jancita

Does anyone know where to get natural colored, thick paper labels like the one pictured below? I use Online labels and love them, but they do not carry this type of color.

If any of you use unique containers to make your candles, where do you find them? I'm looking for ceramic in particular, but I'd be open to considering other things for future lines. I have explored Alibaba, and I just can't swing that kind of investment (1,000 min order) nor do have a place to put 1,000 ceramic containers. Anyone want to form a collective to buy some of what's available, or does such a thing already exist?

7 hours ago, ErronB said:

They're not even remotely the same, I've tried lol. The chinese wooden wicks are even worse than The Wooden Wick Co. for consistency, so that should tell you something.

 

Wooden Wick Co are bringing out a cross wick, it was supposed to be around the same time as the spiral but I don't know what happened.

I've tried some Chinese Wooden wicks I ordered from Wish.com. They alternated between not staying lit and looking like they were going to burn my house down. 

14 hours ago, birdcharm said:

 

So, on this public board, how can @Busy Bee and @TallTayl protect their idea for a tapered wooden wick?  Don't mind me, I'm just writing out loud.  I know advice of this sort is not free, but this is interesting, imo.  I think they may be onto something here.  🙂

Just some general info on patent protection from my husband: You don't have a make a prototype first, but that would help with drafting the claims. Be careful about posting the prototype online, as public disclosure would start a one year time clock to get a patent application filed. He said it would be easier to get a design patent, because that depends on appearance alone, and your wick is unlikely to look like others. Keep in mind that even if WW has never created a tapered wick, your wick could still infringe one of their patents if it fits within the claims (which are the most important part of the patent to review). He suggested looking up the patents on Google Patents or pat2pdf.org. He recommends engaging patent council before taking any substantive actions toward commercializing them. 

16 hours ago, BusyBee said:

Is it okay if I ask you to pick your husband's brain & expertise little bit more?  I am wondering about what those certain specifications on wooden wicks would be.  

He really didn't have a chance to review them all. They hold 12 US Utility Patents and 11 US Design Patents http://lumetique.com/patents. What struck him is the claims the patents looked at made very "narrow" claims covering minute details like the grain of the wood, the width of the booster component, or a tiny improvement made over another patent they hold. Because the claims are so narrow (limited), he said it would probably be easy to design around them. 

2 hours ago, Paintguru said:

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.  

I am very concerned about this issue as my labels are in color. Thank you for your feedback. 

5 hours ago, BusyBee said:

Unlike inkjet printers, surprisingly print quality of $150 up to $4,000 color laser printers are about same.  Quality of your label paper would be more important than quality of laser color printers.  Look for heavily discounted deal among brand like Canon or Xerox.  If you are thinking of really economical one, then Brother would be the choice.  I use Samsung CLX-6260FD, but any others should work fine.  Try to find one with cheaper toner and great deal.  

 

There are labels made for use in inkjet printer only and ones made for laser jet printer only.  Some are made to use in both.  Inkjet printer label will damage the drum if it is used in laser printer.  So, make sure to check comparability of your left over labels before you put them in new machine.

 

One more thing is that thick label paper gets jammed a lot in laser printers.  If you fill the paper tray to 50% - 80% capacity, then you will have a lot less jamming problem. 

 

 

After some research, maybe what I need is a better inkjet printer. I have an inexpensive Canon Inkjet. My problem is that i often get double lines or blurred letters, and it always seems to happen when I have an order due. 😱 I appreciate your comment about label type, because I'm pretty sure the hundreds of labels I ordered are made for an inkjet printer. I was actually thinking about this exact issue at 3 am when I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. I never imagined candle making could be stressful, but when you sell them it is, just like any other business. 😂

I've only used four wicks from the kit I bought from WW Co. I agree this kit was a total waste of money. I should have just bought a few different types based on the size of my containers. I won't be able to use 90% of what's in the kit. That being said, the crackle and whisper wicks both stay lit and burn well in my Coco 83 wax with no priming, but the funny thing is they both sound exactly the same. No difference whatsoever between the "Crackle" and "Whisper" wicks. My husband, who is a patent attorney, took a look at WW Co patents on wooden wicks. They are NOT the only people who can sell wooden wicks, they are just the only folks who can sell those with certain specifications.

