When designing garments for fashion retail it is essential to take all aspects of product design into consideration in order to provide maximum value to your brand. Whilst many considerations will be made around the design of the graphics, fonts and colour schemes, there are also key technical factors that need to be taken into consideration. Including the size of the hole on your hang tag, paper size and cord fastener compatibility.
Whether you are designing a simple luxury hang tag like a ck hang tag or mass producing casual clothing, here you will find all the technical information you need to know about the size of your hang tags, positioning of holes and how to attach them to your clothing.
1. Standard Industrial Hang Tag Hole Sizes :
The size of the hole you drill will determine what type of tagging guns, swiftach barbs, string locks or safety pins you can use. Choosing the wrong hole will cause problems with tears, tagging and attachment.
3mm (Approx. 1/8 Inch) – Standard Industrial Size:
This is by far the most commonly used hole size in mass market fashion garment production. This provides the perfect hole for standard plastic tagging gun barbs (swiftach), thin Nylon strings and standard metal safety pins.
4mm (Approx. 5/32 Inch) – Premium & Cord Lock Size:
This is perfect if you are using pre-cut waxed cotton cords, polyester ‘snap’ lock strings or thin ribbon attachments on your mid to high end fashion garments.
5mm (Approx. 3/16 Inch) – Heavy Duty & Eyelet Grommet Size:
We recommend using this if you are attaching thick jute twine, cord or heavy duty metal eyelets (brass/silver grommets) onto heavy duty denim, leather jackets or outerwear to avoid tearing.
2. Standard Hang Tag Dimensions & Shapes
Choosing the right tag size depends on the amount of information required (brand logo, size, pricing, care symbols, barcode) and the garment category:
Tag Type | Typical Dimensions (Inches) | Best Suited Garment Category |
|---|---|---|
Standard Rectangular | 2" x 3.5" or 2" x 4" | T-shirts, Shirts, Casual Wear |
Slim / Vertical Strip | 1.5" x 3.5" or 1.25" x 4" | Jeans, Trousers, Minimalist Fashion |
Square Tag | 2.5" x 2.5" or 3" x 3" | Activewear, Swimwear, Accessories |
Folded Booklet Tag | 2" x 3.5" (Folded to 4 Pages) | Outerwear, Technical Gear, Export Items |
3. Minimalist Branding Trends: The "CK Style" Aesthetics
Modern brands have been moving away from busy designs and focusing on a sleek, high impact aesthetic such as seen with the classic ck hang tag.
Main key elements of garment hang tag design:
- Monochrome – Black text on white board or white foil on black card.
- Central Text – Brands names should be in a clean sans-serif font with high kerning.
- No Clutter – The main hang tag should only contain the brand logo. Any additional information should go onto a separate sticker, including price, size & bar code.
- Sleek Finish – Hang tags should have a soft touch texture using velvet laminates, emboss or spot UV.
4. Hole Positioning and Margin Safety
During die cutting accurate hole positioning is key to ensure your design will hold up during transit and handling.
Top Margin: Ensure there is at least 6mm-8mm (1/4 inch) between the top edge of your hole and the top of your tag. If your hole is too close to the edge it can cause tearing.
Symmetrical Tags: If your tag is symmetrical the hole must be drilled down the centre of the tag. Asymmetrical or folded tags: Ensure your hole doesn’t fall on any folded edges or key brand information.
Bleed/Safety Margin: Ensure there is a 3mm margin around the hole with no text, key graphics or barcodes.
5. Attaching Fixtures & Choosing the Right Cord
Choosing the correct attachment will finish off your tag :
- Plastic Tagging Barbs (Swiftach) – Cheap option, can be tagged using tagging guns.
- Pre-cut strings with plastic push locks – Tool free push lock option which will instantly give a high quality look.
- Safety Pins & Bulb Pins – Pear shaped metal pins which are threaded onto woven neck tags to allow easy removal of tags without damage to delicate fabrics.
Sourcing Custom Tags for Your Brand
When preparing artwork files for print production, ensure vector lines include exact drill-hole placement markers and die-cut lines in a dedicated layer.
For Apparel Manufacturers & Retailers: Planning your next seasonal collection? Connect with verified Custom Garment Hang Tag Manufacturers on Mayo World to source high-grade art card stock, custom die-cut shapes, and competitive wholesale price lists.