Paintguru

So I think it depends if it LOOKS like you're trying to take the same picture/style, but not achieving it vs. clearly making an effort to have different looks.  To me, the images in all 3 of those are clearly different enough where I don't FEEL like they tried and failed to have the same image for each (if that makes sense).  In my case, I'm going for a plain white background, but between images, the jar is not always in the exact same place and the lighting seems to change slightly between images, so I have a perception of poor quality image recreation.  

This may be a really stupid question, but how has everyone setup a workflow to get consistent images of products?  Obviously we don't all take product pictures on the same day (at least I don't think we do).  Do you have a dedicated camera setup that doesn't move so you get the exact same image each time?  Do you eyeball your crops so everything is close?  I'm a bit OCD, so if I see any slight differences in product images, I get annoyed!  

The safety portion of burning instructions are on my warning label.  The safety and just good practice instructions are all on my website. 

22 hours ago, TallTayl said:

I find melts MUCH easier to get HT.

 

It comes down to your wax melt point in the end, but the FO I have to offer my first (and only born) as a sacrifice to the HT deities in candles do their job without any trouble in melts.

That's good to know.  So I can just offer candles and melts in both without much worry about a loss of performance for the melts.  

I'm starting to play with melts now and I'm curious if all my testing of FOs for my candles needs to be completely redone for the melts.  Obviously my wax is different, so the likely answer is "yes".  Does anyone have any qualitative data when it comes to FO performance in melts vs. candles?  

So here is a question, am I to assume the only fragrances that were modified were the ones that have a previously discontinued version (Pineapple Sage is one example)?  Another one I like a lot is Strudel and Spice, and while it does say it is a "Clean Scent", it does not have a previously discontinued version.  Am I to assume that whatever chemicals they used previously met their "Clean" metrics?  I need to know which scents to worry about and I'm thinking those with discontinued versions are the ones we need to have concerns with.

I really like Dicken's Christmas from Lonestar.  However, I'm not sure it is super different from traditional holiday scents.  I feel your pain though, Christmas fragrances seem to either be pine, spice, or something in between :).  

11 hours ago, sarahmarah said:

I’ve heard that they changed Lemon Pound Cake and it’s nothing like the original ☹️
I loved that one. 

I really like Fragrance Buddy's Lemon Pound Cake.  

I too need to know which ones have been swapped out.  This is not ideal.  

I had good luck using Fiverr.com to find a graphics artist for my logo and label design.  Not insanely expensive and you get all the necessary files (assuming you work that all out before the hire).  

2 hours ago, TallTayl said:

I wonder how many have become actual businesses with insurance, licensing, taxes, etc to pay. 
 

and some use it for “exposure”. I would not want to start a new shop there today.

Agree with your first point.  For your second point, where does one start a new shop nowadays?  Grass roots local selling? 

Nice!  

Haven't gotten quite this far yet, but when I run business expenses through Turbo Tax, I believe it gives me the option to either go the inventory route or just look at what I spent vs. made.  

Yes, a crabapple tree.  I will go try a few apple blossom scents and see if those make her happy. 

9 hours ago, xxxAlpha71xxx said:

While not ancient, this is a bit of an old post that I just ran across but I thought I'd toss in an additional option.  If you have a thermometer that takes a type k probe you could also use something like this, most likely.  

 

https://www.amazon.com/URBEST-NR-81532B-Thermocouple-Temperature-Manufacturing/dp/B01M0IPBEC/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=surface+thermocouple&qid=1592449168&sr=8-7

Oooo, I like that.  I have thermocouple readers I could probably bring home from work and use.  May be worth an order.

So my wife REALLY loves the smell of flowering crab trees and of course told me to go find a fragrance oil that matched it.  I have yet to find one through my Google searches.  I've tried a few other "flowering tree" FOs, but none have been close.  Has anyone run across something that matches the scent of flowering crab trees?  

What I found was that color accuracy between color lasers varies significantly.  I started with a Brother, but my red was printing out nothing like it looked on the screen.  I tried everything to adjust.  I then found a used HP that is much better (I'll get exact info when I get home today).  Only issue with that one is I can't print on 2 sides of the paper.  It has worked well thus far and the color is spot on without any adjustments.  

10 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Would twisting the wick help even out the hang up issues?

 

I do usually do this, especially since I'm using HTP wicks.  It certainly helps.  The other worry is that as I move closer to the under-wicked side of things, am I losing hot throw? 

It would be great if we could fuse two sizes of wicks together on a single tab.    

1 hour ago, bfroberts said:

I think it depends on your wax and your container.  I use containers that are significantly taller than they are wide.  If I have a FMP early on, I'm left with a hot mess near the bottom.  The solution is to wick cool enough that some hangup stays around for the first couple of burns.  Additionally, different waxes burn differently.  Some pool out wide and some pool deep before widening.  As with everything else in candle making, there are a ton of factors and it's all a balancing act.

Agreed on the balancing act, and we all have different targets!  In my particular case, I had hangup on one side until the last 1/3 of the candle or so, where things caught up.  Good point by @birdcharm that part of the ambiance with containers is the light coming out through the glass in the middle.  Of course this wouldn't have been an issue if my new batch of 4630 matched my old batch!  😅

6 hours ago, BusyBee said:

Everyone would have different preference on this subject.  I am one of those that is aiming for full melt pool from top to bottom.  For me, it just look better and right.  If you can achieve it without container getting too hot, then go for it.  It can be done.  It does get hotter bottom 1/4, but you still can make it a lot cooler than many name brand candles.

 

Agreed that compared to mass market candles, we're probably a lot cooler.  Metal vs. glass may matter as well.  It is amazing the difference in behavior between the top 1/4 and bottom 1/4.  

I know this is probably a basic question, and maybe simply a personal preference, but what sort of burn behavior do you look for when burning a container candle?  I recall reading in a previous thread that one shouldn't expect a full melt pool until the 2nd or 3rd burn.  I've also read that you wick for the last 1/3-1/4 of the container.  

A few things I'm interested in:

1.  Where in the jar during the burn do you target a full melt pool, all the way to the edges?   Do you typically error on the side of over wicking where full wax melt pool and no wax on the wall happens earlier in the jar or do you error on the lower end of wicking where the a full, side-to-side melt pool doesn't occur until the last 1/4 jar?

2.  How long do you tolerate wax grabbing on the side of the jar?  

3.  When doing this evaluation, do you burn 3-4 hours at a time, do power burns, everything/anything else?

I may be over thinking this, but I'm an engineer, so I can only be me!!  

9 hours ago, dustinryan2010 said:

As I’m right in the middle of testing 4630 from a 4 month old wax batch 🤦🏻‍♂️  

Honestly, beyond this little hiccup, it has been fine.  Just one step to add to your process when a new batch comes in.  

Interestingly enough, I just got a new batch of 4630 and while the "look" was the same, I had to rewick.  I blend it with 464 and couldn't figure out why my melt pools were no longer as large as they were before.  Then I remembered I started in on a new batch of 4630.  My guess it is about 1/2 a wick different, but still, now I've learned I need to check this every time I get a new batch.  

I always target 1 oz per pound wax, which is around 6%.  I use 464/4630 blend with HTP wicks.  I've found enough FOs that work well at 6% to be happy.  

I guess this is a good problem to have for a business!!  

Yup.  Wonder what the hold-up is.