 4 labels per sheet the price of precut is over 50 cents a piece compared to 4.5 cents a piece. Here is a link to full sheet label paper from amazon Australia at a good price. It is Matt finish, I could not find any Gloss listed.
https://www.amazon.com.au/AUSANT-100pcs-Adhesive-Sticker-Inkjet/dp/B077YJSKHP/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1514186756&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=label+paper+sheets

[Sour Kraut]

Check with your local sign shop / T-shirt place

Anymore, most of them are able to print labels in any size, color, and with whatever printing you desire.

The place here is making me labels that fit on the lids of wide-mouth pint and quart jars.

[apisbees]

What are they charging? If you have a friend or good re pore with a sign shop owner they can give you a great price on them, I have seen quotes that are very high also.

[omnimirage]

I haven't confirmed what the law is for selling at farmer's market (I think there is no labeling requirements there, or at least it doesn't appear to be enforced), but for selling it through commercial channels, it appears I need to have my name, and address on the label. I don't feel comfortable doing this, so because of so it looks like I won't be selling to produce stores and shops, that I'm going to rely on doing sales directly to the consumer.

For this reason, I wonder if it's even worth spending the money on the label. Unlabelled honey appears to sell fine, I did print some labels awhile ago and they looked good, but people didn't seem to particularly care either way, and it might be more profitable in simply saving that $0.2-0.4 per label.

Do you guys find that customers respond well to labels and it results in more sales? Can I raise the price of my product much if I put a good looking printed label on it?

[efmesch]

In the days when I sold honey, it was almost entirely to people who knew me personally or who bought from me because of  recommendation by somewone who knew me.  Somehow, I felt as if it was my responsibility to have a label on what I sold: minimally, my name, the year and season of production, and the weight of the honey.  I also would write that it was unheated, that crystalization was an indication of quality and that by heating the honey it could be returned to the liquid state.
These years, when I gift the honey to family, relatives and friends, I rarely add labels.
I do think that paying customers appreciated the labels even though they didn't buy because of the label.  It seems to have made the product more "respectable".

[omnimirage]

If you don't heat it, what do you do when your bucket crystalises?

[riverbee]

i use a bucket heater on my crystallized buckets.

omni i do make my own labels. i have a relatively newer hp printer, and the colors are really good. (not laser). avery templates for word do work well, and there all sorts of sizes available now to print on.

i learned how to make my own templates using word to suit my needs because i have different jar sizes. i also use a heavier weight paper. my labels are hang tags, tied around the neck of the jar and not pasted on.

also you can preserve ink jet or laser labels to keep them from smearing, or make them pretty moisture resistant.  i use a spray fixative, i think it's acrylic, used by artists.  the brand i use is made by KRYLON, it's a matte finish, and does not yellow or discolor paper.  spray your sheet or labels, dries quickly, and sometimes i will give a 2nd spray. my comb honey labels get the 2nd spray, because these labels go on the carton of comb and get zip locked and thrown in the freezer.  with this spray on the label, moisture does not ruin it.

customers do like labels, and in wisconsin i am required to label my honey. 

the hang tag labels are nice because i can label at any time and if i pour a bunch of jars, and some crystallize, i am not ruining or not fighting to get a label off a jar to get it liquid again. btw, another trick to getting goey labels off plastic/glass..........buy a bottle of avon skin so soft. take a cotton ball smeared with this stuff and it will remove any and all sticky residue.

also keeps skeeters off me.......

[omnimirage]

Any reason for why you're printing your own compared to using a company to print for you?

The tags around the jars sounds lovely! Sounds like such would present a rather homely look.

Good to know about the spray!

What do you do to decrystallize a jar? I figured I'd just place them in my heating fridge, and I wouldn't imagine that'd ruin the label but I'm unsure. Do you heat them via hot water?

That sticky residue is tough to remove!

