thoughts on bar dimensions?

I like to wrap my bars in paper, like a present, and put the cigar-band label on top of the wrapper. For various reasons, I'm pretty much set on continuing to do it that way. I normally get 3 wrappers out of one 8.5x11" sheet of paper.

I've been cutting my bars just under 1 inch thick. Before I got my new mold, my bars needed quite a bit of planing, and by the time I was done I usually had a bar that was about 3.1875 inches wide, 2.125 inches tall, and 0.875 inches thick. The 1/3 sheet wrapper fit this bar perfectly.

My new mold has (unexpectedly) eliminated the need for any major planing or trimming. (Yay!) But now my wrapper is about half an inch too short. I see several different possibilities:

1. I keep trimming the bars anyway so they fit the wrappers. (This seems pretty irrational to me.)

2. I cut the bars thinner, so they're 3.4 inches wide, 2.25 inches tall, and 0.75 inches thick.

3. I cut the bars thicker, but not as wide, leaving them 3.15 inches wide, 2.25 inches tall, and 1 inch thick.

4. I make the wrapper bigger. I wouldn't be able to get as many wrappers out of each sheet of paper, though.

What do you all think? Is it better to have a bar that's 3.4 x 2.25 x 0.75", or 3.15 x 2.25 x 1.0"? Or should I modify the wrapper?

Can you go to legal paper 8.5 x 14?

I could, but I don't think it would help much. The wrapper would need to be 3.7 x 9" to fit the slightly larger, thicker bar. That doesn't divide into 8.5 x 14 very well.

I use scrapbooking paper, that came in a bundle of 360 for about 12$. I got them so I can wrap my bars pretty, I don't sell though. About the paper itself, it measures 12*12 inches and wraps 4 of my 3.0* 2.0*1.25 inch bars with leftover to go over one and a half times, I don't care to trim it. It would easily wrap 3 of your bars but some of it will go waste. Now you will need to look for a plain paper bundle I'm guessing.

My bars are 3.5 x 2.4 x 1.25 thick. However, I don't wrap as I sell and that's too tedious. I have used the 12 x 12 scrapbooking paper and it worked well for wrapping.

I like options #2 or #3, and I prefer option #3. As soon as a bar of soap gets much under 1", it starts looking small to me no matter how large the other dimensions are.

Edit: Bar #3 would be much larger (7.1 cu in instead of 5.75 cu in for #2). However, it's also close to the Golden Ratio, which means it should look very pleasing to the eye.

Scrapbooking paper is a good idea, I'll look into that. Anybody have a preferred online source?

shunt2011 said:

My bars are 3.5 x 2.4 x 1.25 thick. However, I don't wrap as I sell and that's too tedious. I have used the 12 x 12 scrapbooking paper and it worked well for wrapping.

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It IS tedious. . .and I enjoy it anyway! I cannot explain, except to say that it's an excuse to play with the soap some more. I would like to sell in the vague future, but not for at least another 6-12 months.

My labels are white, and the colored paper I use for wrapping creates a nice clean contrast. I think the colors/swirls in the bar and the graphic/print on the label compete with and diminish each other. I also think that the wrapper really helps to retain the scent, but I have no scientific evidence to support this.

MorpheusPA said:

I like options #2 or #3, and I prefer option #3. As soon as a bar of soap gets much under 1", it starts looking small to me no matter how large the other dimensions are.

Edit: Bar #3 would be much larger (7.1 cu in instead of 5.75 cu in for #2). However, it's also close to the Golden Ratio, which means it should look very pleasing to the eye.

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The Golden Ratio! I was hoping somebody would bring that up :-D. Unless I'm mistaken, 3.4 x 2.25 (option #2) is closer to the Golden Ratio than 3.15 x 2.25 (option #3).

That's a good point about the volume. And their current volume (3.4 x 2.25 x 1, or 7.65 cu in) is actually closer to the volume of #3 (7.1 cu in) than it is to #2 (5.75), even though they might look more like #2 at first glance.

I'm kind of leaning toward leaving the bars alone and changing the wrapper instead. Less work for me, bigger bars for everybody else.

Another possibility would be to keep the wrappers as they are, and just let them be short; the gap would be covered by the label. But would you think that it was a mistake or carelessness if you were opening a bar and saw that the wrapper didn't quite reach all the way around under the label?

I always thought that if I did wrap my soaps, it would be in chart paper or parchment paper. Would rolls of paper help your quest? Then you wouldn't be constrained by the paper size.

JBot said:

Another possibility would be to keep the wrappers as they are, and just let them be short; the gap would be covered by the label. But would you think that it was a mistake or carelessness if you were opening a bar and saw that the wrapper didn't quite reach all the way around under the label?

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No problems there, so long as the label is firmly stuck to cover the hole and does actually cover the hole. I'd think you were simply environmentally sensible and thrifty. Why waste paper?

I double-cigar band (a very trim one vertically, a thicker one with the printed label horizontally, two dots of glue to hold everything together). It's stable, doesn't waste paper, and comes off in one piece. Gift recipients love it, and it's the simplest design imaginable.

Seawolfe said:

I always thought that if I did wrap my soaps, it would be in chart paper or parchment paper. Would rolls of paper help your quest? Then you wouldn't be constrained by the paper size.

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That's a terrific idea. Will definitely look into it.

MorpheusPA said:

No problems there, so long as the label is firmly stuck to cover the hole and does actually cover the hole. I'd think you were simply environmentally sensible and thrifty. Why waste paper?

I double-cigar band (a very trim one vertically, a thicker one with the printed label horizontally, two dots of glue to hold everything together). It's stable, doesn't waste paper, and comes off in one piece. Gift recipients love it, and it's the simplest design imaginable.

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The label would easily cover the gap, and I'd make sure to secure it tightly. I've often admired the double-cigar band look, though, and it has one feature that my wrapper doesn't: you can actually SEE at least a small portion of the soap. But the ones I've seen do leave the most vulnerable part of the bar exposed: the corners. How do your corners hold up?

As you're giving them away to folks in your community, I think any wrapping is more than enough. If you need to leave the gap there for a few times while you find another solution, I don't think people will be too horrified. After all, they are getting free soap

The label would easily cover the gap, and I'd make sure to secure it tightly. I've often admired the double-cigar band look, though, and it has one feature that my wrapper doesn't: you can actually SEE at least a small portion of the soap. But the ones I've seen do leave the most vulnerable part of the bar exposed: the corners. How do your corners hold up?

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Beautifully. So far I haven't had any problems with corner damage, but I don't cart the stuff around much. It goes into a gift bag and given to the recipient. But none have had any complaints.

I do tend toward pretty hard bars, though I would think those would be a bit more brittle. So far, so good.

The Efficacious Gentleman said:

As you're giving them away to folks in your community, I think any wrapping is more than enough. If you need to leave the gap there for a few times while you find another solution, I don't think people will be too horrified. After all, they are getting free soap

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There IS that! Come to think of it, I haven't heard any complaints about the bars being warped, either. Makes me suspicious that people aren't unwrapping/using them. I think I'll be asking around. . .

MorpheusPA said:

Beautifully. So far I haven't had any problems with corner damage, but I don't cart the stuff around much. It goes into a gift bag and given to the recipient. But none have had any complaints.

I do tend toward pretty hard bars, though I would think those would be a bit more brittle. So far, so good.

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Good to know. I'll have to try that and see if a double band helps retain the scent similar to a wrapper.