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Custom Neck Labels: 3 Key Considerations for Your Clothing Brand
Custom neck labels are one of the smallest details on a shirt, yet it carries important information like your product sizing and your brand name. Moreover, they show how seriously you take your clothing brand. Customers might not see it at first sight, but they will notice if the label owns its aesthetic and keeps its durability after several uses.
So, if you’re building a clothing brand and deciding to use custom neck labels, this article is probably what you need. We will break down everything about custom neck labels, including 3 keys you must know: design readability, adjustment to fabric type and proper application. Let’s get started making custom neck labels professional and perfect for your clothing brand!
Custom Neck Labels Facts
First, let’s go over some aspects you might have overlooked when it comes to custom neck labels:
1. Custom Neck Labels Are a Branding Tool
A custom neck label, unlike hangtags or patch labels on the outside, is a label placed at the inside neckline of a shirt. It carries essential product information, such as what size it is, and how to take care of it.
Besides, custom neck labels are where to put your brand’s identity. An effective custom neck label creates the impression that the garment is high-quality made, worth the price and your brand is professional.
2. 4 Types of Information That Go on a Custom Neck Label
Most custom neck labels carry 4 tiers of information:
- Brand / top line: your brand name and/or your brand logo. This one is usually the most prominent element on the whole label.
- Size: This can range from XS to XXL, or numerical sizing depending on your category. There are also various format choices to display this information.
- Care, fiber, and origin: This part includes care instruction, fiber content that made up your product and country of origin. They are legally required in most markets.
- Micro notes: The last group of information are notes such as style codes, lot numbers, vendor code, production date,… if needed. They are internal references for brands to manage their production, inventory, or quality control.
3. Types of Custom Neck Labels
There are several types of neck labels, depending on methods that brands use to make them or add them on the garment.
Woven labels
As in their name, these labels are woven on a loom to create the information displayed on them. Then, they are sewn into the shirt’s collar. As woven, these traditional labels are durable with a premium feel. However, their production costs are high and usually require a minimum order quantity.
Printed sew-in labels
Live woven labels, these labels are also separated labels being sewn in to the garment. The difference between the two is that these labels are not woven but pre-print on a strip of fabric before being sewed on the neck of the shirt.
Tearaway labels
Containing necessary information like other custom neck labels, but the main purpose of tearaway labels is easy removal. They are made for customer comfort so they are not a choice for branding purposes.
Screen printed directly on fabric
These labels are made by printing directly to the inside collar using ink. They offer clean results with a soft feel on the garment. However, screen printing requires a different mesh frame for each label variation, so they usually cost more than all label types above. They also usually require high minimums, so these custom neck labels are more popular with larger brands.
Heat-applied DTF transfers
DTF (Direct-to-Film) transfers need heat and pressure to transfer printed labels from the film onto the garment. This label type gives a similar result with screen printed labels with soft feel, while not requiring high minimum because no mesh screens are needed.
In this article, we will talk about the last approach: using heat-applied DTF transfers for creating your custom neck labels for its benefits.
Why use Iron-On DTF Transfers for Custom Neck Labels?
If you’re still comparing your options, let’s see if DTF heat-applied labels suitable for your business:
1. Print quality
Direct to film printing these days has advanced significantly. Transfer printing provides sharp, clean prints with a soft feel even at the small sizes for a neck label. They also offer full-color and deliver consistent results so the final labels on the neck looks professionally made.
2. Cost-effective
DTF transfer labels use less material and resources compared to most other label types and require lower minimums than screen printed labels. So, you’re not paying for weaving, stitching, or high-volume screen setup.
3. Faster turnaround
With no detailed weaving and no mesh screen, DTF transfers can be produced in large volumes in a shorter time. Hundreds and thousands of labels can be delivered to you and ready to press in days, helping shorten your garment production time.
4. Long-term brand visibility
Because DTF prints offer comfort and durability at the same time, your branded information on these labels have more chance to last long on every garment. So, you increase your brand visibility without paying more.
5. Flexibility
Using DTF transfers for custom neck labels allows you to keep them in transfer form and only press them onto your garment whenever you’re ready. Flexible labeling also means it’s much easier and more convenient if you need changes in your label design.
For example, if you need to update your logo, add a new size, or update the layout for seasonal collections, you just need to change the DTF transfers, not all the inventory which you already print the labels before.
3 Keys to Use DTF Transfers as Custom Neck Labels
A neck label is a type of functioning label, so it must deliver information for its lifetime. That means it must readability at first, hold up when applying, survive repeated washing, and still deliver information.
