Labels: woven
Made from Durable, 100% Polyester Yarns Talon International usually manufacturers woven labels in 100% polyester, since this material does not absorb dies or shrink in the wash. We can also supply special cotton and cotton mix yarns. A wide variety of weaves and patterns can create many different looks. There are two basic types of polyester yarn available:
Satin A yarn that provides a sheen to the finished label, a satin woven label feels very soft and smooth and is often chosen for high-quality shirts and dresses.
tafetta Taffeta is duller than satin, providing a "casual" look that's popular for a wide range of jeans, sportswear and many other products. Depending on the graphic style of your label, taffeta can be made to look quite sophisticated as well, and because of its versatility is specified more often than satin.
Manufacturing Process
STATE-OF-THE-ART SWISS WEAVING EQUIPMENT All Talon International woven labels are created on the industry standard in weaving equipment, Mueller Looms from Switzerland. Depending on specifications, your label will be manufactured in the U.S.A., Thailand, Korea, Taiwan or Hong Kong, but always on a Mueller Loom. All manufacturing sites are rigorously monitored for superior and consistent quality.
STATE-OF-THE-ART SWISS WEAVING EQUIPMENT All Talon International woven labels are created on the industry standard in weaving equipment, Mueller Looms from Switzerland. Depending on specifications, your label will be manufactured in the U.S.A., Thailand, Korea, Taiwan or Hong Kong, but always on a Mueller Loom. All manufacturing sites are rigorously monitored for superior and consistent quality.
THE WARP The base of every woven label is called the warp: many parallel black or white yarns stretched across the loom. Colored yarns are then woven perpendicularly into the warp yarns to achieve the final label. The width of the warp can be up to 48 inches. Your label will repeat across the loom many times. For example, a 2" wide label would repeat 24 times on a 48" loom. The finished labels are slit apart, forming a continuous tape of one label across, then finished as described below.
YARN COLORS A single label can feature up to 12 different yarns woven into the base warp yarn. Standard pricing usually includes black or white and two additional colors. As you add more colors, your price will increase proportionately. Talon International can match colors using the Pantone® Color System (PMS) for uncoated colors, or you can provide us a color sample from fabric or other material and we can match it for you carefully. Please be aware that exact color matches are not always possible.
WARP YARN COLOR CHANGE Most woven labels have either a black or white warp yarn. You usually can't tell the warp yarn just by looking at a label, because it's mostly hidden by the colored yarn that's been woven in to create a particular background shade. However, the warp color does have a subtle effect on the background color. When you want a lighter background color, a white warp yarn is used. For darker backgrounds, a black warp is used. You can usually find the warp color in an existing label by cutting it open. In some cases where the background color is critical, you may need to request a custom warp color, since the standard white or black warp does have a subtle effect on overall color. Please note that there is extensive time, effort and expense involved in changing a warp color, so it is feasible only for orders of one million pieces or more.
STYLES OF WEAVE There are five different styles of weaving that can achieve different effects in woven labels. Your Talon International representative can help you determine which weave will work best for your label.
Single Shuttle This is the least expensive type of construction, where a color yarn is woven only once into the warp. Single Shuttle is suitable for care labels and simple designs. It's the ideal choice if you've got a tight budget.
Double Shuttle In this process the colored yarn is woven twice into the warp to form a much tighter pattern than Single Shuttle, providing sharper definition for text and artwork. Double Shuttle is more expensive than Single Shuttle, but the weave provides a more attractive label.
Damask Weave Now the most popular choice in woven labels, damask weave uses a higher density thread and a vastly increased number of stitches, providing superior quality for artwork and text. Damask weave labels are more resilient than other weaves, maintaining their like-new appearance through commercial and repeated home washes.
Needle Loom This older, more expensive process provides a very fine and delicate satiny label that's appropriate for garments requiring an extremely sophisticated look. Needle loom labels feature beautifully finished edges that are softer than the hot knife cut used on most labels today (see Finishing below). The first automated looms to be made, needle looms are now quite rare and very slow by today's standards.
Twill Weave More a pattern than a weaving process, the twill weave provides a very regular zigzag pattern, similar to a herringbone fabric.
Special Considerations
MINIMUM TYPE SIZE Using tight weaves, Talon International can create woven labels with alluring graphics and legible type. However, it is impossible to achieve the same clarity possible with modern printing or other processes. For smaller lettering, we strongly recommend the damask weave, and even there the smallest recommended size for lettering is 1.8 mm high x 1.6 mm wide, using a bold block style font.
WASHABILITY Most woven labels will hold up in all types of home washes and even commercial washes. In general, damask weave labels have the best longevity. For very heavy denim washes, we recommend that you test labels - or apply the label after the wash. Talon International can work with you to ensure the best approach.
Development Cycle
ARTWORK Once you've determined the kind of label you want, you'll need to submit artwork to Talon International to be used as our guide in creating pre-production samples of your label. If you prefer, Talon International's experienced graphics department can handle your artwork creation - you only need to let us know the text and graphics you want to include. (Be sure to get appropriate legal advice on text if you are creating a care/content label.) If you are submitting your own artwork, either hard copy ("camera-ready art") or a computer disk is suitable. Talon International is equipped to handle the files of all popular graphics programs, including Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
Talon International will review your artwork and let you know how closely we can recreate your design based on weaving techniques and yarn color issues.
SAMPLES In most circumstances, we can create actual pre-production woven label samples in 5-10 working days.
MANUFACTURING Your labels will be woven in 2-3 weeks, depending on the size of the order. You must allow anywhere from 3 days (airfreight) to 5 weeks (ocean freight) for delivery depending on the shipping method chosen and the location of your sewing facility. Labels are usually delivered in cardboard sleeves in convenient quantity bundles.
PRICING Woven labels range in price from $.01 each for large quantities of small, one-color labels to up to $.20 each for large-sized, high quality labels. Average label pricing is between $.02 and $.05 each. Your Talon International representative can give you exact pricing based on your specifications.
MINIMUM ORDER QUANTITY 25,000 units
