# Transporting product



## elmtree (May 28, 2014)

I'm finding with travel and packing and unpacking that my labels get messed up and I have to relabel them. One of my most important eye catchers is my branding and labels which people love. I want to keep them looking nice. What do you guys use to keep your products looking good for unpacking and travel? I already spray my labels but it's not as effective as I would like for the constant shuffling.


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## navigator9 (May 28, 2014)

Can you explain what you mean by "messed up"? Falling off, smeared? Are you talking about soap labels or labels on bottles, tins, etc.?


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## elmtree (May 28, 2014)

navigator9 said:


> Can you explain what you mean by "messed up"? Falling off, smeared? Are you talking about soap labels or labels on bottles, tins, etc.?




Smeared and scratched up a bit. This affects all products. Lotions, soaps, scrubs etc. Smeared mostly. Very frustrating!


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## pamielynn (May 28, 2014)

I had the same problem until I moved to soap boxes. When I just had cigar bands, the soaps would mess up the labels. I'm not sure what other people do, but I'm sure somebody has a great solution that I've never thought of


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## elmtree (May 28, 2014)

I've thought about soap boxes but my soaps don't fit and I don't want change the shape. Don't the boxes get dinged up? I use shrink wrap.


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## navigator9 (May 28, 2014)

I only make soap, but I've never had that problem with my labels. I store and transport them in baseball card boxes. They fit in there tightly and there's some friction when I'm putting them in and pulling them out, but no smearing, scratching at all. Are you printing on sticky labels with your own printer? Do you use glossy labels? Mine have a matte finish, don't know if that makes a difference, but it might.


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## elmtree (May 28, 2014)

I use white glossy labels from online labels. I need a high gloss finish.


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## navigator9 (May 28, 2014)

The matte labels I use are from online labels, too. Have you contacted them to see if they have any suggestions. I'm not familiar with their glossy labels, so I can't give you any advice from personal experience. I don't know if the kind of printer you use makes a difference, but I would ask them.


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## paillo (May 28, 2014)

I stack mine in Rubbermaidey kinds of bins, and lay wax paper or even newspaper between layers. Then I make sure they're packed tight enough they won't slide during driving or moving into-out of shows. I always carry around enough spare pillowcases, cloth placemats, torn-up small towels, extra plastic grocery bags, whatever I have on hand - to wad up into those holes that will make my products slide enough to mar the labels. Cheap, easy, and often I can use them somehow in shows


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## pamielynn (May 28, 2014)

elmtree said:


> I've thought about soap boxes but my soaps don't fit and I don't want change the shape. Don't the boxes get dinged up? I use shrink wrap.



No, they pack nicely into cardboard boxes now. Good and tight. I used to use layers of towels and such, also, but I still managed to get messy labels. The boxes are way more expensive than shrink wrap though


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## cmzaha (May 28, 2014)

For soap I use matt labels because they do not scratch up as much when packing and unpacking. I do several markets per week and my labels last quite well. We pack in the flatish type plastic storage containers that hold two layers of soaps. At least 100 bars per bucket. For lotions, scrubs etc I use glossy weatherproof labels and shrink wrap the jars to protect the labels. Soaps are easy to repackage and label but not jars. If I have some soaps around an extra long time I will repackage if they look to tacky. All my soaps are shrink wrapped with the label on the outside.


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## elmtree (May 29, 2014)

paillo said:


> I stack mine in Rubbermaidey kinds of bins, and lay wax paper or even newspaper between layers. Then I make sure they're packed tight enough they won't slide during driving or moving into-out of shows. I always carry around enough spare pillowcases, cloth placemats, torn-up small towels, extra plastic grocery bags, whatever I have on hand - to wad up into those holes that will make my products slide enough to mar the labels. Cheap, easy, and often I can use them somehow in shows




Yes Paillo I have been doing that with tissue paper but your wax paper idea sounds a bit more heavy duty. I'm mostly concerned with my soap labels. My husband want me to get some of those bottle packers for my lotion bottles. I think I will use your wax paper and pillow case idea. Thanks!


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## shunt2011 (May 29, 2014)

I too use the glossy labels and I pack mine into baseball card boxes as well for transportation.  I can fit 12 baseball card boxes in a large tote and generally pack two of them for my shows.


