From: "Strode, Kyle" <strode**At_Symbol_Here**CARROLL.EDU>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] labels
Date: December 13, 2012 1:58:11 PM EST
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: <58C74A3BBE6D644C8538C5848AC530250588EB**At_Symbol_Here**EROS.westerntc.edu>

As I see it, the issues with temporary labels are as follows:

- they have to be fairly easy to remove
- they can't wash off or smudge easily with dribbles
- they have to give sufficient chemical hazard info

The best solution would be labels printed on regular paper using an appropriate template with the correct hazard information and covered with a wide piece of transparent tape. If someone could find (or manufacture) transparent tape that could be removed more easily than packaging tape (and without leaving residue), I would love to know about it.

Currently, I use Post-it removable labels (size 5163) with the following:

Name ___________________________________________
Conc. _______________ Danger Warning Caution
Flammable Corrosive Oxidative/Reactive Health
_________________________________________________
Date ___________________ Prep. by _________________

They do tend to run when solvents drip over the pen or sharpie ink. For this reason, I'd love to switch to paper with removable transparent tape over the top.

Kyle Strode

________________________________________
From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU] on behalf of Osterby, Meg [OsterbyM**At_Symbol_Here**WESTERNTC.EDU]
Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2012 11:44 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] labels

We also use the Brother labels black on white with good success. They generally come off easily when we are done with the solution, with the one exception of if they have been through the chemically resistant dishwasher, then if the labels don't fall off in the wash cycle, they may never come off. We try to remember that if we are not re-using the bottle with the same chemical in it, we have to peel the label, because once we forget and run it through the wash cycle, there's no way to get it off that we have been able to figure out.

Meg Osterby

Meg Osterby
Lead Chemistry Instructor
Western Technical College
400 7th St. N.
LaCrosse, WI 54601
osterbym**At_Symbol_Here**westerntc.edu
608-789-4714

"It's better to be careful 100 times, than to be killed once."
Mark Twain

-----Original Message-----
From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU] On Behalf Of Slawomir Janicki
Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2012 12:30 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] labels

The Dymo labels didn't work that well for me. The adhesive is great for address labels but it just didn't work in my lab (organic chemistry).

I like the Brother labels and printers. I use the PT-1900 and the "Black-on-White, Laminated, Extra Strength Adhesive" tapes. They come in widths from 1/4" to 3/4". There are some 1" wide tapes, but Brother doesn't make the laminated ones anymore. On wider tapes it is possible to print 2-3 lines of text that is still readable. Printers with the PC connection can print custom images in monochrome (colors determined by the type of the tape).

The tapes come in many colors for both the print and the background, but in my experience the black on white is the most chemically resistant. The labels do last on glass bottles, but they quickly fall off plastic bottles containing more aggressive solvents even when the bottles are PFE lined. On glass bottles the protective laminate does peel off after several spills of DCM or ethyl acetate, but the ink is slow to bleach over weeks to months (it is embedded in the tape rather than printed on top of it). Without spills the labels last for years.

The PT-1900 is out of production now and the current model is the PT-2730 (MSRP $99) http://www.brother-usa.com/Ptouch/ModelDetail.aspx?ProductID=PT2730 . The tapes are expensive (about $1/ft) and a lot of tape is wasted in the default settings. You can change the front and back margins to minimize the waste.

HTH

Slawomir.


-----Original Message-----
From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU] On Behalf Of Brian T. Mars
Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2012 12:17 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] labels

How does everyone make temporary labels for solutions that go to lab? A generation ago I programmed an Apple IIe to make labels with a dot matrix printer. They worked great but eventually the computer people stopped supporting that hardware. Now I use a PC with a Dymo Labelwriter Turbo. These labels are on thermal print stock and don't do well when solvents or acids dribble on them. I'm hoping some of you have a better method.

-Brian

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