Hello All-
I hope the New Year is off to a good start for everyone. I had some extra
time to be in the greenhouse and noticed the common problem of the labels
becoming illegible. I believe I recall a thread several months ago
regarding a discussion of some kind of label maker that was good. Can
anyone help my recall?

Thanks

--
Frank H. Kirchner

I don't remember the name....but I also have an insect collection, and
I've heard that a lot of people use India Ink on their labels to prevent
them from becoming illegible. For my plants, I also sometimes write
something on the plastic label and then cover that up with a piece of
clear tape. Works just fine.

Cheers,
Xi

Frank H. Kirchner wrote:
Hello All-
I hope the New Year is off to a good start for everyone. I had some extra
time to be in the greenhouse and noticed the common problem of the labels
becoming illegible. I believe I recall a thread several months ago
regarding a discussion of some kind of label maker that was good. Can
anyone help my recall?

Thanks

I don't remember the name....but I also have an insect collection, and
I've heard that a lot of people use India Ink on their labels to prevent
them from becoming illegible. For my plants, I also sometimes write
something on the plastic label and then cover that up with a piece of
clear tape. Works just fine.

Cheers,
Xi

Frank H. Kirchner wrote:
Hello All-
I hope the New Year is off to a good start for everyone. I had some extra
time to be in the greenhouse and noticed the common problem of the labels
becoming illegible. I believe I recall a thread several months ago
regarding a discussion of some kind of label maker that was good. Can
anyone help my recall?

Thanks

Brother Ptouch. Best I can tell, the labels never fade.

deg

On Thu, 06 Jan 2005 05:02:13 GMT, Dewitt
wrote:

Brother Ptouch. Best I can tell, the labels never fade.

deg

We use it as well and I sometimes label silver and dishes at
Pot-lucks. It goes thru the dishwasher before I try to remove
it. The dishwasher sometimes helps lift a corner on the back of
a spoon handle. On the casserole.. who knows when it will be
loose enough to not require work to remove.

We have used them for several years in the gh. The biggest
problem is the small keyboard keys and typos happen. There is a
printer that uses the same tape that attaches to your computer.

Some people have said they use laser printed address labels. The
problem there is the whole sheet (never) or addressing the one
you want to print. But stuck on our common plastic label stake
this is said to work well.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

On Thu, 06 Jan 2005 05:02:13 GMT, Dewitt
wrote:

Brother Ptouch. Best I can tell, the labels never fade.

deg

We use it as well and I sometimes label silver and dishes at
Pot-lucks. It goes thru the dishwasher before I try to remove
it. The dishwasher sometimes helps lift a corner on the back of
a spoon handle. On the casserole.. who knows when it will be
loose enough to not require work to remove.

We have used them for several years in the gh. The biggest
problem is the small keyboard keys and typos happen. There is a
printer that uses the same tape that attaches to your computer.

Some people have said they use laser printed address labels. The
problem there is the whole sheet (never) or addressing the one
you want to print. But stuck on our common plastic label stake
this is said to work well.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

I agree. The Brother P-Touch "TZ" labels are essentially indelible,
with black type on white being the best. If you really want to get
serious about it, there is even an industrial-strength version of that
tape, I believe with stronger glue, but I don't think it's necessary.

I sprung for the 2500PC, which is a serial-port printer, so I work
straight from the PC.

If you have trouble reading the existing labels, I have a piece I
wrote along time ago about recovery:
http://www.firstrays.com/labels.htm

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"Susan Erickson" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 06 Jan 2005 05:02:13 GMT, Dewitt
wrote:

Brother Ptouch. Best I can tell, the labels never fade.

deg

We use it as well and I sometimes label silver and dishes at
Pot-lucks. It goes thru the dishwasher before I try to remove
it. The dishwasher sometimes helps lift a corner on the back of
a spoon handle. On the casserole.. who knows when it will be
loose enough to not require work to remove.

We have used them for several years in the gh. The biggest
problem is the small keyboard keys and typos happen. There is a
printer that uses the same tape that attaches to your computer.

Some people have said they use laser printed address labels. The
problem there is the whole sheet (never) or addressing the one
you want to print. But stuck on our common plastic label stake
this is said to work well.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

Illegible labels are a heartbreak, that's for sure. On top of the
excellent observations that have already been made, I'll add a few of my
own.

Pencil is good, but only if you swap out the labels every few
years or so. Plus, it smears.

The "Sakura" Ident-I-Pen is like Sharpie, except the Sakura is
archival-quality. Side-by-side, Ident-I-Pen lasts much longer than
Sharpie. Both should be available at good art supply stores, or on the
web. Sakura costs a little more, but I have one pen that's going on 4
years old that still writes. They write on glass, metal, plastic, etc.

For label printing, there are two types of thermal printing
(ignoring ink jet, laser, etc. for now)- direct, and thermal transfer.
Direct will fade over time. Thermal transfer uses a special kind of
printer in conjunction with wax or polymer ribbons. Thermal transfer
printers come up constantly on eBay- I prefer Datamax. I own four of 'em.
I don't think they make plant tags specifically, but EIM Inc. makes all
kinds of label solutions for wet and hot environments, as well as to
resist chemical exposure. They're at www.eiminc.com.

