Labeling canvas gun cases

I have a lot of my pistols in canvas & fabric gun cases, particularly the LA Police Gear cases.  I use those cases to keep all the mags and misc. parts, and manuals together with the guns.  A lot of those guns are used as loaners when students need them for classes, and I’ve gone through several different attempts to find an easy way to label the cases so I can quickly find the gun I’m looking for in the safe.

Simple options like using painters tape, masking tape, duct tape or target tape didn’t work well. The tape didn’t stick and would come off when the cases rubbed against each other.  Using clear shipping tape to hold paper labels on had the same problem.

A complicated solution that worked was having paper labels laminated and then using velcro to stick them on. The advantage to that approach is the labels are easy to take off and can be changed or updated.  The UPS store where I get my mail can laminate documents for a small fee.


Velcro and laminated paper label

Even the velcro & laminate solution was not really what I was looking for.  I had tried some iron on labels before, but decided to try again with a different product.  This time I found something that works.



Ironing these on the cases using medium heat worked well.  (Take the gun and mags and etc out of the cases before ironing, of course.) I used the iron on labels on all the soft pistol cases in the safe, and I’m sure they’ll get a workout over the next few months as those cases get used in upcoming classes.