Avery Wine Label Review
I’m going to be really frank with you today. The Hindsight Groom and I decided to create custom wine labels because we were broke but too embarrassed to actually display the 2-buck chuck. S0 we hid it with custom wine labels. Yup, you read that right, we served out wedding guests cheap-assed wine, but we saved so much money on liquor costs and the guests thought the custom labels were a nice touch.
We didn’t know about Avery Labels so we just did our best with regular sheets of 8 X 11.5 paper cut into quarters. So when Avery contacted me to review their print-to-the-edge arched labels, I was thrilled to try something that I could simply print and stick.
The lowdown
Avery sent a full package of labels. I choose my Hindsight Bride logo. The design process was super easy with Avery’s online design feature. Once I was satisfied with my logo placement, I saved it to my desktop in PDF form. The printing process was easy and the colors came out true. Overall I was pleased. These labels were easy to use and looked nice.
Pros
- Online template maker takes the guess work out design. Simply upload your image and re-size, rotate and otherwise modify online. When you’re satisfied you can download it to a PDF you can print from. Easy-peasy
- Easy to print. I had no problems with my Epson Artisan 835 printer. The labels fed well and the colors came out true. This was the case even though Avery sent Laser labels and I have an ink jet printer.
- Adhesive is strong I observed no buckling or peeling. I put labels on two white and two red wine bottles, and six beer bottles. The white wine and beer were stored in the bottom veggie drawer in my fridge all jumbled together. The labels were sturdy and held up to a week of touching and jostling.
- Price. $20 for 90 labels. Enough for seven and a half 12 packs of whatever: wine, beer, sodas
- Nice paper. Unlike regular paper or card stock, the Avery labels had a nice texture to them, lending a feeling of quality.
Cons
- Size: The labels are small and get lost on a full sized wine label. They’re far better suited for beer and soda bottles like Izzy. I recommend using full sheet sticker paper for wine labels. Four labels per sheet is a nice size. Hindsight Groom recommends using the smaller arched labels for the back label of the wine bottle. You can put table numbers, family/guest trivia, or the evening’s schedule on the back and place a bottle or two on each table.
Caution
- Make sure your labels are even. If you’re totally OCD, you can measure from the bottom and mark each bottle with a dry erase marker. Otherwise, eyeball the first placement then line up a handful of bottles side-by-side and try to match the first placement.
- Those labels are sticky! Take your time lining up each label. They are super sticky and once a part of the sticker touches the bottle, it’s on. You cannot easily take it off for a better placement, even a tiny part. It’s best to take your time.
- Remove the old labels properly. For information about removing labels without ruining your wine and beer, check out my earlier post on safely removing wine labels
- Not all labels are created equally. If you use regular paper or sticker paper instead of the Avery labels, and plan to submerge the labels in ice, be sure to spray the labels with a clear acrylic sealer before putting them on the bottles. This will ensure that the ink doesn’t run!
- Water resistance (mostly). These labels are made specifically for wine bottles, which means they hold up when wet and the ink doesn’t run. I tested the labels by submerging them under running water and then rubbing the label vigorously with my thumb. The label held up and the ink didn’t run, however, after a week in the fridge, I did see some slight buckling. My advice, try to use these labels as close to the wedding as possible on beverages that require refrigeration OR spray the labels with a matte fixative to strengthen both the ink and the paper.