Why not go that extra mile and slap a classy (or completely ridiculous) label on your home brew bottles? Your friends just may feel like they are drinking the next great craft brew or, at the very least, may get a kick out of your creativity.
Below are some affordable and easy-to-use labeling systems worth consideration. I welcome your comments and additions to the list.
- My Own Labels
- My Own Labels does much more than just beer labels. Their site is aimed at anyone that wants to create custom labels for just about anything from homemade preserves to wedding favors but the section exclusively dedicated to beer labels is easy to use and the selection is adequate for most needs plus you can also upload your own images. I've used their products and am happy with the results. Fast shipping and great customer service.
- Online Labels
- Online labels is more similar to Avery in terms of business purpose - sell more sheets of labels! But where I think they separate themselves is in the choice of labels specifically for bottles. Unlike My Own Labels where you simply choose a style, tweak the colors and add your own text, Online Labels is more about providing you the labels and you taking it from there. They do, however, provide templates for PDF, EPS and others plus their own exclusive offering - Maestro Label Designer with limited overlay templates. If you know your way around design software then you will probably prefer Online Labels for the advanced creativity options.
- Beer Labelizer
- Beer Labelizer has by far the coolest interface among all the labeling options I've listed. It's designs are somewhat limited in number but they are progressive and the best part of all is they are free! You design the label and print at home.
- Bottle Your Brand
- Bottle Your Brand offers products for a variety of topics from bottled water to bumper stickers. Their selection for beer labels is fairly extensive and each label is fully customizable.
- Labels on the Fly
- Labels on the Fly offers some very nice looking professionally designed labels for beer bottles. Unfortunately the site lacks the option to simply click on a label and start customizing it and you have to call or e-mail for a price quote. Nonetheless, the labels are attractive and are worthy of consideration.
- Beer on the Wall
- Beer on the Wall is a beer lovers novelty shop. They offer all things beer from beer-of-the-month clubs to t-shirts to gift baskets. Their spin on the customized labels is different than all of the others in this list in that you design the labels but it ships on their bottled private pilsner. So if you are looking just for labels for your own home brew then this isn't the site for you but would make a nice gift. A few mouse clicks and you can send a six pack to a friend that is personalized and unique.
- Beer Label Builder
- Beer Label Builder does one thing and that is provide templates for you to customize and order labels. They have a selection of 30 labels to choose from so the selection is not as broad as other sites. The company is located in Australia so be prepared for an additional $10 in shipping costs for all orders outside of the country.
- Labeley
- Labeley is the latest entry into the beer label creation market. This is a slick tool that is easy to use and gives you tons of flexibility and creativity. There doesn't seem to be support for standard label formats yet so you are left to print your labels on your own paper. All that aside, Labeley is a fun tool for creating home brew labels.
- Zumula
- Zumula has both pre-created templates and create from scratch templates to fit your design needs. Best of all, most of their templates allow a user to drop in a photo to personalize the design experience.
- BottleMark (Custom bottle caps!)
- BottleMark is the first company to bring home brewers affordable ($.12/ea.), customized bottle caps.
- BeerClings
- Why didn't I think of this idea? For the home brewer, one of the most tedious tasks we take on is removing the labels from spent bottles. With BeerClings that is a thing of the past. Professional, re-usable, no mess!
Just saw this and thought I would update in case someone comes across it. Most people are using www.BeerClings.com now for their homebrew. Tons of custom options and since they don't have any adhesive at all you use them over and over without ever wearing them out. Its the perfect solution, very affordable as well. I build labels at Beer Labelizer and then have them made into BeerClings
ReplyDeleteThanks for the submission! I have added it to the list.
DeleteI print them using MS Word and a laser printer then glue them on using milk.
ReplyDeleteNice resource post. A site that is very popular now with thousands of designs to use or modify and very high quality printing is www.grogtag.com. The labels easily peel and are reusable or are great for wedding guest souvenirs. They have both beer and wine labels along with coasters, mats, metal signs, bottle caps and growler labels too. The label winner of the day section is great for perusing through for cool ideas.
ReplyDeleteA great new resource is www.DIYFreeBeerLabels.com. Great graphics, color schemes, text fields, uploadable photos/JPEGs. Very cool site.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome that there are so many different sites for creating your own labels! I'm not very gifted in the graphic design department, so I'd probably have to have someone else craft my labels for me. Can you use the labels for anything or are the labels limited to bottles? http://www.southwestlabel.com/Graphics-Specs.htm
ReplyDelete