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## Carty812 (May 29, 2014)

Try wrapping the lables around soap bars the shrunk wrapping with just one open end this keep them very well protected as the shrink wrap seems to harden a bit when heat is applied. Glossy, matte, tags never had a problem with any packaging as long as it is inside of shrink wrap and I even do little embellishments on the soaps sometimes. You can do the same thing for your other products. Plus by shrink wrapping your lotions, scrubs, ect you are giving your customers a protective seal which I think in addition to keeping your products looking nice it gives them confidence that they are un tampered with and that is price less. Now if you are smart you will buy the bigger bags and cut your bands down to he size you need as this will give you way more bang for your buck than buying precut shrink bands. Hope this helps.


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## grayceworks (May 30, 2014)

Are you using the appropriate ink type for the labels? ie: laser labels only work well with laser printers, inkjet labels work best with WATERPROOF inkjet ink when on glossy labels. 

Something I saw in a tutorial, for helping to keep the labels nice with any kind of label/printer combo. 

Use clear plastic packing tape over the finished labels. Works best with labels that are the same height or shorter than the tape is wide. So you can either make the tape long enough to center on the label and wrap all the way around the bottle or jar or soap, to help fasten the label on, OR, you can apply the tape across the whole row of labels while still on the backing, carefully cut around the label, so that the tape is trimmed to exactly the label size, and you have a glossy, sealed label. 

I will look around and see if I can find the tutorial, if someone doesn't remember where it was and post it first.


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## grayceworks (May 30, 2014)

Here's the youtube video that I remember: 

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO65EQhZFgQ[/ame]


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## Spicey477 (May 31, 2014)

Elmtree, would your lotions fit in the dividers of a case of bottled beer?  You could go by a liquor store and ask for a box with the divider insert?


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## elmtree (Jun 1, 2014)

Spicey477 said:


> Elmtree, would your lotions fit in the dividers of a case of bottled beer?  You could go by a liquor store and ask for a box with the divider insert?




That's a great idea and similar to what my husband has been wanting me to do. I'm gonna work out the pricing for those soon. Thanks! That's a clever idea and probably cheaper than getting boxes specifically for that Purpose.


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## elmtree (Jun 1, 2014)

grayceworks said:


> Are you using the appropriate ink type for the labels? ie: laser labels only work well with laser printers, inkjet labels work best with WATERPROOF inkjet ink when on glossy labels.
> 
> Something I saw in a tutorial, for helping to keep the labels nice with any kind of label/printer combo.
> 
> ...




Gracyeworks, that is a great idea too! I will see how long it takes to tape some on and see how it looks. I do use the appropriate labels for my inkjet printer and use good ink. I don't use the waterproof labels because i haven't noticed a difference in smudging even with spraying. Plus they are twice the cost and I go through a lot of them as I have many different products. It's 100$ for 100 sheets! I have front and back labels so it for really pricey!


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## HerbalEarthling (Jun 6, 2014)

I use cellophane bags for a lot of my products. I've gotten a few types of containers that are each in little separate bags. Nothing fancy and they didn't have seals or flaps. Takes a few extra mins for setting up and breaking down, but it's not too bad. Then when you sell out of something, save the ones that weren't made for soaps (as these create skid marks on things) and reuse them. I also use old t shirts (clean ones) to plug up any extra spaces in bins to prevent sliding. You can also use little sandwich bags.


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## Dorymae (Jun 23, 2014)

Not sure if this will help but what I do is have all my soaps in the baskets they will be displayed in.  They stay there.  At home they go on the shelf in the basket and when I leave to pack up I just grab the basket.  I usually pack everything into those big plastic tubs so between the layers of baskets I lay an old, but very clean blanket.

Once my soap is packaged it in an organza bag and the actual soap and label are very rarely handled. (Only if a soap doesn't move and the organza bag needs washing - a rarity indeed.)

My other products are packed pretty much with the same philosophy.  Handle as little as possible.


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## Aline (Jun 23, 2014)

I had problems with labels fading and smearing - until I started using an Epson photo printer which has a different kind of ink than regular inkjets. The ink is expensive but you can get 'dupes' at a fraction of the price.


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