What Are Woven Labels?
While choosing a clothing label might seem like an afterthought, it’s one of those little details that can really define a brand. But making a decision can feel like a laundry list of questions…
- What is a woven label and how will it affect my product?
- Are printed labels a suitable alternative?
- How customisable are different label types?
- What are the costs, benefits and limitations?
Woven Labels Direct has been producing quality woven labels and printed labels since the 1980s. Working with diverse customers for decades, on orders big and small, has taught us that there is no single best label type.
In order to find the right clothing label for your needs, you need to weigh the pros and cons of all of your options. And that’s exactly what we’ll help you do in this post.
The Difference Between Woven and Printed Labels
The first step to making a decision is to understand what defines each type of label. Knowing what they are made of and how they are manufactured can help you choose the style that better communicates your brand message.
What Is a Woven Label?
Woven labels are, as the name implies, composed of multiple threads that are woven together on a loom. Typical thread materials include damask, satin, and taffeta. Woven labels are generally viewed as the more luxurious option due to their superior feel and durability. By using a variety of thread colours, unique designs can come to life in a high quality texture available in many different folds.
What Is a Printed Label?
With printed labels, the text and logo are digitally printed onto the material, rather than woven from individual threads. This allows for greater variety in the design and colour choice of your label, and increases the precision of the final product. However, printed labels are not available in quite as many folds as woven labels.
How Do I Choose the Right Label for My Product?
Either label type can be suitable for clothing designers, whether you are a small boutique or a large manufacturer. The trick is determining what you value most in a label in order to decide which is right for you.
Here are some of the most common decision points that you might be facing:
- If time is of the essence, printed labels can be produced faster.
- If you are trying to minimise expenses, printed labels are slightly more cost effective.
- If your label design has fine details or colour gradients, printed labels may be necessary to achieve your vision.
- If you want to communicate the highest in quality, woven labels are considered more luxurious.
- If you want to prioritise durability and colorfastness, woven labels stand up better to washes and similar wear and tear.
For more detail on why we make these recommendations, or to just make a more informed choice for yourself, you can weigh the benefits and limitations of both types of labels.
If you have immediate questions, you can always call us directly on 08 9534 7527, or send a message through our online contact form.
The Benefits of Woven Labels
Durable. Because your design is woven into the label, it isn’t going to fade as it goes through the wash. The high quality, non-fraying nature of the material means that the label is likely to outlast the clothing itself.
Luxurious Quality. Woven labels exude luxury. There is just something special about seeing the intricate weaving process carried out on such a tiny scale. It shows customers that your brand pays attention to even the littlest detail, which is why custom woven labels are considered the highest quality choice for clothing.
Intricate Designs. Although they can’t include as fine of details as printed labels, you can still achieve very professional designs with woven labels. To a certain extent, woven designs stand out more because of the intricacy involved in the weaving process.
The Limitations of Woven Labels
Slower Production. Even machine weaving isn’t as fast as printing. So if you are in a rush, printed labels are probably your better choice. For our standard options, woven labels take about a week longer than printed. For custom designs, the time may vary more.
More Expensive. Woven labels cost slightly more than printed due to higher labour and material expenses.
Limited Colour Selection. Because colour is achieved by thread rather than ink, woven labels are limited to a maximum of 7 colours per design.
The Benefits of Printed Labels
Fast Production. Printed labels are much quicker to mass produce. In fact, if you needed labels tomorrow, you could choose from our same-day printed labels and have your order printed, packed, and shipped out today!
Economical. Printing labels doesn’t require as much oversight and fine tuning as weaving them. Furthermore, the material costs are slightly lower when it comes to printed labels. Although the difference isn’t vast, it is worth considering when calculating your overall expenses.
Fine Details & Limitless Colours. There is virtually no limit to the number, shade or gradient of colours when it comes to printed labels. This allows for you to use images, logos and even photos with very fine details. However, there are some printed label materials, such as thermo adhesive satin, that do have colour limits. Rest assured that we will help you choose the best label to meet your colour needs.
The Limitations of Printed Labels
May Fade Over Time. Since the design is printed onto the label rather than woven into it, some fading is to be expected with use. As the wearer sweats on the label and the clothing is run through the wash repeatedly, the ink will lose its original luster.
Standard Quality. It’s not that printed labels are low quality, it’s just that they aren’t generally considered as luxurious as woven labels. The look and feel don’t quite have the same level of class. This is why many designers choose print labels for tags that won’t be as visible. They are also ideal for products like children’s clothing, in which communicating luxury isn’t critical to the brand.
Choose a Label To Fit Your Brand
Our final piece of advice when it comes to print versus woven labels is to choose the type that communicates your brand image. Your clothing speaks to your brand, so make sure the label does too.
Depending on how they are designed, woven labels may communicate luxury, boutique quality and natural aesthetics. Printed labels are better at expressing feelings of simplicity, sleekness and modern design.
Of course, so much of your message is rooted in the actual design of your label, which is why we recommend talking with one of our label professionals to help guide you towards the best choice.
Do I Need a Custom Label?
Printed and woven labels for clothing can both be highly customised. If you have browsed our product offerings at all, you can see that Woven Labels Direct offers labels in standard and custom formats.
What’s the difference and which is right for you? Let’s look at both a bit closer so that you can decide.
Standard Labels
With a standardised layout, such as our 12mm Woven Wash Care Labels, you get to decide what text to include, choose from available colours and select care symbols or motifs from the options included in the layout. However, the actual order and arrangement of elements is limited to our design offerings.
These labels allow for faster production, and are perfect for tags that aren’t as critical to your branding, such as care instructions.
Custom Labels
Custom designer labels give you full control over the arrangement, content, colour and more. These are ideal for branding your product through your label. Generally, you will send us an image of your intended design, and we will work with you to make it happen.
Whether you already have a professionally designed image or need us to help you obtain one, our staff is ready to assist. You can learn more about custom design options for printed and woven labels on the following pages:
Custom Designer Printed Labels
Find The Labels You Need at Woven Labels Direct
With decades of experience and hundreds of quality woven and printed label materials, designs and colours to choose from, you can’t go wrong with Woven Labels Direct. From mass market clothing to boutique designers to parents who just need to label their kids’ camp clothes, we have a labeling solution for you.
In this post, we tried to offer you the information you need to make a choice between woven or printed labels. But we realise you might still have questions—especially if you are thinking about a custom design. Our label professionals are standing by to assist. Reach out today to find the labels you need!