Make Your Own Cylinder Labels

[And]

How to Quickly and Easily get labels for your tanks

Hi

One of the main tenets of DIR is to ensure you are breathing the right gas. As well as applying the correct procedure when selecting the gas, it is important to ensure your tanks are correctly labelled, with the MOD and your name, initials, whatever.

I found that the GUE MOD stickers to be overly expensive, due to the costs of shipping a sticker half way across the world, and also they don’t provide labels with your name on. I didn’t like to use the license plate lettering as that would cost nearly as much and I preferred the black on white labels as they seem more visible. Ideally I wanted a decal which I could make myself, as often as I wanted and at not too high a price. Here is my solution which I thought I would share.

Avery Labels produce a heavy duty decal which is waterproof and available for laser printers. I have a bunch of laser printers at work and these labels work in them all. The code is L4775. They are provided in a pack of 20 A4 sheets for about £20 from Viking Direct. I have used these for a few dives and found them to be very effective.

Once I got the labels I then needed to suss out the font and size to make them visible and also to make them fit nicely, particularly when using OXYGEN. I simply used Word and after some experimenting I settled on Gill Sans MT Condensed and 300 point. This font size allows enough MOD labels for two tanks, so that worked out at approx 25p per label, and I am now able to carry a bunch of different labels which I can simply switch on the tanks depending on the gas I am using. It also worked well with AND and I can get two of those on each sheet. With some playing around with proper labelling software or a DTP package I am sure that you could make more of the space but I find it easy just to do it this way although the ‘OXYGEN’ label would need playing with to get two out of a sheet.

So far the labels have been very successful as long as you remember to wash the tanks down before sticking them on and remove any other glue residue. I put some on the other day after taking some gaffa tape off the cylinder and they became loose during the dive, one even came off. Amazingly, whilst swimming back I found the missing sticker and took it with me to the surface, wiped the tank off and stuck it on. It stayed on during the next dive and is stuck as securely as all the others. They are very good stickers and I am very happy with the outcome.

It is very handy having a bunch of different labels in my ‘save a dive’ kit so I can simply replace them if they start looking tatty or because I change the gas. It is also easier now to identify me during a dive as my twins are now marked with my name, so if ever you see a guy on a boat with ‘AND’ on his tanks you know who it is.

They look very professional too IMHO.

Andy



Sorry about the quality of the pic. I just took it with my mobile phone.

[NotDeadYet]

A few years ago I was going on a cave diving trip to Switzerland and didn't have time to get my bottles tested. So I made up a few "Tested to BS 1234" stickers, stuck an IANTD logo on them and put them on my bottles. Worked perfectly and I never got a second look. The sticker paper works well but it does come off after a bit.

For gas markings, I don't want to permanently dedicate a bottle to a certain mix so I use transparent gaffer tape and a waterproof marker, works just as good and easily changed.

[grigor]

Quality labels Andy.

Now, how to convince the office that heavy duty labels should be added to the next stationary order and explain to the IT guy why I'm printing off huge 21's...?

Grigor

[Robert]

[David Martin]

If you put the labels in a sheltered place, they'll easily last a year on a cylinder. Those on the outside of stages will obviously take more of a battering, but the home-done labels don't seem to be any worse than commercial (Halcyon or car letter decals) providing that none of the edges are folded over when they're applied.

I think that making a couple of spares for the toolkit is an excellent idea - I'll add it to my "to do" list! - it certainly beats trying to cut "21" out of black gaffa tape to add to a stage at short notice.

David

[Paul Beal]

2 packs of paper on their way - thanks for the info, very useful!

The full Viking Catalogue number is Q29-L4775-20. This will allow you to search on the front page of the website.

Might have to work late one night and use work's shiney laser printer as I only have an inkjet.

Just so that someone else doesn't try this. I have had a go at printing onto a page of the BSAC waterproof notebooks - it doesn't work!!

Paul

[Helen F H]

Just on the subject of labels. Both of my bottles are in O2 service - cleaned in scapa last year. One of the stickers has come off, but since they are twins most places dont ask questions. However, whilst in a certain shop, it was mumbled under the breath of the owner that "no nitrox stickers" which i presume the test sticker to be? Do i need a big yellow and green one too?

[iainmsmith]

Originally Posted by Porg

Just on the subject of labels. Both of my bottles are in O2 service - cleaned in scapa last year. One of the stickers has come off, but since they are twins most places dont ask questions. However, whilst in a certain shop, it was mumbled under the breath of the owner that "no nitrox stickers" which i presume the test sticker to be? Do i need a big yellow and green one too?

No - you need the little IDEST-approved stickers sold by the BSAC mailshop

See: http://www.bsac.org/shop/accs.htm (bottom of the page)

Iain

[David Martin]

Originally Posted by Paul Beal

Just so that someone else doesn't try this. I have had a go at printing onto a page of the BSAC waterproof notebooks - it doesn't work!!

You probably haven't tried hard enough

I ordered some very similar paper (A4) from http://www.drydenaqua.com/aquascribe...ater_paper.htm

It was a real pain to print on, but it was possible.
The ink from an injet printed was still not fully dry after 10 days. After 20 day it was though!
Alternatively printing by laser is possible. But, the heat from the laser would crumple the paper unless the paper was re-inforced with a strip of masking tape across the back of the leading edge; and the paper had to be ironed flat after each print!

The printed sheets are really nice to use with a pencil for marshalling - I'd just like the production to be a little less faff.

David

[Paul Beal]

Sounds like a bit too much faff, my iron doesn't ever come out of the cupboard unless I am going to a work dinner or dive club ball so it would certainly not make an entrance for a bit of paper!!

The waterproof notebooks are definitely the best ever reserve for paper when marshalling in the rain though. We have around 25 of the things hanging around the house in various states of repair. I wish the spiral binding would last for more than 5 or so sea dives!!

Paul