# Squirt Bottle Labels



## modchef (May 17, 2012)

Anybody have a really money way to label ordinary squirt bottles? We have an open kitchen with a dozen scratch dressings, and if I have to see one of my line do the "sniff test" one more time I may slap someone. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/laser.gif

I've tried the usual:

Removable labels? Sure, but they always tend to be TOO removable when you're handling it a lot.

Masking Tape? Works for a bit, but always tends to come off plus the sticky residue is the worst!

Dissolvable Labels? See masking tape & removable labels.

Sharpie on the lid/bottle? Not bad I guess, but then you have a bunch of lids/bottles with partially washed out writing that never seem to match the dressing you need

Dry Erase marker on the lid? Takes care of the washed out writing problem, but comes off super easy and then you just have cooks with black marks on their gloves.

So, am I stuck with one of these lame options, or does anybody have a really great way to do this?

By the way, my first post but I've been reading this forum for awhile, can't wait to get more involved in this great community!

~Nate


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## zoebisch (Apr 9, 2012)

Dunno but how about a color coding system? Like just get a big pack of colored sharpies. I envision a big circle filled in with color,  a smaller circle of another color gives you another multiple for the amount.   Of course this means you have to memorize a system...but a key slapped on a wall is a good crutch until you get used to the system. You can do symbols too if you need more options.  Just make them really bold to hold up...just a thought, and it could get confusing. 

Taking it a step further....like a large Red circle could indicate say a fruit base.  Middle could be a properly matched type.  Yellow could be a mayonnaise base, brown middle indicates Chipotle mayo (just giving out random examples of what pops into my head).


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## chefhow (Oct 16, 2008)

Colored day dots and each color reps a specific dressing.


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## itswhoiam (Feb 29, 2012)

chefhow said:


> Colored day dots and each color reps a specific dressing.


But he has more than 7 dressings, and he's probably already day dotting the bottles, I try to make my dressings look a little different and I also use 3 different shapes of bottles, its still a system but its pretty easy to learn.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

Buy balloons, cut the ends off, pull balloons over bottles, write on balloons with sharpie


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## zojison (Apr 25, 2012)

I think I would just paint them all... I mean have all the bottles pained the same color (white, gray... or whatever) and then just use pain to mark them.

Another layer of clear topcoat and you're good to go. Just make sure you use quality paint, and not something that will chip off when you wash the recipients.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

Like chefhow I use day date dots.


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## michaelga (Jan 30, 2012)

We use China Markers (grease pencils) on the top of the bottle, not on the sides.

Seems to hold up well as long as you write on a clean and dry bottle before filling. Easy to wash off when done.

They also come in a huge variety of colors, so we use a different color for every day and simply write what the contents are in short hand.

Pretty easy to see when it was made and what it is, we don't keep anything for more than 6 days though, so the seven primary colors work for us.

Easy for everyone to learn. ROY G. BIV

Red - Monday

Orange - Tuesday

Yellow - Wednesday

Green - Thursday

Blue - Friday

Indigo - Saturday

Violet - Sunday

Just put a list of the colors in the prep area, they make the sauce, then label the bottle with the right marker.

Here is a small chart showing the colors, each pretty distinctive - you could easily add black or white depending on the color of your bottles.

http://www.pfflynn.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/spectrum1.jpg

They work on glass, and pretty much everything else also - if the surface is really porous like some dairy containers, it won't come off very well and will leave smudges etc.

Supposedly they write on wet surfaces but I haven't had much luck, they seem to always slide.


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## chefboy2160 (Oct 13, 2001)

Perhaps you should start practicing that slappp/img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif. For real though you need a label gun that you can print the name of the dressing and adhere to the bottle. It just might work. Good luck, Doug


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## kingfarvito (May 7, 2012)

Get some over head paper (clear plasticy stuff) its cheap you can write on it with sharpie and then use a rubber band to attach it. write you label, cut it out, then either press it to the bottle and put rubber bands over it to hold, or punch a hole in the label loop the rubber band through that and then around your bottle.


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## rbandu (Apr 30, 2012)

I've actually been pondering this for a whole day now...how about "contact paper"? It's self-adhesive and you could cut out "rounds" of it to fit over the nozzles of the bottle, just covering the tops.  Different color, different dressing?  When I was in school (grade school+), we'd be required to "cover" our textbooks and most students just used brown paper bags (neatly trimmed, shaped and taped to stay put of course.)  I did the same thing, However I'd cover mine also with this contact paper, which comes in clear or a myriad of patterns and colors.  By mid-year, most book covers were tattered, falling apart, etc, but mine were always still holding together quite well.  The stuff sticks to anything -- extremely well -- as long as it's clean and dry.

Er, and by covering the tops, I mean the tops of the bottles themselves, not the screw-on caps of course.  You'd cut "donuts."


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## zojison (Apr 25, 2012)

MichaelGA said:


> We use China Markers (grease pencils) on the top of the bottle, not on the sides.


There are also some acrylic 3d paints that you could use. They work best on glass, but they hold up OK on plastic too. The paint has the consistency of rubber/latex once it's dried (it only takes about 10 minutes to dry) I think you can find those in craft stores, that's where I got mine (I used it to make a personalized coffee mug).


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## modchef (May 17, 2012)

cheflayne said:


> Buy balloons, cut the ends off, pull balloons over bottles, write on balloons with sharpie


And the OUTSIDE THE BOX AWARD trophy goes to.......cheflayne! Does this really work? I'm going to have to try it.

WOW guys, some great ideas! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/thumb.gif

I'm going to try out MichaelGA's grease pencil idea to start - they're easy to find, I _really_ like the idea of using multiple colors to replace day dots, and labeling the top of lids is perfect for my guys grabbing bottles out of a deep hotel. I also like that it's less permanent, because the dressing batch levels vary all the time (plus several dressings always change seasonally) so ideally we'd be able to grab any clean bottle and use it for whatever dressing we needed at the time.

The contact paper idea is really ingenious too, although arts & crafts is more up my girlfriend's alley haha!


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## yanny (Dec 25, 2006)

We use duck tape, comes in different colors and you can write on it.


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## succotash (Aug 10, 2011)

I would stick with the masking tape, or blue painters tape leaves less residue, and wrap it completely around the bottle so it sticks to itself. Also, if you just wanna color code, get ketchup and mustard bottles to add variation (raspberry dressing in a ketchup bottle etc.)


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