# Advice about tagless tags and heat press



## deadhippo (Jun 4, 2008)

Hi,
I've been searching for a solution to tagging my shirts and have read various discussions here on the T-Shirt Forums. They have been very informative but I was wondering if I could get some fresh advice as a lot of the posts that I have been reading have been quite old.

Well, first the situation.
We are going to have t-shirts printed and sell them. At first we don't expect to have large numbers so we are trying to keep the costs down. We would like to have tags like Threadless/DBH etc. that are printed on the back of the t-shirt, on the inside of course. Also we would like to include the t-shirt size and the the Artist information.

This on top of the screen for the tee might add up to a lot of money so we decided to look for another solution and from our investigations we decided that the a small heat press would be a simple and cheap way to go and something that we could do ourselves after the tees get back from the screen printers.

Anyway, the first question is, is there a reason we shouldn't use heat press transfers for the tagless tag? Any opinions are welcome.

We found that there are several types of transfers but this one seems the easiest and most convenient. We can use our regular printer and ink and seems reasonably cheap. The second question is, does anyone have any experience using this type of transfer and if so do you recommend it for a tagless tag?

The next question is about the machine. I saw several posts here about choosing a machine but again most of them were pretty old but I think that most of the people wanted to use the heat press for the main image whereas we are just using it for the tag. In this case I imagine that smaller is better for us. I have found many machines for about $300 like at Amazon or from the sites recommended by the T-Shirt Forums. Actually I have found too many and was wondering if anyone has used a machine that they recommend or that perhaps I should avoid.

Thanks in advance.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

I have never used this particular paper, but using inkjet transfers is an option for tags. The paper you mentioned is only for light garments. You will need a different paper for dark shirts. 

A very popular paper for lights is Jet Pro Soft Stretch. They have a version that can be used with a home iron. You may want to test this method to see if it fits your needs. 

Finally, I don't know what you consider 'old', (the forum is only 4 or 5 years old), but info on transfer papers and heat presses are being posted almost daily here. So not only should you be seeing posts from a year or two ago, you should be seeing some from last week too. 

A heat press that was recommended a year or two or 5 years ago will still be recommended today. It's not like computers where it's obsolete as soon as you buy it and take it home.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> Anyway, the first question is, is there a reason we shouldn't use heat press transfers for the tagless tag? Any opinions are welcome.


One reason why you may not want to use an *inkjet* heat transfer for a tagless label is the durability factor. 

I think the FTC requires that the label last as long as the garment, and I have a feeling that an inkjet transfer may not fit that requirement.

There are companies that use *plastisol* heat transfers for their tagless labels. These are screen printed tags on heat transfer paper that you just buy from a company like TransferExpress.com, FMExpressions.com, Veratranz.com, etc. They send you the pre-printed transfers with your design and you apply them as needed with a heat press.

If you're *just* doing tags with a heat press, a smaller one like a hat press might do the trick. Those are usually less expensive than the full size heat presses used for applying designs to t-shirts.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Rodney said:


> I think the FTC requires that the label last as long as the garment, and I have a feeling that an inkjet transfer may not fit that requirement.


The "useful life" of the garment, so presumably (haven't heard anything official) if the main print was worn out the useful life would be regarded as over. Meaning theoretically you could use inkjet transfers for labels if you used them for the primary decoration as well, but otherwise not. In reality, the neck label is going to wear at a faster rate than the front of the shirt, so you're unlikely to even be able to use them in that case.



Rodney said:


> There are companies that use *plastisol* heat transfers for their tagless labels.


Yeah, this is a much better idea.



Rodney said:


> If you're *just* doing tags with a heat press, a smaller one like a hat press might do the trick. Those are usually less expensive than the full size heat presses used for applying designs to t-shirts.


There's surprisingly little price difference sometimes though. Even if you don't _plan_ on using a heat press for anything else, I think it's worth giving some serious thought to what you could conceivably end up doing with it.

For example, if you're a screenprinter it might be a good idea to get a full size press, which you can later use to apply foil and flock. 

Whether you're a printer or not, you might consider getting a hat press because then, as well as being able to do your neck labels with it, you could put some plastisol transfers on hats as a promo item (whether it's promoting your company, or a job for someone else).


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## deadhippo (Jun 4, 2008)

Oops. I know it's late but thanks for the info.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Solmu said:


> The "useful life" of the garment, so presumably (haven't heard anything official) if the main print was worn out the useful life would be regarded as over. Meaning theoretically you could use inkjet transfers for labels if you used them for the primary decoration as well, but otherwise not. In reality, the neck label is going to wear at a faster rate than the front of the shirt, so you're unlikely to even be able to use them in that case.


The FTC rules has nothing to do with whether or not a garment will be decorated. 'Useful life' pertains to the garment itself, not the decoration put on it. 

For all the FTC knows, the garment won't be decorated at all. And the label requires some information that has nothing to do with the decoration; like country of origin, RN#, etc.

I have tees that are over 10 years old and the decoration has long faded away. However, these tees still have a useful life.


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