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Old 09-04-2008, 07:30 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Charlie Pridham[_2_] Charlie Pridham[_2_] is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,520
Default Garden Labeling advice please

In article ,
says...
I'd like some advice please.

I have a large garden, orchards, greenhouses and tunnels. Vegetables, soft
and top fruit, vegetables both under cover and outside.

Labelling takes a lot of effort, creates many blunt pencils and a bad
temper.

I have found a pencil that stays readable for longer "Rainbow"- but even so,
I like to label the many fruit varieties accurately and get it to stay
readable.

I have been looking at these machines that are about, they seem to make a
flexible label suitable for trees and soft fruit, but I wonder if there is a
dual purpose one that can also produce stiff plastic.

Anyway, can anyone advise me about makes, their stengths and weaknesses and
the all important labels themselves.

I don't mind getting a special printer for the garden, as my wife is happy
to explain in detail I can spend like a drunken sailor on it, but I do have
'puter and a good HP office printer.

Would I be duplicating something I can do already? Is it just a question of
buying the right ink and sheets of labels?

I would like, if possible, to print on both sides of the label. Nowadays, I
get some help and it is useful if I can f.e. print "Prune March, pick
October."

TIA



To print labels for out door use you need a thermal transfer printer the
cost 2-300 GBP and soft plastic labels which last longer than the hard
plastics (but all will break in strong wind) I used some old lead sheet
into which I scatched the names of the fruit trees that has lasted 26
years. but you can also get smaller hand held labeling machines like dymo
and brother.
Its worth saying what sort of labels you wish to use when buying as some
of the lower end thermal transfer printers can get their pring heads worn
out by the harder stick labels but are fine with the softer wrap around
sorts.
I would imagine lasar printers would be better than ink jet if on plastic
but still not as good as thermal transfer.
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea