A label is usually called a sewn-in fabric textile label used on clothing or underwear. In other words, it is a label or tag with a logo or branding of an enterprise or manufacturer printed on it.

Labels are actively used on outerwear, on clothing for home and sports, on work and company clothing, on workwear, on T-shirts and shirts, T-shirts, pajamas, as well as on underwear.

Today, any mass-produced clothing is marked with labels. This approach allows the buyer to find out the “history” of the item (where and by whom it was produced, the composition and material from which it was made, the regime for caring for it and other useful information).

Almost all manufacturers place labels on their clothes. Moreover, some take good care of this nuance, placing high-quality tags on it, while others place pieces of multi-colored fabric with a simple couple of stitches. It is clear that the latest version of the label “leaves” the clothes very quickly, unable to withstand washing and long-term wear.

Materials for labels

Nylon textile labels. This is the most common, economical option. Finished nylon tape, with widths varying from 17.5 to 35 mm, is recommended for use as a basis for sewing markings (fabric labels, labels, tags). It is sewn to garments in those places that are not in direct contact with the human body. Mind map: Tags and labels for clothing

Textile nylon labels with adhesive backing. These white nylon labels have a sticky layer. As a rule, they are used in conditions where the use of paper markings is impossible due to a number of reasons (features of the product’s operation). They are most often used on hats and bedding.

Textile labels made of satin. Satin ribbons in white or black are soft and are intended for marking clothes in the form of labels, labels and tags. They are sewn in places where the consumer’s body does not come into contact with clothing (in the internal seams of products, under collars).

Polylite sew-in labels. Differ in full color. In fact, they are synthetic paper made from polypropylene. In terms of its properties, such paper is stronger and more durable than ordinary paper. Sewn-in labels, labels and tags made from such material are extremely difficult to tear, they are moisture-resistant and wear-resistant. They perfectly withstand the effects of heat, fuels and lubricants.

Woven labels (jacquard). These are luxury labels. They are distinguished by their high price and elitism. They are often mistakenly called embroidered labels. This is not true. This type labels are made using a special technique of weaving synthetic threads using special ribbon looms.

About the types of sew-in labels for clothes

• Type "Checkbox". Textile labels, labels, tags of this type are sewn to products on one side.
• Loop type. This type of label consists of two parts. At the moment of sewing such a tag, label, shortcut to sewing product, they fold in half, as if forming a “loop”. The free end of the label is sewn into the product.
• Sewn-in textile labels made of fabric are usually made in the form of a rectangle, the sides of which are folded by 3-5 mm and stitched.

Recently I received a question in the mail about one of the many important points for any sewist.

I quote the letter I received:

Where to get clothing labels, labels and tags?

“Hello, Pavel!

I’m currently sewing a pilot batch and I’m faced with the following problem: how to make tags for my clothes. I read about LOMOND thermal transfer paper on the Internet and want to try it.

Have you by any chance tried to do this with paper like this? labels??? I'm just afraid that such an inscription will fade after washing or will be washed off altogether. If you have used it, please write a review or advise what type of tag to make.

Thank you in advance, Veronica"

I personally ordered tags from printing companies or bought ready-made ones. Therefore, about thermal transfer paper for self-made tags, unfortunately, I can’t say anything.

I only know that good quality thermal transfer printing is achieved if there is own equipment industrial grade. I don’t see any point in buying such equipment. Except for the case that this is your specialization.

If we're talking about As for sewn-in tags, I mostly had ready-made tags made in China.

The quality of such tags also varies greatly. Therefore, if you have the slightest doubt, I recommend checking it in the wash first, and then using it in the wash.

A sewn-in tag or label is made on a fabric basis. Most often it is satin or nylon.

There are no questions here.

But you need to pay attention to the quality of the main print applied to the fabric.

Underestimating this point can lead to very disastrous consequences. Put yourself for a second in the shoes of a client whose sewn-in tag faded during washing...

This unpleasant touch can devalue all your efforts to enter the market or develop a regular clientele.

The situation with tags, labels and labels shows that in the sewing business there are no unimportant little things.

And one more small but important one practical advice. If you truthfully indicate the fabric composition and fabric care conditions on the sew-in tag, you will thereby extend the life of your clothing.

This means you increase customer confidence in your brand.

What tags, tags and labels do you use for your products?

Where do you get them?

Have you used thermal transfer paper and what can you say about it?

Thank you in advance for your answers in the comments on this page.

