Ink Swab Labels For Bottle Caps?

[Intensity]

I'd love some recommendations for ink color labels I could stick on my bottle caps, since my bottles are all stored in a drawer with labels on the side not visible from the top. While there are lots of adhesive paper options, I'm looking for something with high quality paper to show off ink swabs or splashes well. And something not too coated that would alter the ink appearance from its appearance on regular writing paper.

[inkstainedruth]

I suspect that the peel off return address labels would *not* work for your requirements (not least of which being getting them to stick -- I've had to use scotch tape to attach them to sample vials when I make up travel packs for myself).

You might do just as well getting good quality paper and making up little squares (cutting them out of strips of paper on a paper cutter if you've got one). and taping them to the lids.

Admittedly, I store ink bottles in boxes on shelves and (whenever possible) in the original boxes. But I do understand where you're coming from, because the contents of the boxes are often stacked two deep, leading me to be going "No, no, that's not it -- oh where IS that bottle of X ink?"

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Remember, though, that swabs don't necessarily provide accurate depictions of what the ink is going to look like coming out of a pen. So while doing swabs, you probably ALSO want to write the ink brand and color name on your labels.

Edited September 17, 2020 by inkstainedruth

[Intensity]

That's true. It's just when I have multiple bottles of the same brand stacked together, I have to lift up each one individually to read the labels and go "nope, not that one, not that one, not that one". Also I like a quick visual on good color combinations, since I normally have at least 4-5 pens inked at the same time.

[pennonia]

Here's what I would do:

 

1. Get good paper, whichever you want to use (i.e. Clairmail 60 g/m2 is pretty good with inks and I use it for my bottle labels too)

2. Paint the ink on it, then let it dry completely

3. Get a circle paper punch from a hobby store (1 inch, 2.5 cm circles are the max in my opinion)

4. Use paper glue sticks to stick them to the caps or boxes.

[Eclipse157]

I don't do swabs for my ink bottle caps, they live in drawers where it's dark and it's hard to tell colors among the dozens or so bottles, also some of them are really small for a swab. Instead I write the ink name and stick it on the cap so I can read it at a glance when I open the drawer. I use common printer paper and use whatever I have on hand, including pencils and ballpoints, then I cut to size and apply some tape.

[A Smug Dill]

While there are lots of adhesive paper options, I'm looking for something with high quality paper to show off ink swabs or splashes well.] And something not too coated that would alter the ink appearance from its appearance on regular writing paper.

I've been exploring the idea myself, as part (or an adjunct) of my ink cataloguing project, but I've come to the conclusion that the bottle cap labels can't capture and provide all the information I'd want to know at a glance.

 

Firstly, if you're going to use a uniform size label for all your inks, then the label stock will have to be round in shape (unless you're going to tailor every label to size and shape of the bottle cap by hand), and no more than 20mm in diameter. That's pretty tight, if you're going to put the name of the ink in writing on the label and don't want it obscured by the swab or splotch.

 

It's just when I have multiple bottles of the same brand stacked together, I have to lift up each one individually to read the labels and go "nope, not that one, not that one, not that one".

I don't think labels with splotches of colour are going to be of much help in that regard, unless you're able to shift entire layers of bottles at once.

 

 

Also I like a quick visual on good color combinations, since I normally have at least 4-5 pens inked at the same time.

Remember, though, that swabs don't necessarily provide accurate depictions of what the ink is going to look like coming out of a pen.

I agree with Ruth. Not even writing on the labels would provide accurate depictions:

 

 

especially if you have multiple types of "regular writing paper".

 

Anyway, the labels I got from A4labels won't serve your stated purpose. The Officeworks ones (shown in the photo above) I have handle ink a bit better, but they won't stick and stay stuck firmly, especially if the surface (such as on the caps of 30ml Diamine bottles) is slightly convex instead of perfectly flat; and, as far as I'm aware, they don't make the labels pre-cut to 19mm or 20mm diameter circles.

