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—————–——–———-—- Bob Kay Beer Labels ——————————–-— |
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The Roll Scan
Often, the only surviving example of a label is glued to a bottle. Thus, efforts to catalog labels include close-up pictures of labeled bottles. Unfortunately, a straight-on picture of a curved surface can miss critical information on the edges. One solution is to rotate the bottle and take more pictures. Recently, several collectors have had success with an improvised technique dubbed the “Roll-Scan”. Instead of a camera you need a flat-bed scanner for roll-scanning. This technique is almost self-explanatory — just roll the bottle on the scanner bed, approximating the scan speed. Of course, there is a little trial and error to get the roll speed in sync with the scan speed, but it’s surprisingly easy to get good results. Derrick Morris suggests putting rubber bands on the bottle to improve smooth tracking. Of course, this really helps tracking if the bottle has any embossed lettering or markings. John Wysocarski adds that wide rubber bands (like wide track tires) work even better. |
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Here’s a pre-Prohibition labeled bottle which may or may not have embossing. Note that the close-up has the wide-track tires added for smoother roll-scan tracking. The final roll-scanned picture shows the whole label. |
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Here’s a 7oz painted label bottle. The close up picture shows the main brand description, while the roll scan (which looks like it’s on an amber glass bottle but isn’t) shows extra wording and the irtp statement. |
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Mounting & Hinging Labels
I have received several questions about how I keep my labels. Of course these decisions depend on individual preferences; here are mine. I arrange and mount labels on plain white paper (3 hole punched) using Post-it tape hinges1. This tape comes on a spool; I just tear off about 1/2 inch and fold to make a hinge. I place the pages with mounted labels in sheet protectors2. Post-it tape and a wide variety of sheet protectors are available in most office supply stores. As labels aren't acid free, I feel acid free mounting paper is an unnecessary overkill. A very minor negative with this system is that the Post-it hinges migrate minute amounts of adhesive to the label over a period of time; for that reason archivists do not like this type of hinge. An archivist's solution I am aware of (rice paper hinges using a special starch paste) isn't really practical when mounting a quantity of labels. Post-it hinges beat the hell out of stamp hinges and make it very easy to re-arrange which is an on-going and fun part of collecting.3 I have used this system for over 20 years and am very satisfied with it. |
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1 - 3M Post-it Labeling & Cover-up Tape; 2 line width part no. 652. 2 - I use C-Line "Perfect 10" Sheet Protectors. Polypropylene (or Poly-C) part no. 00010 . These are acid free archival quality. 3 - My preference is to sort labels geographically by state, city and brewery of origin and to insert notes and other paper collectables as appropriate. |
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Soaking Labels from a bottle
This is how I do it for 1950 or earlier non-foil labels. You need: hot (near boiling) water, towels, blotter paper, wax paper, razor blade (doesn't have to be sharp), and something heavy (books?) to weight down the blotter paper while drying. I do wish I had a calmer temperament and more patience, but you go with what you got!!
1. Dip the bottle in the water for about 10-20 seconds to wet the label and soften the glue. Then carefully slide the razor blade under the label with the blade pressing to the glass. You can easily tell if the glue is soft enough. Slowly work the blade until one side of the label is separated. Then repeat on the other side. Reheat bottle in water as needed to keep the glue soft enough to work. Most of all be patient and don't rush things. Some glues respond differently than others. If the glue is still very hard and doesn't work well, try heating the water a little hotter. You can raise the boiling point of water by adding salt.
2. After removing the label check to see if noticeable amounts of glue remain on the label. Occasionally you may need to hold the label under hot water on a flat surface and rub off or scrape portions of glue that remain. The label won't dry flat with excess glue on the back of it.
3. Now that you have removed the label your are only halfway home. Next you have to dry it in a smooth flat position. First lay the wet label on a towel and lay another towel on top and press straight down to damp dry. Arrange damp dried labels glue side down on a piece of wax paper and place between sheets of blotter paper . Put some weight on the paper to keep the labels as smooth and flat as possible while they dry for 24 to 48 hours. Most labels will still tend to curl some if left completely unrestrained so after you are finished try to store the labels in a glassine envelope or someway to keep them flat. Blotter paper is re-useable and available at most Office Supply stores. Of course, try this out first on unimportant labels until you get the hang of it. If your temperament dictates you might try this: "Say honey would you like to help me out here"?
Removing Self-adhesive Labels from a bottle: Preheat oven to 200F (95C). insert bottle for 5-10 minutes. Remove bottle, being careful not to burn your hands, and gently peel the label off the bottle. You may have to coax one corner up with a blade. Then very carefully transfer the label to a new sheet of plain paper as follows: stick one corner down and 'roll' the label onto the paper. Smooth it out and carefully cut around it, preferably with a craft knife or scalpel.
If you have been careful, you have a label that is hard to distinguish from a new one. Source: Victorian Beer Label Collectors Society. |
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Working with Labels |