A T-shirt with a slogan or a funny picture can be a great holiday gift for friends or a loved one. A unique gift will delight your loved ones and highlight their originality and personal qualities.

Special textile printer

This highly specialized device works on the principle inkjet printer. The T-shirt is put on a special movable table that extends into the printer. After applying the design, the paint is fixed in a drying device or under a heat press. It is most often used for printing on white T-shirts, since colored items require an additional white backing for the image.

The use of this technology allows you to quickly prepare a T-shirt for printing, apply a design with high resolution, and change the image for different products. But there are also disadvantages textile printing: high cost and “slowness” of the printer. You will have to spend from 5 to 20 minutes on each product, so this method is only suitable for a small number of T-shirts.

Indirect printing on a printer

This type of textile printing can have two options. The first involves sublimation printing technology, which is carried out with special ink on paper, after which the image is transferred to the T-shirt fabric under the influence of temperature. The transferred design does not feel different to the touch; this type of printing on T-shirts can only be used for polyester products.

The second option is also called “magic touch” technology; it consists in the fact that a drawing or inscription is first applied to a special film and then glued to the item itself using a heat press. The finished design looks like a sticker; in this case, for successful printing you need to use cotton T-shirts.

Thermal application (flex, flock)

This fabric printing technology is more suitable for creating simple lettering and company logos. It involves assembling multi-colored pictures like appliqué; the image is glued to clothing using a heat press. Flex allows you to select original textured films (for example, metallic, smooth, velvety), while the color of the T-shirt does not affect the color of the applied image.

Silk-screen printing on fabric

Silk-screen printing is an industrial technology for applying inscriptions and drawings to fabric. To transfer textile paints, special stencils are used for each color. Colors are applied sequentially, and the thickness of the paint layer can be changed. Used for silk-screen printing different types paints, including luminous and metallic ones.

This type of T-shirt printing is convenient for a large number of products (from 50 pieces). It is produced quickly, has a low cost, and the design is distinguished by its quality and durability. However, among the disadvantages of silk-screen printing are the duration of preparation for printing, the impossibility of applying variable information, as well as some restrictions when printing photographs and raster graphics.

Thermal transfer

This method of printing on T-shirts is also more profitable to use for large quantities of products. To implement this, first apply offset printing or silk-screen printing, resulting in “decals.” Application to textiles is done using an iron or heat press. Only paint remains on the T-shirt, without creating the feeling of a sticker.

This type of T-shirt printing allows you to apply multi-color images to any fabric. Thermal transfers themselves are stored for a long time, the printing speed is high, and the cost, on the contrary, is low. However, it can take a long time to prepare for printing, and it is also impossible to apply variable information.

Each method of printing on T-shirts has its own characteristics that must be taken into account when choosing the appropriate option. It all depends on the circulation required quality, the complexity of the images, the type of fabric and dyes used, as well as the period within which your order must be completed.

We are publishing a note about methods of printing on T-shirts in general and about screen printing in particular.

To begin with, we will tell you what textile printing methods there are in general.

Thermal transfer and sublimation- as you can understand from the name of the method, this is image transfer when exposed to heat. The image itself can be created in different ways. For example, the most popular method for one-color printing of images without fine detail is cutting with a plotter from a special film. The cut out image is placed on the product and under the influence high temperature, using a heat press, is “pinned” to the textile surface. But in the same way you can transfer a full-color image or even a photograph. To do this, the required design is printed (usually in mirror form) on a sheet of special paper, from which it is then transferred under the influence of a heat press and fixed to a T-shirt. Here other nuances come into play: for example, if the T-shirt is completely or half synthetic, then the fiber itself will hold the paint and sublimation ink is used. If the textile is not suitable for sublimation, then before transferring or during the process of transferring the image onto the textile, a separate layer must be applied that will hold the paint. Pictures printed on T-shirts in this way do not withstand intense mechanical stress and are very durable. But photo quality and all that.

With the help of such a heat press, the film or image is “glued” to the surface of the T-shirt.

Direct digital printing- the simplest and most understandable way: a T-shirt is placed in a special test printer with textile ink! And the printer prints the required image on it just like on a white sheet of paper. Nothing could be easier! But what if the T-shirt is colored - red, green or even black?! So we are faced with the disadvantages of this printing method. In order to print on a colored T-shirt, you need to print on it White color. Yes exactly. The silhouette of the entire design is sealed with white paint. Drying. And a color image is applied to a layer of white paint. This way the T-shirt ends up with two layers of paint. You also need to smooth the pile and eliminate the absorption of white paint by the fibers, that is, apply a special primer. It turns out that all three layers of paint are applied to the product during direct digital printing on color T-shirts. Alas, the properties of inks for such printers do not allow them to withstand more than 10 strong washes. It must be added that there are huge printers that print not on finished products, but directly on canvas in rolls. Patterns are printed and large images. And later this material with the printed image will be cut and sewn into products.

Printers for direct digital printing on fabric: popular i-dot for individual T-shirts and an industrial wide-format printer for applying patterns to uncut canvases.

Flex- This is the application of images with textile films. It's like an industrial applique. Used to apply an inscription or logo in 1-3 colors for small runs (1-10 pcs). An image, most often an inscription or parts of a logo, is cut out from a special textile film and fixed to the product under pressure at high temperature using a heat press. Textile films come in a wide variety of colors and effects: gold, silver, imitation foil, glitter, neon. The name "Flex" comes from the English "flexible", "stretchy". These textile films adhere well to the fabric and stretch with it.

This is what it looks like to apply a logo made from textile films.

Screen printing (silk-screen printing)- a method of applying images using a stencil - a printing form through which paint penetrates onto textiles in places corresponding to the image. In silk-screen printing, printing with suitable inks can be carried out on an almost infinite number of materials - textiles, paper, plastic, glass, wood, metals, etc. Inks are also different - water-based, solvent-based (solvent-based), ultraviolet-curing, plastisol (they require temperature fixation). Silk-screen printing is also used to print decals - these are transfer pictures on glass or ceramics. Screen printing is also used to apply an erasable scratch layer for lottery tickets and payment cards.

This is the machine where they print using silk-screen printing. We will meet him later in the story.

Each of these methods is good in its own way and is ideally used in the appropriate case.

TEESHKA T-shirts - for everyday wear. They are 100% cotton. T-shirt colors vary. Quality and durability must be maximum. Hence, our choice is silkscreen printing. Let's tell you more about screen printing with plastisol inks on T-shirts. So:

. Every print starts with a layout. Of course, the image must be of high quality, so we will not consider the opposite option. Whether it’s vector or raster, it doesn’t matter, the main thing is that the quality of the print allows you to turn it into print quality. The first procedure that is assigned to the picture is the color separation procedure. The image must be divided by color. Paints of different colors are applied in turn, so several pictures are obtained from the picture - each with its own color. This is the task of color separation. For clarity, we will give an example of division in the CMYK color model, which is used in printing: a color drawing can be represented as the result of the superposition of four single-color images (see figure). Likewise, when preparing for screen printing, the image is divided into several colors - their number depends on the model of the printing machine and the need to apply special paints.

Color separation in CMYK model

. Film output. Next, a separate layout is made for each color on a special plastic film. An image is printed on these films in black, which is responsible for each component color in the finished layout. Therefore, on the film with the signature “blue” will be printed the area that must be filled with blue in order to obtain the required color picture. If the print is printed not on a white, but on a colored T-shirt, then an additional film with the general outline of the print is output - this area will be filled with white paint as a background. All films are also printed with marks for precise alignment with other films and printing plates.

Ready-made films for each color.

. What are printing stencils made of? The films are ready and now it is necessary to prepare the stencils themselves, because silk-screen printing is screen printing. Stencils are also called printing forms. These forms are also made each for their own color. Stencils are made on special frames that resemble a sieve - a fine mesh is stretched across the frames, through which the paint will be applied to the T-shirt. The mesh cells can be of different sizes, because there are a great variety of paints, and they have different properties, and some simply “do not fit” through a very fine mesh. For each type of karski and color, the necessary mesh is selected and a stencil is prepared.

Various colors. Both in color and properties.


For example, there are paints such as gold powder or stardust.

. Creation of printed forms. How exactly does a stencil come out of a frame? A light-sensitive emulsion is applied to the mesh in a thin layer. The properties of the emulsion are such that when irradiated with bright light, the emulsion hardens. This is where those plastic films come in! The frame with the mesh and the emulsion applied to the mesh is connected to the film using marks specially designed for this purpose. The idea is that the black-printed area on the film, intended to print a specific color, will not allow bright light to pass through when irradiated. The light will not reach the emulsion, and it will then be washed off with water in the desired areas.

An emulsion is applied to the frame. Subsequently, a stencil will be made from the frame, emulsion and film.

. Exhibition of printed forms. So, an emulsion is applied to the frame, a film is glued to create a stencil shape, and this entire company must be exposed, or in other words, irradiated. This happens in a special cabinet. This is a special cabinet-table for display. A table - because there is a tabletop. Transparent, glass. And under it there is a very bright lamp - it is better not to look at its light. And the cabinet - because the top of the table is closed with a door made of very elastic rubber. It turns out that the presence of the door protects the printer’s eyes from the bright light of the lamp, and the elasticity of the door allows air to be pumped out using a pump, since the emulsion loves vacuum and is exposed faster in it. The future stencil needs to be irradiated for a couple of minutes. In general, those who are richer buy more modern tables with more powerful lamps, and the process speeds up, but this is no longer so interesting for us.

Wardrobe-table and lamp. The lamp is down and turned off, otherwise we would not be able to remove it, but we could go blind.

. Excess emulsion is washed off with water. Teak! The sensor on the exposure chamber (that’s what the irradiation cabinet-table is cleverly called) gives a signal, which means that the emulsion has hardened in the right places. Then the stencil is sent to the shower, where everything is simple: the part of the emulsion that was not exposed to bright light is washed off with water. Remember how the black film didn’t let him through? After the unhardened emulsion is washed off with water, the stencil is ready! Stencils for other colors in this print are made in exactly the same way. When the edition with this print is printed, the stencils will be washed off from the mesh on the frames - they will be placed in a special solution and the hardened emulsion will “leave” there. There is no particular point in storing ready-made stencils, since the frames are quite expensive, and tensioning the mesh is also not a cheap pleasure. It is easier, if necessary, to make the same stencils again - therefore, when ordering silk-screen printing, you almost always need to pay additionally for the production of printing forms.

Shower for stencil. A stream of water washes off the unhardened emulsion, which was covered with a film.

. Installing stencils on a printing press. The stencils are ready to print, that is, they are ready to let the ink flow onto the T-shirt in the right places! As mentioned above, silk is printed using special so-called. rotary machines. They really are like a carousel (there was already a picture of a carousel machine above) - tables are attached to the rotating platform in the center, and on the stationary part of the machine there are fasteners for the stencils we are already familiar with. T-shirts are placed or worn on tables. Stencils are inserted into the mounts. Then the actual screen printing experience begins.

Fastenings for stencils on a printing press.

A stencil attached to the machine.

. The screen printing process itself. The attraction consists of this: stencils are lowered onto tables with T-shirts, and the appropriate paint is applied to each of them; it gets smeared and pressed through printed form using a thing called a squeegee - it's plastic or rubber. Through the stencil, the paint gets onto the T-shirt exactly where it is needed. Then the carousel spins, and the table with the T-shirt arrives under the adjacent stencil, where a different color will be applied.

A stencil above the table on which the T-shirt lies.

. Intermediate drying. After visiting each stencil, the T-shirt is placed on its table under a special stove in order to dry the newly applied paint. So, with intermediate drying, the T-shirt on its table will visit all the necessary stencils and receive the necessary portions of paints.

This humble dryer dries the paint on T-shirts after each turn of the carousel.

. Final drying. After all the colors have been applied, T-shirts from all tables are sent to cure in a special “tunnel” dryer. I emerge from the T-shirt tunnel ready to wear.

Tunnel drying occurs in such a device. It comes out with a ready-to-wear T-shirt!

. All is ready! All that's left to do is pack it. The finished T-shirts face the final stage of their adventure at the factory - packaging, where the T-shirts are sorted by size and placed in individual bags.

***
So we talked briefly about how a picture created by a designer ends up on TEESHKA T-shirts.
Wait for the next publications!

P.S.
In addition - a story about one trick. This trick can be useful for those who print with silk for themselves or for business.
Silk-screen printing on special sheets followed by thermal transfer. This move allows you to save on products - T-shirts. Let's imagine that there is no confidence that the print is successful, and there is a risk of producing a batch of T-shirts that “won’t work.” So, you can print this print not directly on products, but on special sheets of paper, which are then covered with a special adhesive layer on top. If you have a heat press, you can easily transfer the image onto one, five, or as many T-shirts as you need. And if the print is really successful, then transfer the entire print run from sheets to T-shirts through a heat press. Otherwise (if the print did not fit in), the sheets with prints will remain, yes. But the T-shirts will not be printed and a different image can be applied to them.

Colorful print is a fashion trend of recent seasons, which is not going to lose its position in the future.

Different modern methods Printing on fabrics allows you to create unique clothes. T-shirts and sweatshirts, baseball caps and bandanas, jackets and raincoats with your chosen images or text will be unique. But each of the existing technologies has both advantages and disadvantages. How to choose exactly the one that is suitable for application to a specific item? We invite you to look into this issue with us.

Silk-screen printing on sweatshirts, thermal transfer on baseball caps, sublimation printing of cuts for T-shirts

To get the best quality possible, when choosing a technology you need to take into account a number of factors:

• Type of material and its color.
• Surface geometry.
• Picture size.
• Order circulation.
• The desired color and durability of the image.

Let's consider the possibilities of the most popular printing methods in the context of these factors.

Silk-screen printing (screen printing) for applying images to clothing

If you are interested in economical methods of printing on T-shirts, then silk-screen printing is one of them, but only if you order large quantities (from 50 pieces). With this technology, the coloring matter covers the surface of the material through a stencil made for each paint color. And it is applied using so-called “carousel” machines. Watch how they work in the video:

Using this method, you can print complex shapes and apply images to small parts. This is probably why it is often used for branding textile products. If a company with a large number of employees needs it, then silk-screen printing is often chosen for printing decals.

When ordering large quantities, silk-screen printing is very profitable

The advantages of this type of printing, in addition to those already listed, are also that it:

• Allows you to print on cotton and synthetic clothing.
• Used for both patterns and finished products.
• Forms an even layer of color on the fabric.
• Creates a high-quality and bright image that can withstand up to 60 washes.
• Makes it possible to use different effects (foiling, glitters, three-dimensional pictures, etc.).

Silk-screen printing with PUFF effect or thermal rise

This is what silk-screen printing with glitter looks like:

Using different thicknesses of paint layers in silk-screen printing, they create imitation of different surfaces. For example, you can get an image with a velvety texture

When figuring out which fabric printing is better, you should also know the disadvantages of different technologies. To costs this method include:

• High cost when ordering one product. This is due to the rather labor-intensive pre-press preparation.
• Limitation on the number of colors used. It is possible to apply 1-6 colors.

Sublimation printing on clothes

When the most popular is called, then sublimation is definitely on this list. The essence of this method is the ability of liquid paint to transform into a gaseous state under the influence of high temperature and in this form enter the fabric fibers. Direct sublimation printing is carried out only on fabric, from which clothes are then sewn. Sublimation transfer from an intermediate carrier is performed onto finished items.

Sublimation allows you to create photographic quality prints

When determining which printing technology is better, they consider, first of all, their advantages. The popularity of sublimation is explained by the following:

• You can apply images both to fabric in a roll and on things.
• The pictures are multi-colored, with transitions and gradients (photographic quality).
• The print size can reach up to 40x50cm.
• It is possible to print on one product.
• The wear resistance of the resulting image is very high.

The disadvantage of this method is that the carrier of the future application (on a T-shirt, baseball cap, vest, etc.) must be made of synthetic material. At the very least, the amount of polyester fibers in it should be at least 50-60%. The thing is that natural fabrics do not take paint well and cannot withstand temperatures up to 200 degrees. And besides this, sublimation is performed only on light-colored items.

Direct sublimation printing is usually used to print the cut

Today, there are several ways to perform sublimation printing on cotton. One of them involves applying a special primer to the product using the silk-screen method.

To see how this is done, watch the video:

Thermal transfer technology for printing on clothing

This method involves transferring pictures onto it from the media (special paper or film) on which they are previously printed. The transfer is carried out by a heat press heated to 130-160 0 C. Under the influence of temperature, the thermal transfer adhesive melts and penetrates the fibers of the fabric. Once cooled, the image is fixed to the material.

You can see how sublimation thermal transfer is performed in this video:

The following video demonstrates flex - transferring an image onto clothing from special films cut on a plotter.

If you're figuring out which is best when planning to print T-shirts, this widely used technology is definitely something to consider. It, like the previous ones, also has numerous advantages. Thermal transfer is suitable for printing on small parts of clothing (pockets, cuffs), on products of complex shapes (baseball caps, caps, panama hats), on things with protruding elements (buttons, zippers).

Thermal transfer allows you to apply images to the most “inconvenient” surfaces

Besides this, this method:

• Can be used for application to any fabric (natural, synthetic and all possible combinations thereof).
• Allows you to get a bright picture with a lot of colors.
• Creates a durable image that survives numerous washes.
• It is a fairly short-term process.
• It is used for the smallest runs without increasing the cost of application per product.

Thermal transfer is ideal for printing small designs with small individual details, text and outline images