 

I think it's a sound idea to pick the type of paper you most want "accurate depictions" of the different inks on it, do the swabs or splashes on that actual paper, then cut the paper down to size for the respective cap label and stick in on. It's a lot of work, but that's sounds to me is exactly what you want and need; significant investment of time, effort and materials upfront, one-off, to get high quality information for use in a streamlined selection workflow (that can be repeated over and over) later to reap the benefit of the investment. Also keep in mind that the adhesive you use may affect that piece of paper, especially if you choose something thin such as Tomoe River 52gsm or Maruman 60gsm.

 

For myself, my wife and I decide that selection of inks have to be/remain (at least) a two-step process, and colour on the label merely helps filtering and zoning in on the candidate or specific ink bottle more quickly. The second, or final, ink selection step still requires our consulting our ink catalogue, which will have writing samples on each of the different types of journal paper we often use, as well as a swatch card on mixed media art paper.

 

Edit:

@JulieParadise's bottle cap labels are pretty damn good, and if that's close enough to what you want — without trying to make the label "depict" your choice(s) of regular writing paper — I think she mentioned that she uses Avery labels.

Edited September 18, 2020 by A Smug Dill

[Intensity]

Thank you for the suggestions.

 

Going to try these 0.75" / 1.9cm round Avery labels:

https://www.amazon.com/Avery-6738-Multiuse-Label/dp/B076HDM3XY/

[XYZZY]

I keep most of my ink in a drawer, so identifying from the top was obvious. I put on the name and a color blob.


I use the Avery 3/4" labels. The size mostly fits onto the "standard" sample vials. My local Staples stocks Avery 5408 labels. At 24 labels per sheet I tend to acquire a few bottles before running another batch of labels through the printer.

Edited September 18, 2020 by XYZZY

[Intensity]

That looks great, thanks for the suggestion. I will try the cheap 315-count set for now, as I don't need to print anything for my labels. Only looking for color swabs for quick color reference on ink bottles, not for ink names or sample vial labeling.

Edited September 18, 2020 by Intensity

[XYZZY]

That looks great, thanks for the suggestion. I will try the cheap 315-count set for now, as I don't need to print anything for my labels. Only looking for color swabs for quick color reference on ink bottles, not for ink names or sample vial labeling.

 

By the way, the Avery 3/4" labels mostly fit onto the cap of the sample vials that most people use. However, the edge of the label is noticeable and easy to catch with a fingernail, as the radius on the caps' edge starts just a bit early. If that makes sense? You'll find out soon enough :-)

Edited September 18, 2020 by XYZZY

[Intensity]

Yup, probably tomorrow

I'll post back with my experience.

[Intensity]

My Avery Multi-Use Labels in 3/4" size arrived yesterday, and I'm pretty underwhelmed by the paper quality. It's highly absorbent and shows almost no shading. Going to keep on looking for other labels.

[A Smug Dill]

My Avery Multi-Use Labels in 3/4" size arrived yesterday, and I'm pretty underwhelmed by the paper quality. It's highly absorbent and shows almost no shading.

 

 

Sorry to hear of your disappointment. I was toying with the idea of ordering a small packet from Amazon (Australia) myself to see if they fare any better than the A4labels I have. Actually, the A4labels aren't too bad, and will even show sheen from writing; they just don't like wet — wet splotches, soaked cotton swabs, wet writing from firehose nibs. Writing with a medium-flowing Fine nib (or even Stub nib) is OK, and swabbing reasonably dryly to show 'shading' in so far as ranging from very thinly spread ink to a moderate application of ink on the paper surface is OK too.

[Intensity]

I contacted a vendor from whom I have ordered ink sample vials a couple times. They use really nice circular stickers with ink swabs. I asked what those are, and learned that they are U-Line Blank Inventory stickers, 1/2" size:

https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-2063W/Inventory-Labels/Blank-Inventory-Circle-Labels-White-1-2?model=S-2063W&RootChecked=yes

 

Minimum order size is 1000 (1 roll), however. I might still get a set. It's $13 + shipping when purchased in USA. Looks like shipping within to my USA address for 1 roll is $8.

The paper used for those labels is much better and shows shading and sheen. I think it's coated.

