# COMPLETING the Circle of Custom Branding - Inner Collar Sizing + Logo Tags



## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

*WUZZZUPPPPPP!?* 

Our manufacturers _(Bella, SanMar, Pennant, Holloway, etc.)_ pre-label their apparel with their own logos and labeling, which can be avoided partially by only selecting tear-away tags, but this limits our selection diversity and still doesn't promote the comprehensive branding vision we have for our growing company. 

We've been using the lettering solvent based chemical from heatpressnation, but had a couple questions for the pros here (and yes I did some searching on the forum so I wasn't being totally clueless and redundant - _I'll be heading over to Barber & Co. to check out their solutions soon..._ 

*1)* For a small but speedily growing active wear brand, *what's the best way to remove and replace inner collar labels with our own logos, branding, and font style...to remain consistent on all branding and product presentation for a we'll rounded customer experience?* Basically, what's the best chemical AND process in the best bulk/volume discount format to easily dissolve manufacturers' labels and swap for our own? _(any best practices or hints/tips, like tweezers or how long to let chemical soak in etc would be great!) _

*2)* What's are the *best plastisol label printer referrals you'd all suggest we can turn to for gang sheets or bulk tag sheets of our 2x3 labels with size, style, website, and logo* OTHER than Stahl's (never going there again) and FM Expressions, which has missed several shipping promise deadlines on previous 2 large orders for us?

*3)* Lastly, when using the solvent chemical to dissolve and remove the existing labels from the manufacturers, *how long should we wait before then heat-pressing our own labels on, so our fresh labels' pressure-sensitive adhesive isn't eaten away* by the existing solvent still soaked into the apparel's fabric? 

THANKS SO MUCH everyone!! We're so excited to introduce another exiting level of quality and creativity to the brand we've been having so much fun with 

*PS*: Worse case scenario we can cut our own labels with the Graphtec, and press them on no problem, but it'd be hard to weed those MICROSCOPIC letters, and if we simply "covered over" the labels like Port & Company (SanMar) for example, that'd look weird and generic.


----------



## DrivingZiggy (Apr 24, 2017)

Don't rule out a pad printer without investigating it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPuGVemZ35A


----------



## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

DrivingZiggy said:


> Don't rule out a pad printer without investigating it.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPuGVemZ35A


Reminds me of Lucy on the candy assembly line 

There are manual versions for under $1k. The autos start at over $2k.

Of course, regardless of how one does it, the real pain is that one must have multiple versions of the art for different size garments as well as country of origin--which can vary widely even within the same brand of garment.


----------



## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

Thanks guys! I'll look into that 

As far as the best chemical to use and a good supplier of pre printed plastisol label art, what are some good suggestions? Thanks!!


----------



## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

have you checked out versatranz?

dan or stacey are here fairly regularly, send one of them a pm with your wants and see if they can help you out

hit up different tee suppliers and see if they have better options for tee's


----------



## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

I wouldn't touch the job of chemically removing printed neck labels with _your_ ten-foot pole  Sounds like a mess and time sink, and is surely some nasty stuff.

Hanes Beefy-T is the only brand/style I have ever used that had a printed neck label from the manufacturer. Hanes makes some of the SanMar specific brands/styles, so I guess it is printed the same way on those. I would buy different shirts and not even begin to think twice about it.

I know as a brand and a creator that you want to send you stuff out into the world with your "stamp" on it. But customers could not care less about the neck label--UNLESS it irritates their neck.

I would suggest avoiding the time, expense, and aggravation, and simply attach hangtags with your branding. You can then leave the OEM label for all the legal stuff (it is a real pain to print yourself, and illegal to leave off). On some shirts, you can tear off their branding label and leave the one with the legal info.

Oh, and business cards are a good size for hangtags, and are generally cheaper and easier to obtain.


----------



## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

into the T said:


> have you checked out versatranz?
> 
> *No, but will now!! Thanks for the link and advice. You're one of the only ones to help, greatly appreciated!!
> *
> ...


I already did, we're comfortable with our current collection of suppliers, which doesn't mean there aren't better ones out there, but if we can't find suitable options with the six vendors we're contracted with, I don't know if any other companies are able to ship blank apparel.

Maybe that's the question to ask...*WHAT DOMESTIC APPAREL PROVIDERS SHIP TOTALLY BLANK ACTIVEWEAR?* There has to be countless ones, that's the direction our brand is headed anyway!