Last suggestion: The most valuable plants- particularly those that
will leave the greenhouse where sweaty little hands will undoubtedly
remove your tags, probably to the wrong plant- should have another label
made each time you repot them. It should be placed all the way at the
bottom of the pot during repotting, where the sun don't shine. :-)

The address in the header doesn't work. Send no email there.

-AJHicks
Chandler, AZ

On Thu, 6 Jan 2005 05:58:53 -0500, "Ray"
wrote:

I agree. The Brother P-Touch "TZ" labels are essentially indelible,
with black type on white being the best. If you really want to get
serious about it, there is even an industrial-strength version of that
tape, I believe with stronger glue, but I don't think it's necessary.

When I first got my PT-2300, I printed out a test label and put it on
an outside post in full sun. That was 4 yrs ago. I just looked and
it doesn't seem to have faded any.

I would highly recommend getting a Ptouch that has a computer
interface. It's much easier than trying to type on a tiny keyboard
and the computer software allows you to save the label info for future
use.

deg

On Thu, 6 Jan 2005 05:58:53 -0500, "Ray"
wrote:

I agree. The Brother P-Touch "TZ" labels are essentially indelible,
with black type on white being the best. If you really want to get
serious about it, there is even an industrial-strength version of that
tape, I believe with stronger glue, but I don't think it's necessary.

When I first got my PT-2300, I printed out a test label and put it on
an outside post in full sun. That was 4 yrs ago. I just looked and
it doesn't seem to have faded any.

I would highly recommend getting a Ptouch that has a computer
interface. It's much easier than trying to type on a tiny keyboard
and the computer software allows you to save the label info for future
use.

deg

On 6 Jan 2005 10:08:27 -0700, (Aaron Hicks)
wrote:

Last suggestion: The most valuable plants- particularly those that
will leave the greenhouse where sweaty little hands will undoubtedly
remove your tags, probably to the wrong plant- should have another label
made each time you repot them. It should be placed all the way at the
bottom of the pot during repotting, where the sun don't shine. :-)

The address in the header doesn't work. Send no email there.

-AJHicks
Chandler, AZ

This is the MOST valuable of your suggestions. And the one even
those of us who were taught to do it, Often forget. I have
neglected to do this to some of my catts to my later sorrow.

Another label trick is when someone asks for a division and it is
not division time. Put their name on a colored tag and stick it
in the pot. When you repot you will be reminded to save that
back bulb for them.


SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

"Aaron Hicks" wrote in message
...
printer in conjunction with wax or polymer ribbons. Thermal transfer
printers come up constantly on eBay- I prefer Datamax. I own four of 'em.


Good old eBay. I use a dot matrix printer with nursery ink for labels.
Picked up a printer on eBay a few weeks ago for $20. $5 for the printer,
$15 for the shipping.

"Aaron Hicks" wrote in message
...
printer in conjunction with wax or polymer ribbons. Thermal transfer
printers come up constantly on eBay- I prefer Datamax. I own four of 'em.


Good old eBay. I use a dot matrix printer with nursery ink for labels.
Picked up a printer on eBay a few weeks ago for $20. $5 for the printer,
$15 for the shipping.

I have used a Brother labeling machine (PT-2300) and, most
importantly, their "Strong Adhesive" tape (TZ-S231 for black on white
1/2") for a number of years. I stick the labels on ordinary white
plastic "push into pot" labels. I have seen zero loose labels and no
change in legibility.

I'm in north Texas where we get a lot of Sun and common summer
greenhouse temperatures in the 90s.

Jim

On Wed, 5 Jan 2005 22:05:22 -0500, "Frank H. Kirchner"
wrote:

Hello All-
I hope the New Year is off to a good start for everyone. I had some extra
time to be in the greenhouse and noticed the common problem of the labels
becoming illegible. I believe I recall a thread several months ago
regarding a discussion of some kind of label maker that was good. Can
anyone help my recall?

Thanks

============================================
James Aldridge - Fort Worth, Texas, USA
www.JamesAldridge.com -

I have used a Brother labeling machine (PT-2300) and, most
importantly, their "Strong Adhesive" tape (TZ-S231 for black on white
1/2") for a number of years. I stick the labels on ordinary white
plastic "push into pot" labels. I have seen zero loose labels and no
change in legibility.

I'm in north Texas where we get a lot of Sun and common summer
greenhouse temperatures in the 90s.

Jim

On Wed, 5 Jan 2005 22:05:22 -0500, "Frank H. Kirchner"
wrote:

Hello All-
I hope the New Year is off to a good start for everyone. I had some extra
time to be in the greenhouse and noticed the common problem of the labels
becoming illegible. I believe I recall a thread several months ago
regarding a discussion of some kind of label maker that was good. Can
anyone help my recall?

Thanks

============================================
James Aldridge - Fort Worth, Texas, USA
www.JamesAldridge.com -