Edited September 20, 2020 by Intensity

[A Smug Dill]

Thanks for sharing the information.

The paper used for those labels is much better and shows shading and sheen. I think it's coated.

I thought you didn't want the labels to be coated in any way that "regular writing paper" wouldn't be. (Rhodia and Clairefontaine papers are coated, to different degrees depend on the specific type, but not in the same way I'd expect an adhesive label to be coated to better show colours vividly.)

I suppose one of these have to work well enough for fountain pens:



but the manufacturer's summary certainly doesn't state that.


Source: Avery

Edited September 20, 2020 by A Smug Dill

[Intensity]

Coating can affect the final color appearance, as it absorbs different dyes differently. For instance Chiku-Rin can look a bit more blue-green on some coated paper compared to uncoated paper. On the other hand, Sailor Rikyu-Cha looks more blue-green on the uncoated, absorbent Avery labels than it does on any of my normal fountain pen friendly paper (its usual appearance is olive-to-brown). But overall I don't expect perfect representation. Just something for a quick glance that's better than the Avery labels I got so far. I like the U-Line ones. Will take some comparison photographs tomorrow.

Edited September 20, 2020 by Intensity

[XYZZY]

I hope you find what you want, and I'm interested in how the u-line labels work out. And kicking myself since there's a u-line catalog on my shelf at work and I never thought about looking there :-)

 

By the time I open my ink drawer I have already decided what ink I'm looking for: the labels are for locating an ink, not for choosing an ink. A swab with the general color along with a legible name is what I want. I never had color accuracy as a goal. However, if you're trying to write the ink name with the ink then I can see that you want paper that isn't horrid. I don't recall that I ever even tried that.

 

 

[A Smug Dill]

My Avery Multi-Use Labels in 3/4" size arrived yesterday, and I'm pretty underwhelmed by the paper quality. It's highly absorbent and shows almost no shading. Going to keep on looking for other labels.

 

When the opportunity arose to order a pack of the Avery #6738 labels from Amazon for

 

I think they prove to be worse than the A4Labels labels in every way for this purpose: not usable in a printer, more expensive per label, more apt to absorb ink into the substrate and exhibit feathering (and you can forget about shading from a single stroke or swipe), and less likely (although still possible) to exhibit sheen. The rendition of actual ink colour (hue and value) is on par.

 

 

 

(By the way, Diamine Sapphire Blue looks a whole lot more blurple on the page to my eyes than the image on the screen tells me; but at least the colour on all three types of paper is consistent.)

[pennonia]

Nice mini review! Yeah these labels suck ink into them. I use them for my inks too but I completely douse them and just create uniform circles. Absolutely useless if you can't recognize the inks by color but it looks damn cool and it shows the color decently (except for sheen).

 

Maybe if the labels are rated to be laser printer only than they might be more resistant to inks but I don't know. If I would need these for my personal collection and also need as accurate colors as possible/no feathering etc. I'd go with my original suggestion from the beginning of the thread.

 

[XYZZY]

I have journals and ink logs to help me decide which ink to use next. My use case for the labels on bottle caps is to quickly locate a bottle. By the time I open the ink drawer I already know what ink I want: the swab let's me quickly narrow things down visually based on color, and the name gets me the rest of the way there.

 

I guess when I bought them I didnt expect them to work well for writing with a fountain pen. After all, its rare to find anything in an office supply store that works well with fountain pens. The paper choices for pre cut labels are even smaller. Which is why I went straight to laser printed names and a swab. Is a swab representative of writing? No of course not. But even FP friendly papers show writing differently: if I found labels made with Rhodia then they wouldn't match my Tomoe River notebooks anyhow.

 

I'm not sure how important a name is, although it would bug me not to have it. But, for example, if you're looking down on two bottles with magenta-ish tops, one is Edelstein shaped and the other IRO shaped, guess which is ruby and which is yama budo? I suppose that if I had 30 different teals from RO that might be different, which I guess goes to show that how to organize inks is going to be influenced by what it is that you're organizing.

Edited October 11, 2020 by XYZZY