So, to use DTF transfers as custom neck labels effectively, consider these 3 key points:
1. Pay Attention to Readability
Custom neck labels’ readability is decided in design stage and is affected by:
Font choice
For custom neck labels, you should choose a typeface with clean, open letterforms. Geometric sans-serifs and sturdy slab serifs generally hold up better.
We’ve observed that our client commonly choose these fonts for their DTF transfers neck labels:
- 68% use sans serif fonts including Roboto, Helvetical, Montserrat or Arial
- Some choose Playfair Display or Oswald to match their brand style
- Others use their signature fonts
What to avoid:
- Highly decorative fonts
- Thin sans serif
- Any fonts with hairline strokes
As a printing house, we do not recommend them because their thin details won’t adhere well when you press your DTF transfers onto the garment.
Point size by information tier
Each group of information on your label has a different purpose and a different level of importance, so size should be used to show that hierarchy. Below is a summary table of commonly used sizes we compiled after printing hundreds of thousands of professional labels for our clients.
| Tier | Content | Recommended size |
| Top line | Brand name or logo | 8 to 10 pt minimum |
| Size | XS / S / M,… | 7 to 9 pt |
| Care / fiber / origin | Symbols and text | 5 to 7 pt |
| Micro notes | Style codes,… | 5 to 6 pt |
Letter spacing
While testing our printed DTF labels on t-shirts, we’ve observed text under 7 pt with normal letter spacing merge or lose clarity after heat pressing. So, to ensure readability, consider increasing letter spacing if you have to use small text.
Line spacing
For the best result after heat pressing, minimum line spacing should be around 120–140% of the font size. Tighter leading makes the final label on your garment difficult to read.
All-caps
Should we use all-caps? All-caps work well for brand names at small sizes but not always a good choice for other information. In care instructions or fiber content part, symbols and abbreviations require clearer separation and all caps can make it difficult for readability.
2. Adjust Designs Based on Fabric Type
Fabric type strongly affects the result of heat pressing your label onto the garment. For that, some small adjustment in your label design will help.
For smooth, stable fabrics
Fabrics like woven cotton, poplin, light denim,… give you the most ideal surface to apply DTF transfer labels. Create your designs using our recommended size on the table above.
For medium stretch fabric
If you are using DTF transfers as custom neck labels for jersey cotton, single knit, spandex blend,…consider:
- Increasing font size by around 10–25% compared to smooth fabrics
- Use medium to bold stroke weights
- Increase letter spacing and line spacing
Larger, thicker letters with more spacing between elements are less likely to deform or distort when the fabric stretches, thus maintaining the label’s durability.
For high-stretch fabrics
Elastane-rich fabrics (sportswear, activewear), rib knit, compression fabrics, etc which move a lot, using DTF transfers or even screen printed labels won’t ensure your labels to last long.
Heavy-texture fabrics
Similarly to high-stretch ones, heavy-texture fabrics like waffle knit, French terry, and thick fleece are not suitable for DTF transfer labels or screen printed labels. Their uneven surface can’t ensure a proper adhesion and even if the label can be applied, they will increase the risk of detail loss.
If you are not sure whether your fabric type is suitable for this custom nack label type, you should contact us or your supplier and then run an application test before ordering a large batch of DTF transfers.
3. Proper Application
To get your DTF transfer labels right, the applying process does much of the work. There are some key points:
Temperature, pressure, and time
DTF transfers are applied by heat pressing. The settings for this process include temperature, pressure and time. Our DTF neck label transfers are successfully pressed at 310°F (155°C) with firm, even pressure for 20-30 seconds.
However, the settings can vary depending on fabric type and DTF transfers materials used by different suppliers. Read our guide……. Or follow your supplier’s instructions.
Use a pressing pad or heat platen
While pressing, we recommend using a pressing pad under the applying area of the garment.
The neckline is curved and that area is layered, so without support, it can buckle under pressure, leading to uneven heat distribution and a wrinkled label. A pressing pad will keep the surface flat and ensure even contact across the entire transfer.
Second press
After peeling the film, do a quick second press (about 15 seconds) with a silicone sheet or parchment paper on top. This helps strengthen the bond between your printed labels and the fabric, contributing to its durability.
How to Make Custom Neck Labels
After we break down important aspects of a custom neck label, now you have the confidence to work with it without any problems. Get your readability right, match your design to the fabric you’re pressing on, and apply your transfers with care will make your garment look professionally branded and function well over time.
If you’re ready to use DTF transfers as your products’ custom neck labels, remember that we print DTF transfers customized for exactly this use case. With up-to-date printing machines and knowledge in the field, we are eager to provide sharp, consistent prints for your garment. and build.
Whether you’re getting started with testing or scaling into a higher volume of labels, we are happy to support. Get in touch with us here.
