Selling honey. Affordable labels search.

First full season with 6 developing hives. Much of their energy went into drawing comb. And swarms. Was able to "bee" generous with some established and new beekeepers. Not much honey. Did win the best of show in county fair. And am registered with Bee Check.
Next year plan on selling.  Went and bought some jars from Blue Sky, drove over during fall get away. Now the catch. Checked a few sources for labels. Um with the price I am fixing on doing  some creative printing with cellphone and  HP printer/copier, and a little home made paste.  Any reasonably priced sources out there?

I don't know what your quantity needs are, or what you consider reasonably priced.  But I do know that ever since I was a teen in the 80s, the lowest price for mail order (now online) custom office supplies has always been Quill Corporation.  Currently they start at about $.25 per label in quantities of 250, for small round 1" labels with your custom artwork and lettering; triple that for huge three-inch-round labels.  But in bigger quantities of 3,000 and up, prices drop to $.06 (for the small) or $.12 (for the large) labels.  

That's your baseline.  I don't think you'll find too many better deals, at least not in the higher quantities.  But at least now you have some industry-competitive prices to compare against the offers you are looking at.  Hope it helps!

https://www.quill.com/search?keywords=custom+labels&ajx=1&ajx=1&ajx=1&filter=Category_Custom+Advertising+Labels

Avery Labels are sold at most office supply stores probably in many different sizes.

Avery also offers a Free Label Printing Software:

No download required
- Create, save and print for free
- Design personalized products while on the go
- Free design templates & inspirations in the palm of your hand
- Instantly save your projects to access later from another device

https://www.avery.com/software/design-and-print/

My honey supplier works the farmer's markets. Because he takes a dollar off for jar returns (doesn't want to scrape off stickers), he skips the label and gives a one page printed newsletter flyer with his contact information and newsy updates about his "girls," the bees. It's very upbeat and makes me smile. He writes the source of the nectar (apple blossom, pecan, prickly pear...) on the Mason jar using colorful Sharpie pens. Affordable label = no label.

may not be the vibe you’re going for, but if you plan on just having one design and size of label, getting a rubber stamp made might be a less expensive way than having to make or buy labels repeatedly. leave a space to write in varietal info and size (and maybe a bottling date?)…then you’d just be buying ink pads every few years unless you can figure out how to diy such a thing.

Honey label laws vary from state to state. Here's a link from the national honey board for guidance.

https://honey.com/honey-industry/resources/honey-labeling

You need to be mindful of the impression you can create about your products.
Good labels help sell, and in some cases simple labels can also.
But crappy labels cause you problems.
I suggest you work out where you want to be in the market and aim for that.
Also if you are worried about spending too much for labels check your selling price.

onlinelabels.com has been my go-to place to get labels from. One can buy just one sheet or thousands (price/sheet will vary accordingly). They also send a sample sheet if wanting to feel out a label first. They have just about any size one could want and they also offer free use of design software (maestro) to help one create a label. I use photoshop to create mine, but it is nice to have a free software available if one doesn't have access to a different one. Their customer service is excellent, and they ship everything in a very timely manner. From top to bottom, they have been one of the best and most professional, smoothly run companies I order from which is why I have been doing so for at least 5 years.
As far as product labels, they matter and give people a sense of what they can expect from a product and company, whether consciously or sub-consciously, especially with food items. They really don't cost much for what a difference they can make for one's business. My labels come out to about 8-10 cents/ label, depending on the size, including having them professionally printed in color.
Good luck with your venture!

Amy Gardener wrote:My honey supplier works the farmer's markets. Because he takes a dollar off for jar returns (doesn't want to scrape off stickers), he skips the label and gives a one page printed newsletter flyer with his contact information and newsy updates about his "girls," the bees. It's very upbeat and makes me smile. He writes the source of the nectar (apple blossom, pecan, prickly pear...) on the Mason jar using colorful Sharpie pens. Affordable label = no label.

I love this idea. In the state I live in, however, and likely in most states, selling an unlabeled, packaged food product is against the law. If someone were to get sick and suspected that item was the culprit, then got the state's equivalent of the FDA or Dept. of Agriculture involved, there would be a whole lot of trouble coming along with that. I'm not sure it's worth it. I sleep better following the labeling laws, crossing my "t"s and dotting my "i"s, especially when it comes to selling food items.

I would double check the labeling requirements as to whether the label must be legible forever. An injet or bubble jet type printer created label does not stand up to water, oil etc. And cannot be cleaned by "wiping down".

If you were labeling something like a cookie or other quickly consumed item, no problem; a honey jar is a WHOLE different issue. I would assume most jars are handled multiple times, and the nature of Honey (and peanut butter, jam, bananas - items commonly paired WITH honey) would quickly erode the legibility of the label - INCLUDING your contact info for resale.

I am unfamiliar with Laser Printers, and whether this would be an issue with them.

It may well be worthwhile to have them properly printed off site, ideally with a water soluble glue that requires running the label through a water trough and onto the (I assume) glass jars - they are slippery and easily repositioned with this product.

Lastly, printer ink is stupidly pricey - by the time you add your expense of locally purchased stickers (avery), the cost of ink and your time it simply may not be worth it.

Perhaps speak with local vendors at the local market and see what they do?