Tagless Printing Offers Speed, Savings and Personalization

Decorators can apply custom tagless label information via any of three production technologies.
July 31, 2009

Insta Graphic Systems’ Pic n’ Place unit, model 929, applies tagless heat-transfer labels at a very high production rate using a suction “pick and place” apparatus.

By James Ortolani, Contributing Writer

I’m the first to admit that I am one of those people who tears out the sewn-in neck label as soon as I buy a T-shirt. And I’m obviously not the only one who does so, because T-shirt manufacturers have heard the message loud and clear. Many garments from vendors big and small have gone tagless. The information normally on a tag is still right there inside the neck of the shirts — it’s just either screen printed or a heat-applied transfer.

Much of the impetus was to accommodate the wearer’s comfort. However, along with solving this personal comfort issue, the cost advantages of going tagless became apparent to apparel manufacturers. In other words, it has been a bonus associated with giving customers what they want.

Direct & Pad Printing
Many mid-sized garment manufacturers and screen printers offer “private label” garment programs to their customers with their company name on the label inside the shirt. Custom garment decorators have met this need by direct screen printing the label information in the shirt. This process requires the printer to turn the garments inside out and screen print the label on the appropriate label area of the T-shirt.

The downside to this approach is the time and labor involved with turning garments inside out, loading and unloading the printing machine, then turning the garment right side out again after it exits the conveyor dryer. After realizing the downside of this approach, you may wonder what the upside of direct screen printing the label in the shirt would be?

For starters, this method works and the label looks great. And many shops already have the screen printing technology in house, so they don’t have to buy labels or acquire additional equipment. Also, decorators never have to buy labels, and they never run out of “label” inventory. This method also gives them complete control over the graphic on the label — so they can print large logos and lots of custom information, like the Web site address of the charity benefitting from a 10K run, or the customer’s philosophy about why they chose to print and sell 100% organic T-shirts.

Pad printing is another option for adding tagless labels to garments. The process originally was developed to print on rigid substrates and to provide a way to print wrap-around graphics on curved and 3-D items like ballpoint pens, plastic flying discs, golf balls and key chains.

You would think this method would not work too well on textiles, but many garment manufacturers have met this tagless demand with pad printing. The prints that I have inspected are not as detailed and crisp as a screen printed or heat transfer label, but the labor is less than screen printing since the printer doesn’t need to turn the garment completely inside out to print. The printer simply drapes the back neck area over a small platen (usually 3" x 3") and the pad printer stamps ink on the fabric in a fraction of a second. Some of these inks air dry or can be heat cured. Since knit jersey fabric is not a traditional substrate associated with pad printing, in some cases special ink formulations were developed to make this process work properly. (Always consult your pad printing ink manufacturer for specific guidelines for this application.)

Plastisol Transfers
Heat transfer houses all over the world are printing large sheets of small, label-sized transfers to be heat applied as the ID and care label for tagless identification in garments. With this method, hundreds of label-sized transfers are gang-printed on a sheet of transfer paper, which is then cut apart to separate the individual transfers.

To apply, the transfers are individually placed into position by hand and heat pressed to the inside neck area of the garment with a small press — which would usually measure about 3" x 5". Some hardware manufacturers have increased production speed dramatically with machines that are fitted with a cartridge that holds a stack of hundreds of plastisol transfers, which are dispensed with a suction “pick and place” apparatus.

Insta Graphics, Cerritos, Calif., offers three automatic heat press machines: the model 907 dual-head machine, model 909 hands-free single station and the Pic n’ Place unit, model 929. ”Our Pic n’ Place machine will automatically place cut-piece transfers with ease and speed,” says Janet Wells, president.

Insta Graphics was first to market with automatic tagless transfers in partnership with Hanes. “Our Labeltrans product, available in sheets, is a hot-peel, opaque heat transfer, with fine detail and [the print can withstand] 50 washings,” Wells says. “Ultraspan is our answer for stretch and performance apparel. In accordance to the new regulations set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Insta has developed two new products that are PVC-free, phthalate- free and lead compliant. Our short-run, quick turn around allows us to meet the needs of just-in-time production.”

Roll-to-Roll Labels
The roll-to-roll method has proven an effective method to print hundreds of thousands of neck label transfers in a short period of time. Most major mills have adopted the roll-to-roll method for applying labels in their tagless tees. With roll-to-roll, transfer labels can be printed on a continuous web screen printing machine that is capable of producing tightly registered multicolor transfers.

The inks used for these labels are formulated to transfer in very short dwell times — about two seconds — and each roll has about 500 labels per roll depending on the manufacturer.

Roll-to-roll offers the ability to use semi-automated application equipment, speeding up production (though nothing like the web presses at the major mills). With these machines, operators can take a bundle of 12 garments and flip through one at a time (while still in a bundle), draping just the inside neck area over a small lower platen of the machine. A hands-free feature lets operators remove their hands as the small press closes and applies the transfer with a quick, two-second dwell time. The operator then pulls off the finished garment and drapes the next one in the bundler over the lower platen.

Also, most major transfer manufacturers in our industry offer heat-applied transfer garment labels. (For a list of suppliers, visit impressionssourcebook.com.)

“Our business is really doing well with heat transfer labels for tagless T-shirts,” says Lora Pace, president, M&M Designs, Hunstville, Texas. “A wide range of products can be embellished with roll-fed heat transfers.”

“Both types of transfer labels (individual and roll-to-roll) have been popular,” she says. “If the customer doesn’t have the roll-to-roll equipment, we sell him the individual transfer labels. We also have formulated a new transfer label for printing on nylon strapping that is used for seat belts and safety belts.”

No one sees this tagless label trend slowing down anytime soon, so do your homework and pick the method that best fits your shop’s needs. Offering tagless labels is a great way for the customer to remember where the garments were printed and where to go when it’s time to re-order. Plus, the look of a private label garment embellished with your company name and logo sets you apart from the competition.

James Ortolani has more than 25 years experience in the decorated apparel industry, specializing in hands-on direct screen printing and heat transfer production. He has worked for many industry suppliers, and currently serves as national sales manager for Hix Corp. For more information or to comment on this article, e-mail James at jortolani@hixcorp.com.

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