----------



## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

NoXid said:


> I wouldn't touch the job of chemically removing printed neck labels with _your_ ten-foot pole  Sounds like a mess and time sink, and is surely some nasty stuff.
> 
> *We've been using it for nearly a year now for this purpose sporadically, and in the first few months of operations we used it daily with tons of success when we had inevitable goof-ups while learning the process and materials, worked like a charm. We never used any protective gloves or anything and we all have sensitive skin, maybe you're talking about something stronger like an industrial type stronger solvent? Here's what we use*: *VINYL LETTER REMOVER*
> 
> ...


Super thankful NoXid


----------



## Industryps (Aug 9, 2016)

Lots of info going on here but here are some things we've learned-

• A lot of users here don't understand why start-up clothing lines want to relabel their blanks, but don't let that deter you. As someone who has worked every aspect of "Clothing Lines" from selling and buying at retail level, to being a vendor at Magic, Agenda, and POOL; comprehensive branding is VERY IMPORTANT. If you are just slapping ink on some shirts and selling them at local shops, yeah it may be a little overambitious. BUT... if you are trying to create an actual clothing brand, and starting out with "Whitelabel" products, stores will really value the extra steps in branding your products. One thing to note though, there is no need to go crazy adding hem tags and flag labels, etc... and the best labels won't do much good if ALL the branding isn't on point, and the quality of the garment and decoration isn't there.

• Removing existing woven neck labels is easily taken care of by getting in touch with a Contact Sewing facility. A good sewer can easily remove the OEM label, and replace it with your label in such a way that only a trained eye would ever be able to tell that the label was replaced.

• As for your issue with removing existing printed labels- Based on what you're talking about, I assume you're using a lot of sports apparel like Dri-Fit shirts and the like. There are more brands offering these items with tear-away tags if you do a little research. Another option is to develop a Printed Label made out of Tyvek, or Satin, and have this sewn on top of the OEM label. You can keep the design and text of the label minimal and use a Size Tab label along with it to keep yourself from needing separate labels for each size.

• And just a word of encouragement- I can't tell you how many times I see users on this forum giving others grief because they want to take the extra steps that are needed to create a Brand. Those little details are what separate your clothing designs from the rest of the pack and are something not everyone "gets". Don't let that stop you! You obviously have a greater vision for you project than just adding some ink to a shirt so stick with it and stay true to the vision you have. Other people may have a similar taste and style, but no one can tell your story the way you do. 
God Bless!


----------



## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

Industryps said:


> Lots of info going on here but here are some things we've learned-
> 
> • A lot of users here don't understand why start-up clothing lines want to relabel their blanks, but don't let that deter you. As someone who has worked every aspect of "Clothing Lines" from selling and buying at retail level, to being a vendor at Magic, Agenda, and POOL; comprehensive branding is VERY IMPORTANT. If you are just slapping ink on some shirts and selling them at local shops, yeah it may be a little overambitious. BUT... if you are trying to create an actual clothing brand, and starting out with "Whitelabel" products, stores will really value the extra steps in branding your products. One thing to note though, there is no need to go crazy adding hem tags and flag labels, etc... and the best labels won't do much good if ALL the branding isn't on point, and the quality of the garment and decoration isn't there.
> 
> ...


Ah-maaa-zing post, wow - thank you! We are and have been pumped up to expand our brand for God's glory, and to bring greater confidence and performance to Christian athletes on the field and in the world! It's a niche market, which is the BEST part - and we're really digging deep to continue refining and bringing clarity to our Vision. So happy to hear your positivity and encouragement. Thanks a lot!


----------



## Nikar (Aug 20, 2017)

NoXid said:


> Reminds me of Lucy on the candy assembly line
> 
> There are manual versions for under $1k. The autos start at over $2k.
> 
> Of course, regardless of how one does it, the real pain is that one must have multiple versions of the art for different size garments as well as country of origin--which can vary widely even within the same brand of garment.


For the country of origin, I read that if a garment originates from multiple countries, we can save the costs of the tags by just stating "Made in the USA of Imported Fabric".

This way, if the garment is from 3 countries, we just need 1 tag for that and not 3 different countries, which greatly reduces costs


----------



## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

Nikar said:


> For the country of origin, I read that if a garment originates from multiple countries, we can save the costs of the tags by just stating "Made in the USA of Imported Fabric".
> 
> This way, if the garment is from 3 countries, we just need 1 tag for that and not 3 different countries, which greatly reduces costs


I think that only applies if the garment is sewn in the USA. The USA made American Apparel shirts are labeled that way.


----------

