# labels on Mason Jars



## Andrew Dewey

Wondering what people do for putting labels on Mason jars (quarts and pints). The glass has raised designs/printing on all 4 sides and I don't see a spot for a decent size label. I used wide mouth jars so a round label on the lid could work.

What do you do or what have you seen? How satisfied are you? What is customer reaction?


----------



## BeeCurious

I just attached the label with a rubber band to avoid messing up the jar. I'll ask if there have been any comments when I see the person who runs the farm market. I was asked to bottle the honey in glass and the Mason jars were an easy solution for this year. At a friendly, small farm market I felt ok about not having the label stuck on. I did however have a smaller label stuck on the lid with the weight written on it...

Mine were pints and half pints...


----------



## beedeetee

I went to a round label on the lid. I sell all of my honey (well 99%) at a U-pick place, so a lot of the people that buy the honey can probably use the jar. This way they don't have to scrub the label off of the jar. The issue with the raised pattern is what got me to go to the lid label though. It's also easier to change the label on the lid if I put the wrong honey type.


----------



## Andrew Dewey

Anyone using tied on labels? (similar to BeeCurious's rubber band) For the EAS Honey Exchange this year I tied a photo paper "label" onto the neck of a 1.5lb bear. Looked nice at first, but the paper soon curled.


----------



## BeeCurious

Raffia would have been nice to tie my labels on with but I was pressed for time.


----------



## Broke-T

We buy quart and pint mayo type jars. They are smooth all the way around and labels stick great.

Johnny


----------



## Intheswamp

Forget the Ball jars...get the Golden Harvest brand....there are three smooth sides on them.

Ed


----------



## natureboy68

Mainstays brand canning jars at Wally world is smooth all around


----------



## bamindy

[What do you do or what have you seen? How satisfied are you? What is customer reaction?[/QUOTE]

If you have business cards, use a hole punch in one corner and tie a nice ribbon through the card around the lid. The wide mouths are kind of a pain because there isn't much lip. There are some pretty nice ribbons (some with bees on them) at most craft stores. The card works well because your get your advertising in someone's purse or wallet and it allows the customer to heat the honey in water without the wet label mess if it starts to crystalize. I was using the wally world jars that are smooth all around but then noticed the big fat Made in China print on the bottom. I'll pay the extra two bucks for the Ball jars or find them on sale (Menards has them pretty cheap right now).


----------



## TokerM

Not sure how much you want to spend on labels, but you could look into heat shrink-fit labels.


----------



## Clairesmom

I make round labels to go on the lids.

If you like that type and want to buy some I can custom make them for you.


----------



## Andrew Dewey

Clairesmom said:


> If you like that type and want to buy some I can custom make them for you.


Thanks for the offer - I've got 15 sheets of 2.25" round Weatherproof Polyester Laser labels on order from onlinelabels.com

We had a nice picture background and text for a regular label, but will be making due with B&W on the laser printer for the time being. A pretty hang card tied with a blue ribbon or my wife's home spun yarn is a possibility. And I will be looking for a local supply of non-Ball Mason jars.


----------



## Intheswamp

Family Dollar Stores carry the Golden Harvest down here, Andrew, along with a few other places that I can't recall at the moment.

Ed


----------



## Andrew Dewey

Picked up four cases of Golden Harvest Mason jars today (2 qts, 2 pts) and there is plenty of room for a label! And they are roughly 25% cheaper than the Ball jars I was getting! So depending on how well we like whatever label we come up with I'll probably head back to Family Dollar and buy a several year supply.


----------



## Intheswamp

Put a bug in the manager's ear that you want to buy a quantity...they *might* give a little discount if you let them order them in...it would all be "plus" business for him. 

Ed


----------



## Intheswamp

On a side note...Fred's also carries the Golden Harvest jars. My mentor could not find any in the town he normally shops in...I found close to thiry cases of quarts at the local Fred's...my mentor bought'em all....they're still trying to figure out what that was all about. 

Ed


----------



## mike haney

"....thiry cases of quarts...."
Full moon coming?
Good thing they didn't stock up on sugar at the same time!


----------



## Intheswamp

mike haney said:


> "....thiry cases of quarts...."
> Full moon coming?
> Good thing they didn't stock up on sugar at the same time!


<chuckle> Nah...most folks use gallon jugs for that down here. 

Ed


----------



## Mtn. Bee

We started buying smooth sided canning jars and really like the cheap china ones at Wally World that come with lids and rings!


----------



## efaure

Hay Broke-T, where you you buy them from? Who and how???


----------



## EastSideBuzz

Intheswamp said:


> .they're still trying to figure out what that was all about.


Moonshine I bet.


----------



## Broke-T

This is the best place I have found.

http://www.fillmorecontainer.com/32-oz-Economy-Jars-70G-CT-P27.aspx

The freight will be high to CA so do a search for economy quart mayo jar and see if you can find a local producer. You get a good break if you buy at least a pallet at a time.

Johnny


----------



## lupester

We use the round labels from onlinelabels.com also. That has our apiary info on it. I buy the Kerr jars from Walmart. They have the least raised lettering. I put the nutritional information and a label with the infant warning and crystalizing warning. If its local I put a little label indicating that too. All the labels on the jar come of when soaking the jar for a few hours so they can use it.


----------



## Laurence Hope

I sell about 60 - 70% of my honey in canning jars. I use Kerr jars with three smooth sides. I buy them at a great discount from one of the grocery stores, part of a chain of 3, that I wholesale my honey to. The price I get cannot be beat by any big box store. Negotiate something similar and buy back from your biggest customer. My back, your back type thing.
Besides that, Kerr jars are American made. I let my customers know that they are buying 
local American honey packed in American made jars. Most understand the extra dollar or so that I charge to do this. The rest can buy chinese junk in chinese jars. Stand up for America in your purchases, and Americans who care will stand up for you and your product.


----------



## lupester

I agree that is why I buy the Kerr jars. Walmart has the Chinese jars also for a buck cheaper a case....they can keep them. For $.10 a jar I'll keep some Americans employed.


----------



## NowThen

Up until this year, I used sticky labels on the sides of mason jars. As folks have said, it's tough to find a place for both a front and back label. Re-liquifying required placing those jars in zip-locs before their water bath.

This year, I tried something new. I used the free Avery Design Pro software to print circular labels on heavy paper. These labels go onto the lids and then the ring is spun down on top. I set it up to print two sizes - one for wide-mouth jars and one for regular-mouth jars (When canning jars go on sale, I grab them regardless of mouth size or brand.). With some messing around, you can get it to print a backside that aligns with the front. I used circle punches from a craft store to punch out the labels.

Here's the front:








Here's the back:








It ends up looking like this:


----------



## honeyman46408

*FYI some states do not allow labels on the lid*


----------



## Baja

I use smooth sided canning jars and make my own labels. Here are some label templates if anyone is in need of them (https://www.box.com/s/ba910bcb9c67a928b5c5 and https://www.box.com/s/ffee8a3586c2e55a819c).


----------