Oops. I clearly put this in the wrong thread. So sorry!

I have been using an inkjet printer to print my own labels, but I have decided I really need a color laser printer to ensure more reliable printing. Anyone have a recommendation of a printer that has worked for them?

Thank you, NightLight. All good points. 

Yes, CandleRush. WW does have good  info about all natural scents. They have a good video on their YouTube video that explains the differences between EO, All-Natural FO, and regular FO. So you've been able to get a good hot throw from EOs? The combo's I've tested so far have not had good hot throw. 

I have learned from reading and my own experience that pure essential oils not viable in candles.  According to several sources, "all natural" fragrance oils should mean isolates that are distilled in the much the same way as essential oils, however the a single scent molecule is isolated and added in great concentration to other naturally isolated molecules. I ordered a sample kit of these from The Wooden Wick Company along with a sample kit of some of their regular scents. I noticed several things about the "all natural" scents:

1. They are weaker OOB than the regular scent oils from them
2. They are weaker in wax than the regular scents
3. At least in the sample kits I ordered, there is much less variety between the all natural scents. Several of them smell very similar
4. They are extremely expensive, even by WWCo standards

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences and expertise with me. I am thinking the all natural scents are not worth the extra cost, because as Busybee says, it probably won't matter much to my buyers. Also, the fact that as Shari said, the term "all-natural" gets thrown around and abused to much, it's pretty meaningless anyway.

I do have to say that the regular WWCo scents I received in the kit are remarkably good. They are complex, unique, and seem very high end, kind of like a subtle perfume. I do believe their FO are overpriced, but I'm not sure where else to get similar scents.

Bulkapothecary.com also carries these "all-natural" oils

Has anyone had experience using "all-natural fragrance oils?" So far I have found these from Wholesalesuppliesplus.com, Wooden Wick Company, and Naturesflavors.com. They say they are made from essential oils and all natural isolates. If you have experience with these, my questions are: How do they perform? Does the "all-natural" label convince folks to pay a higher price, as these are all very expensive? And are they really safer than phthalate-free fragrance oils in general? By the way, I would be using these in Coconut Wax.

Any experience you could share would be much appreciated!

Thank you so much, Busybee. I am very grateful for the knowledge you are willing to pass along. It sounds like the best I can do is to create or find some complex scents from sources available to all of us and get buy-in from the shop owners who have asked me to create this "exclusive" line. 

Quote

 

Thank you for so much for your response, Belinda. I have ordered samples from most of the companies you mention, although I definitely want to try Rustic Escentuals. Perhaps it is a misconception on the shop's part that I can get some exclusive fragrances. Maybe the answer is to mix some of the readily available to make them a little more complex and different from what people could find elsewhere. 

This is my first time posting on this excellent forum. I have done an extensive search on this site for the answer to the question I'm about to ask, but if this question has already been answered elsewhere, I apologize, and I would very much appreciate being directed to the right place. 

Anyway, I am fairly new at selling candles, but I've been pretty successful in a short period of time. A local shop has asked me to create an exclusive line of coconut wax only candles. They want "unusual, top-of-the-line fragrances." I'm not sure where to find those. I love Brambleberry and Lab & Co's complex scents. I can't justify using these in my regular line of candles, but I could perhaps do so in a higher priced line. I was wondering if I'm missing other high end fragrance companies. And by the way, I am way too small at this point to deal directly with manufacturers of the scents, but I would like to in the future, so don't hesitate to mention these. 

Thank you all so much. I feel fortunate to have found this forum!