Dear Roger, After 50 years of experimentation I have come up with something that might be useful. It is really not very costly and I have found it to be durable even in the intense heat of southern India. I don't know about commercially available labels in the U.S. but others have written to you about them. I have had to find scrap aluminum pieces and have them cut to the size I need which is not difficult to do and the aluminum doesn't deteriorate. My solution for labeling is this: I purchased a Brother PT-1830 label maker from Image Supply. The machines are not expensive. I also purchased a refurbished model PT-1830 to have as a second machine and it works perfectly. The labels come in varying widths and the machine prints three sizes so you can get more information on a label if you use the smallest size. The label maker is very easy to use. I purchased the TZ industrial labels that have an excellent adhesive and after a year in the baking sun I still can't pull them off even though many of the plastic labels I initially used have broken in the extreme heat. I hope this may be of some interest to you. All the best, Narad, Richard Eggenberger On Tue, Dec 15, 2009 at 6:41 AM, <totototo@telus.net> wrote: > I'm about down to the last of my labels and seeds are starting to arrive, > elach > packet of which will need a label in the seed pot. Can anyone recommend a > reliable source of 4" plastic labels with a matte finish that takes pencil > well? > > A quick attempt to find such with Google leads to any number of suspects, > but > no one says "pencil works with these." One place extolled how smooth their > labels are, which in my experience is precisely what you don't want if > using > pencil. > > Why pencil? Because it never fades, unlike every felt-tipped marker I've > ever > tried. > > If the labels you recommend don't go brittle and break when exposed to > sunlight > (at least, if they don't do so too soon!), I will be your friend forever. > This > may be an alarming prospect for some of you, so if you prefer, I will be > your > un-friend forever. > > > > > -- > Rodger Whitlock > Victoria, British Columbia, Canada > Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate > on beautiful Vancouver Island > > http://maps.google.ca/maps/… > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >