MIMF

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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).

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.

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

Here's the design I made.

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

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

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

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.

Nathan... that's outstanding!

kfh

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.

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!

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