Sound Hole Labels?

[Nathan Ashmore]

What do you all use to make your sound hole labels... type of paper/inked or printed.Just looking for ideas

[Michael A Shelley]

I use inkjet printed on regular, but not lightweight, paper. Cut it out with a new X-Acto blade, sign and date it, and a quick spritz of clear lacquer once the handwriting is dry. Then glue it in with either hide glue (okay, unflavored gelatin) or white glue. It works well enough for me.

I think the printer I have (a Canon) uses a pigment-based black ink. This might help prevent smearing if it gets damp, but I couldn't say for sure.

Using an old X-Acto blade is just asking for a fuzzy edge.

I don't have any decent photos of any of my labels installed, unfortunately.

[Nathan Ashmore]

That was my first thought except for spraying it with lacquer. Does that seal the ink?

[Woodrow Brackett]

I use resume paper printed on my inkjet printer. (Epson, but probably doesn't matter). I glue them in with hide glue, but I've never sealed them with anything.

[Steven Smith]

Parchment color resume paper on inkjet printer. Cut it out with scissors. Glue them in with titebond. I take a brush and coat the top of the label with thinned titebond to seal it. So far, I know they last at least 8 years that way.

[Randy Roberts]

Whether you print with laser or inkjet or write on it with marker, etc., it's a good idea to test it out beforehand with the glue you use and anything you might seal the surface with. Some inks dissolve with alcohol (shellac) some in water (glues).

[Steve Senseney]

Also look for acid free paper. It will not yellow or deteriorate as quickly. You don't want your label to look like newsprint in a few years.

[Nathan Ashmore]

Thanks all, this has been very informative. Much appreciated! I should have my design done today. Going for a vintage look.

[Nathan Ashmore]

Here's the design I made.

[Dave Stewart]

Looks great!!......very "old west". Do it "sepia" tone & you're there.
(Might want a bit more space for model / serial #/ signature though.)

[Bryan Bear]

That looks great! What software did you design it with?

[Nathan Ashmore]

Used illustrator and photoshop. I like to use the strengths of both.

[Charlie Schultz]

I just happened to run across one of StewMac's old "Trade Secrets" newsletters (#129) on "Make custom labels for your guitars". You can find it on their site.

[Karl Hoyt]

Nathan... that's outstanding!

kfh

[Nathan Ashmore]

Thanks... I decided on using heavy weight acid-free drawing paper. I'll glue it down with a thin wash of wood glue, let it dry and shellac it for a vintage look. In other news I've edge banded the back of the body now.

[Randy Cordle]

Here's one I did for fun on a recent project. I imported a background image and added the lettering and scaled it in my CAD program. When I was happy with how it looked then I just did a screen capture and savedit as a jpg image. It actually looks much better than what the photo shows. Printed on standard inkjet, cut out, and added with double back carpet tape. It was easy and fun!

[Nathan Ashmore]

Looking good Randy! I'm still building my guitar so I haven't glued it in yet. Working on the fingerboard now. Almost there.