[riverbee]

to some degree, it's about costs omni..........

i wouldn't mind not having to do my own, but for now it works for me, my labels are pretty simple, but i think pretty cool. i sent a couple to bakers dozen for her christmas project. basically printed on a heavier weight paper that is sort of 'kraft' paper like but lighter in color. the punch hole at the top i punch the hole and use a tool to set metal retainers in the hole. it gives a 'finished' look and the tie on/s (raffia) i use don't stretch or tear at the punch hole.  also, with my own templates i can easily change the colors for christmas, or other customer requests for color for a special event.  i have received a lot of compliments on the labels. i do have to hand cut them using different tools, but once i get going, i do a bunch, have a refreshing drink or two and jam out to tunes...........

i think perry uses a business card tied around his jars, it's simple but elegant and buyers can take the business card or label off the jar and call/email for more!

lip balm labels, different story. colors cost! 

the spray works well, you won't have to be concerned about your printed labels getting smeared. use the matte, not the high gloss, just depends on the look you would like to achieve.

decrystallizing jars...........i typically don't have to decrystallize jars too often.  when i do, i just get the required pot size out with a lid, place the jars in, run hot water into the pan, cover an wait. repeat until crystals are gone.

i do have about a dozen or more specialty glass jars now that did not sell at the last craft fair first of december, but i don't have to peel a label off these! just remove the hang tag, good to go.  i also have some plastic i keep on hand, i do the same, just remove the hang tag and gently heat in hot water......sometimes i keep these on hand with labels ready to tie on, so if the honey starts to crystallize, no removal of the tag, just pop the jars in hot water.  this is the convenience of hand made tags.

the sticky residue........can you purchase avon skin so soft oil in australia? if so, it makes fast work of removing residue with no harm to any jar, or for that matter any surface!

[omnimirage]

Is it cheaper doing it yourself?

Business card tie sounds great!

So you want to use colours for lip balm labels, but not honey labels?

Hand made tags to wrap around the lid rather than paste on sure gives me food for thought!

I'm not sure about the avon skin soft oil, but I'm imaging I could.

[riverbee]

yes omni, doing my own honey labels is less expensive. i do have color on my honey labels. color is expensive whether it be for honey labels or lip balm labels. lip balm labels are an expensive project if you want a professional look. lip balm tubes require a special paper so that your label can withstand all sorts of abuse. also colors are expensive.  printers charge fees for setup, i think this is a one time thing. someone must design it using adobe photoshop or other graphics program to the specifications of the tube it's wrapped around. i completed a project for my husbands law firm, 500 tubes of lip balm.
one of the partners is a graphics wizard. the pix and thread is here, these tubes are the clear oval type and a big hit:

500 tubes of lip balm

i was recently asked if i was up to the challenge of 500 more.........

also, i was trying to find a pic of perry's tie on labels, this is a picture of his market stand last fall, you can see the labels tied around his jars:

Market stand!

[Bakersdozen]

also, i was trying to find a pic of perry's tie on labels, this is a picture of his market stand last fall, you can see the labels tied around his jars:

Market stand!

I know a local beekeeper that does a tie on label.  I think it's pretty smart and cost effective.  He uses card stock to print his labels on and pinking sheers to cut the labels out.  He also layers the labels to make them more substantial.  What I mean is he prints out his label on white, cuts it with pinking sheers.  Then he glues that to a larger piece of colored card stock cut out with pinking sheers.  A hole punch makes a clean hole and he uses a twine or kite string to tie or similar on the jar.
This is something he can make in the winter and have ready for market.

[omnimirage]

I haven't gotten quotes and tried to calculate how much different printing options would be, but from what people have generally told me, printing myself isn't necessarily cheaper, which I did find odd I just figure doing it oneself would be a cheaper option. I'll have to look into it.

Those lip balms and that market stand look fantastic!

Wrapping coloured paper with some string around the lid seems to be a very popular means of presenting products, and people seem to be willing to pay much more for these products. That might go well with a business like card attached, good food for thought.