Label making

You can get your wine labels from a lot of sources: from your supplier, have some labels designed and printed for you, etc.
But why not like your wine just make them yourself? It's probably the cheapest way, which really doesn't mean they will look inferior. It's just like winemaking: you set your own standards.
Below I'll try to give you an idea how to make your own labels using a pc. If you have one at your disposal, you probably have everything you need to make your own labels.

Making labels using a wordprocessor
Making labels using a paint program
Printing labels
Labeling

Making labels using a wordprocessor

Using a wordprocessor you can make simple text labels with a border like these on the right (6 on a page). To make your own labels, just type in the text you want and print!
You can also add some images. You can get some images by downloading them from the net, painting some yourself, or scanning some photos.
To download the document file for editing in MS-Word 6 or higher (.doc) or WordPerfect 6 or higher (.wpd), click below:

[software]

MS-Word document (2k zip)
[software]

WordPerfect document (1k zip)

You can also use an image as a background in a wordprocessor and type your own text on top of it. This way you can make your own templates and only change the text each time you've finished a batch of wine.
There's an example of a label template on the right, which is available for download. You can edit all of the text to your own preferences. It prints 4 labels per page. These can be cut out for use.
To download the template document for editing in MS-Word 97 or higher (.doc), click below:

[software]

MS-Word template document (117k zip)

Making labels using a paint program

To make more complex labels, it's better to use a paint program. Virtually anything's possible now! It may be harder to get started, but the results count. Save them in formats like .pcx or so.
I've included some labels to download to give you an easy start. You can also load these into a word processor to use them as templates and type your own text on top of them.

To download the templates below (pcx-files), just click on the titles below the images:


Pcx label template 1 (2k zip)	Pcx label template 2 (45k zip)	Pcx label template 3 (54k zip)

Printing labels

The best printer for printing wine labels is a laserprinter, because its prints are not sensitive to water and look great.
Most inkjetprinters and matrixprinters use water-soluble ink, which causes your labels to fade out with the least bit of water spilled on them. So be careful with water around those labels. A way to avoid this problem is photocopying. Another method, which is less expensive than colour photocopying, is to spray each page of labels with a clear lacquer. They should be sprayed before application, as the overspray is difficult to remove from bottles. This will waterproof them completely. A matte lacquer also works, and gives an "antiqued" appearance to the label.
The easiest way to print .pcx, .bmp, .gif -files or the like in exactly the size you want is to load them into a wordprocessor first. I usually print them H X B = 11 X 8.5 cm (about 4.3 X 3.3 in), which fits the bordeaux-type bottles. For other bottles you often need a smaller label size.

Labeling

For information on labeling, see Labeling in the Procedures chapter.